Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HR199 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
OldNewDifferences
11 IV
22 119THCONGRESS
33 1
44 STSESSION H. RES. 199
55 Condemning woke foreign aid programs.
66 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
77 MARCH6, 2025
88 Mr. B
99 URCHETTsubmitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
1010 Committee on Foreign Affairs
1111 RESOLUTION
1212 Condemning woke foreign aid programs.
1313 Whereas the United States spent $2,000,000 on a
1414 transgender health grant in Guatemala, awarded in 2024
1515 to Asociacio´n Lambda for ‘‘gender-affirming health
1616 care’’, plus economic empowerment and advocacy for
1717 trans-led groups, with $350,000 disbursed so far;
1818 Whereas the United States spent $20,000,000 on Iraqi Ses-
1919 ame Street, entitled ‘‘Ahlan Simsim’’, funded to support
2020 educational programming for children in Iraq, with dis-
2121 bursements ongoing;
2222 Whereas the United States spent $1,500,000 on diversity, eq-
2323 uity, and inclusion workplace programs in Serbia, a
2424 United States Agency for International Development
2525 (USAID) grant from 2023 to 2024 to Grupa Izadji to
2626 push diversity, equity, and inclusion in workplaces, aim-
2727 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Mar 07, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR199.IH HR199
2828 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2
2929 •HRES 199 IH
3030 ing to boost LGBTQI+ economic engagement, with
3131 about $1,140,000 paid out so far;
3232 Whereas the United States spent $45,000,000 on diversity,
3333 equity, and inclusion scholarships in Burma, funded to
3434 provide diversity, equity, and inclusion-focused edu-
3535 cational opportunities, with details on disbursements un-
3636 available at this time;
3737 Whereas the United States spent $10,000,000 on male cir-
3838 cumcision in Mozambique;
3939 Whereas the United States spent $250,000 on gender equal-
4040 ity workshops in Morocco, through a 2023 Department of
4141 State grant to Association Marocaine pour les Droits des
4242 Femmes for workshops promoting gender equality and
4343 women’s entrepreneurship;
4444 Whereas the United States spent $100,000 on a drag HIV
4545 awareness campaign in South Africa;
4646 Whereas the United States spent $85,000 on a bee conserva-
4747 tion musical in Brazil, funded in 2023 to raise awareness
4848 about bee conservation through a musical performance in
4949 Sa˜o Paulo;
5050 Whereas the United States spent $70,000 on an Irish diver-
5151 sity, equity, and inclusion musical, funded a ‘‘live musical
5252 event’’ in Ireland in 2022 to promote United States-Ire-
5353 land shared values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and ac-
5454 cessibility, not a full musical, but a concert-style gig at
5555 the United States Embassy;
5656 Whereas the United States spent $60,000 on indigenous di-
5757 versity, equity, and inclusion training in Bolivia, through
5858 a 2023 USAID grant for diversity and inclusion work-
5959 shops for indigenous leaders in La Paz;
6060 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Mar 07, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR199.IH HR199
6161 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3
6262 •HRES 199 IH
6363 Whereas the United States spent $50,000 on vegan cooking
6464 classes in Kenya, and USAID funded this 2023 program
6565 to teach plant-based cooking in Nairobi to promote sus-
6666 tainability;
6767 Whereas the United States spent $40,000 on a feminist
6868 podcast series in Chile, funded in 2022 by the Depart-
6969 ment of State for a podcast on feminist issues in
7070 Santiago;
7171 Whereas the United States spent $32,000 on a transgender
7272 comic book in Peru, through Department of State fund-
7373 ing in 2021 to Peru’s Education Department via Ful-
7474 bright for ‘‘The Power of Education’’, a comic featuring
7575 an LGBTQ+ hero tackling social and mental health
7676 issues;
7777 Whereas the United States spent $30,000 on a trans youth
7878 art exhibit in Vietnam, through a 2022 Department of
7979 State grant for an art exhibit by transgender youth in
8080 Ho Chi Minh City;
8181 Whereas the United States spent $25,000 on a transgender
8282 opera in Colombia, through a Department of State grant
8383 in 2022 to Universidad de los Andes in Bogota´for ‘‘As
8484 One’’, an opera about a transgender woman’s coming-of-
8585 age story, framed as public diplomacy (total project
8686 $47,020 with non-Federal funds);
8787 Whereas the United States spent $25,000 on a transgender
8888 fashion show in Thailand, through a 2024 grant for a
8989 fashion show featuring transgender designers in Bang-
9090 kok;
9191 Whereas the United States spent $20,000 on drag queen
9292 training in Pakistan, funded in 2022 by the Department
9393 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Mar 07, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR199.IH HR199
9494 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4
9595 •HRES 199 IH
9696 of State to train drag performers in Pakistan as part of
9797 a cultural exchange program;
9898 Whereas the United States spent $15,000 on a queer film
9999 festival in Ecuador, through a 2024 grant to fund an
100100 LGBTQ+ film festival in Quito, Ecuador, for ‘‘public di-
101101 plomacy’’; and
102102 Whereas the United States spent $10,000 on a queer poetry
103103 slam in India, through a 2024 grant for a poetry event
104104 in New Delhi celebrating queer voices: Now, therefore, be
105105 it
106106 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1
107107 (1) is firmly opposed to funding these programs 2
108108 and programs like these, viewing them as wasteful 3
109109 expenditures of taxpayer dollars on frivolous or ideo-4
110110 logically driven initiatives; 5
111111 (2) requests more oversight of Federal aid pro-6
112112 grams, including a comprehensive audit by the Gov-7
113113 ernment Accountability Office of all grants awarded 8
114114 by the Department of State and United States 9
115115 Agency for International Development since 2021; 10
116116 (3) urges the immediate suspension of similar 11
117117 discretionary grants pending a review of their align-12
118118 ment with core national interests and fiscal responsi-13
119119 bility; 14
120120 (4) demands transparency by mandating public 15
121121 disclosure of all grant applications, justifications, 16
122122 and outcomes on a searchable online database not 17
123123 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Mar 07, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR199.IH HR199
124124 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5
125125 •HRES 199 IH
126126 later than 90 days after the date on which such a 1
127127 grant is awarded; 2
128128 (5) recommends redirecting funds from such 3
129129 programs to domestic priorities, including infrastruc-4
130130 ture repair, veteran health care, or disaster relief ef-5
131131 forts; 6
132132 (6) encourages the inspector general of each 7
133133 relevant agency to conduct annual reviews of grant 8
134134 efficacy, with findings reported to Congress and 9
135135 made available to the public; 10
136136 (7) proposes a cap on annual spending for cul-11
137137 tural exchange and advocacy grants abroad, limiting 12
138138 such expenditures to no more than 0.1 percent of 13
139139 the Federal discretionary budget; 14
140140 (8) insists on a requirement that all future 15
141141 grants over $10,000 receive explicit congressional 16
142142 approval via a streamlined review process; and 17
143143 (9) expresses its intent to draft legislation pro-18
144144 hibiting the use of Federal funds for overseas pro-19
145145 grams promoting niche social agendas absent a clear 20
146146 and direct benefit to United States national security 21
147147 or economic interests. 22
148148 Æ
149149 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Mar 07, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR199.IH HR199
150150 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB