page_title: Rand Paul
section_title: 112th Congress (2011–2013)
hierarchical_section_title: Rand Paul / U.S. Senate / 112th Congress (2011–2013)
caption_attribution_description: Senator Rand Paul being ceremonially sworn-in by Vice President Joe Biden, along with his family.
context_page_description: Randal Howard Paul is an American politician and physician serving as the junior United States Senator from Kentucky since 2011. He is a son of former U.S. Representative Ron Paul of Texas who was a presidential candidate in 1988, 2008, and 2012.
  Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Paul attended Baylor University and is a graduate of the Duke University School of Medicine. Paul began practicing ophthalmology in 1993 in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and established his own clinic in December 2007. In 2010, Paul entered politics by running for a seat in the United States Senate. A Republican, Paul has described himself as a Constitutional conservative and a supporter of the Tea Party movement.
  Paul was a candidate for the Republican nomination at the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He suspended his campaign in February 2016, after finishing in fifth place during the Iowa caucuses.
context_section_description: Paul was sworn in on January 5, 2011, along with his father, who was simultaneously in the House of Representatives.
  Paul was assigned to be on the Energy and Natural Resources, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Homeland Security and Government Affairs, and Small Business committees. Paul also formed the Senate Tea Party Caucus with Jim DeMint and Mike Lee as its inaugural members. His first legislative proposal was to cut $500 billion from federal spending in one year. This proposal included cutting the Department of Education by 83 percent and the United States Department of Homeland Security by 43 percent, as well as folding the Department of Energy into the Department of Defense and eliminating the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Seven independent agencies would be eliminated and food stamps would be cut by 30 percent. Under Paul's proposal, defense spending would be reduced by 6.5 percent and international aid would be eliminated. He later proposed a five-year budget plan intended to balance the budget.
  In February, Paul was one of two Republicans to vote against extending three key provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act (roving wiretaps, searches of business records, and conducting surveillance of "lone wolves" — individuals not linked to terrorist groups).
  On March 2, Paul was one of nine senators to vote against a stopgap bill that cut $4 billion from the budget and temporarily prevent a government shutdown, saying that it did not cut enough from the budget. One week later, he voted against the Democratic and Republican budget proposals to keep funding the federal government, saying that both bills did not cut enough spending. Both bills failed to pass the Senate. He later voted against stopgap measures on March 17 and April 8, both of which passed the senate.
  On April 14, he was one of 19 senators to vote against a budget that cut $38.5 billion from the budget and fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year.
  Paul voiced opposition to U.S. intervention in the Libyan Civil War and has criticized President Obama for not gaining congressional consent for Operation Odyssey Dawn. During the debt ceiling crisis, the Senator stated that he would only support raising the debt ceiling if a balanced budget amendment was enacted. Paul was a supporter of the Cut, Cap and Balance Act, which was tabled by Democratic opposition. On August 3, Paul voted against a bill that would raise the debt ceiling.
  On September 7, Paul called for a vote of no confidence in United States Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner. Later that month, Paul blocked legislation that would strengthen safety rules for oil and gas pipelines, because, he stated, the bill was not strong enough. In October, Paul blocked a bill that would provide $36 million in benefits for elderly and disabled refugees, saying that he was concerned that it could be used to aid domestic terrorists. This was in response to two alleged terrorists who came to the United States through a refugee program and were receiving welfare benefits when they were arrested in 2011 in Paul's hometown of Bowling Green. Paul lifted his hold on the bill after Democratic leaders promised to hold a Congressional hearing into how individuals are selected for refugee status and request an investigation on how the two suspects were admitted in the country through a refugee program.
  In June 2012, Paul endorsed Mitt Romney after it became apparent that he would be the Republican nominee for the 2012 presidential election. However, he was later vocal about his disagreements with Romney on a number of policies.
caption: Rand Paul being sworn in as a senator by Vice President Joe Biden, along with his family, in the Old Senate Chamber in the United States Capitol building
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