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SLIPKNOT, KORN, SMASHING PUMPKINS and NICKELBACK are among the artists who were mentioned in Kentucky senator Rand Paul's annual "Festivus Report" of wasteful government spending.

The 2023 listing found $900 billion in federal waste this year, including some of the more than $200 million that was doled out to "dozens of famous music artists and their touring companies" under the Small Business Administration's Shuttered Venue Operators Grant. The program, Paul said, "was supposed to provide a lifeline to small entertainment businesses nationwide." Instead, the report found, "so-called 'small business owners,' such as Post Malone, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown and SMASHING PUMPKINS, received up to $10 million each," Paul said. "Even NICKELBACK received $2 million."

Other artists and groups to partake in such grants were Usher ($3.1 million),Leann Rimes ($2 million),Melissa Etheridge ($3.9 million),KORN ($5.3 million) and SLIPKNOT ($9.7 million),with the latter band's Knotfest music festival receiving a $1.05 million grant.

"While some may claim these funds were used to keep supporting staff," Paul wrote, "artists were not required to do so, and we have no way of determining how these blank checks were used."

The Small Business Administration's Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program provided over $16 billion to closed venues.

Eligible businesses includes live venue operators or promoters, theatrical producers, performing arts organizations, talent representatives and movie theaters. The SBA also prioritized businesses that saw the greatest losses during the pandemic.

Applicants were eligible to receive 45% of their 2019 gross revenue up to $10 million per grant. To qualify for the grant, businesses had to have been open on February 29, 2020. Any federal Paycheck Protection Program loans the companies had forgiven would have had to be subtracted from the total grants.

The $16 billion Small Business Administration's Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program was originally passed in a COVID relief package during the Trump administration. It was amended by the Biden administration's American Rescue Plan.

Celebrated annually on December 23, Festivus is an anti-holiday popularized in a 1997 "Seinfeld" episode. Billed as "Festivus for the rest of us," it is celebrated as an all-inclusive, secular alternative to Christmas consumerism.

Original post:
SLIPKNOT, KORN And NICKELBACK Namechecked In RAND PAUL's Report On Wasteful Government Spending - BLABBERMOUTH.NET

Kentucky senator Rand Paul's annual "Festivus Report" has unveiled some interesting findings regarding U.S. government federal spending. The report highlights that over $200 million was allocated to music artists and their touring companies through the Small Business Administration's Shuttered Venue Operators Grant.

The program appears to have benefitted not only small enterprises but also well-known names in the music industry. Applicants were eligible to receive 45% of their 2019 gross revenue up to $10 million per grant.

Some of the notable recipients identified in the report include Korn receiving $5.3 million, and Slipknot receiving $9.7 million, with an additional $1.05 million going to Slipknot's Knotfest music festival. It's noted by Paul that the $416 billion grant program was intended to aid struggling live venue operators, theatrical producers, performing arts organizations, talent representatives, and movie theaters entities that suffered significant losses during the pandemic.

A full accounting of the programs's spending was provided by the Small Business Administration.

Paul's report states:

When local concert venues and family-owned theaters were forced to shut down during the pandemic, distributing financial relief was left to the Small Business Administration (SBA). The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program was supposed to provide a lifeline to small entertainment business nationwide.

Sadly, but not surprisingly, SBA failed to deliver. Business Insider identified dozens of famous music artists and their touring companies that received over $200 million through the program.

So-called "small business owners," such as Post Malone, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, and Smashing Pumpkins, received up to $10 million each. Even Nickelback received $2 million. While some may claim these funds were used to keep supporting staff, artists were not required to do so, and we have no way of determining how these blank checks were used.

These multi-millionaire musicians were cashing checks, instead of the intended recipients: America's small businesses.

More:
SLIPKNOT and KORN received millions from U.S. government according to RAND PAUL's "Festivus Report" - Lambgoat

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has released his annual "Festivus Report," which tracks wasteful governmental spending and it includes a finger pointed at some of the music industry's biggest hitmakers for appropriating approximately $200 million in federal aid.

Post Malone, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Slipknot, Korn, Smashing Pumpkins and more were cited as receiving funds under the Small Business Administration's Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, a program intended to provide a lifeline to small entertainment businesses affected by the pandemic.

The amounts received by the artists cited ranged up to $10 million dollars each. "Even Nickelback received $2 million," the report states.

"These multi-millionaire musicians were cashing checks, instead of the intended recipients: America's small businesses," Rand's report continued, adding that there was no accountability as to how the money was spent by the artists.

The now-defunct Shuttered Venue Operators Grant included over $16 billion in grants to "support the ongoing operations of eligible live venues and operators, live venue promoters, theatrical producers, talent representatives, live performing arts organization operators, museums, and motion picture theaters during the uncertain economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic." Eligible entities could qualify for up to $10 million in aid.

See the original post:
Various Hitmakers, 'Even Nickelback,' Cited in Rand Paul Report as Receiving Millions in Federal Aid - The Messenger

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul released the 2023 Festivus report on Friday, December 22, where he criticized the Congress members for extravagant spending. He took to X as well and wrote that the report found $900 billion in federal waste this year.

As per Senator Paul, the $900 billion includes $659 billion in national debt after the government went overboard by spending $1.7 trillion in the current fiscal year. He said Congress voted this year to inflate the debt ceiling, which enabled the government to borrow an incalculable amount of money until the next fiscal year.

Paul said that last years Festivus lamented the national debt of $30 trillion. He then mocked how this year, the bureaucrats and career politicians managed to increase the debt to $34 trillion.

He blamed the spenders for sending the USAs hard-earned money to fund wars and other aid to foreign countries while ignoring the border problem in the south. Senator Paul said their debt will continue to increase even more as the Congressional Budget Office has predicted the debt addition of an average of $2 trillion annually for the next ten years.

An X user commented under Rand Paul's tweet mentioning the Festivus report and expressed their disappointment at the total spending in 2023.

Senator Rand Paul lists around 22 instances in the 2023 Festivus report where, according to him, the US government wasted its taxpayers' dollars. Around $800 billion was spent on Barbies photo used as ID proof to receive COVID PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) funds.

Other notable instances include the NIH's (National Institute of Health) funding of $33.2 million for Dr. Faucis Monkey Island, The United States Agency for International Developments approved $6 million to boost Egyptian tourism, NIHs $12 million funding for the study of meth-head monkeys at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and a portion of $3.7 million for the study of gambling habits in monkeys.

Netizens were enraged after learning of the report and how much money the US government had supposedly wasted instead of using it to clear the national debt or spend it on better causes.

Senator Rand Paul broke down last years $482 billion wasteful spending, which included billions spent on COVID relief funds and a study to determine whether MCUs supervillain Thanos would be able to snap his fingers in reality, wearing the Infinity Gauntlet.

See the article here:
Festivus: "900 billion in waste": Rand Paul Festivus report goes viral, exposes bizarre and extravagant government ... - Sportskeeda

Congress unanimously passed the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 in December 2022. The law allows drug companies to find alternative methods of assessing their products, without testing them on animals or human beings.

The bill was sponsored by Sens. Rand Paul (RKy.) and Cory Booker (DNJ)*. Its goal was to speed up the drug approval process, and to let scientists experiment with approaches methods that are more humane than testing on live subjects. Reason's Elizabeth Nolan Brown aptly summarized the bill's achievements, noting that "previously, all drugs in development were required to undergo animal studies before being tested in human trials. Now, drug companies will still have the option to start testing experimental drugs on animals, but they won't have to."

And yet the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not taken action to update the agency's regulations.

"The FDA's regulations related to animal testing no longer fully conform with applicable law," writes Paul in a letter to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf.

Paul's letter, obtained exclusively byReason, was co-signed by Booker and several other senators from both parties. It notes that the FDA has previously spoken positively about moving away from animal testing. But companies currently submitting applications for drug approval still have to deal with FDA requirements that stipulate human or animal testingat least on paper.

"These and other regulatory provisions no longer reflect the full scope of the governing statute and should therefore be updated as expeditiously as possible," writes Paul.

The FDA should swiftly update its written requirements for new drugs. Until it does, this is a powerful reminder that even when the Congress, the president, and the agency itself all agreethat a regulation should be undone, deregulatory efforts can hit a dead end.

There is no reason toforce scientists to experiment on living creatures if better testing methods are available. What's the holdup, bureaucrats?

See the article here:
Rand Paul: Why Is the FDA Still Requiring Human or Animal Testing ... - Reason