Open Letter to Senator Rand Paul

Congratulations on your election. You have been given the privilege of representing this great Commonwealth in the United States Senate. That is quite an accomplishment.

I have heard you speak, and am very interested in your libertarian and strict constitutionalist philosophies. An America as envisioned by you would be transformed into something we haven't known since the early years of the last century. While we will not agree on everything, your ideas are certainly interesting and worthy of discussion.

You have been quite vocal about the size and power of the Federal Government. You have pointed out that the Federal Government has expanded the scope of its power at an alarming rate, while blatantly ignoring the Constitution. It is true that the Government today would not be recognized by the founding fathers if they were here to see it. Perhaps the most shocking expansion (in size and in power) has been in the United States Senate itself.

As you know, Article I of the Constitution states, in part, that "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote." It says nothing about Secretaries, Staffers, Social Workers, Legislative Assistants, Support workers or any of the huge number of people who appear on the Senatorial Staff. It doesn't say anything about office buildings or satellite offices. It certainly doesn't say anything about Senatorial staff's health insurance programs or retirement systems.

This is important. For example, you have an office outside the US Capitol Building in the Russell Senate Office Building. But you also maintain six additional offices in Bowling Green, Louisville, Lexington, Crescent Springs, Hopkinsville, and Owensboro. Obviously, you have government-paid staff at every one of these offices. (I remember when I worked for Senator Ford, he only had three offices in Kentucky). Each of these staffers have a Cadillac health insurance policy and a retirement plan-all at the taxpayers' expense. Certainly, personnel and funds are also needed to maintain these additional buildings, to provide security, to pay for lights, water, etc. Surely, the Founding Fathers never envisioned this kind of expansion of the office of Senator.

Senator Paul, it was not until 1884 that Senators were even authorized to employ staff. In 1891, legislation was passed to allow Senators to employ one staffer. Today, the taxpayers pay you millions of dollars for your staff and clerical workers. There is simply no Constitutional authority to support this kind of excess.

This is an important issue. The majority of Senators in the US, yourself excluded, are millionaires. Why does the taxpayer have to foot the bill for your staff?

If you want to shrink the size of government, you should start at the place that's closest to you... The United States Senate. You should shrink the Senate down to the size it was at the founding of this country (with the addition of Senators from later-admitted states, of course). If you want to have an enormous staff, several satellite offices, generous perks, etc... fine! Pay for them out of your own pocket. Don't hit us up for it. At the very least, you could at least impose a "means test" so that only needy legislators get paid for their staff. This is what we do for welfare and bankruptcy applicants, and it seems to work out fairly well.

By eliminating this type of government waste I think you'll be able to save us over a billion dollars while you are in office. You're welcome.