1 | 1 | | IV |
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2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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3 | 3 | | 1 |
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4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. RES. 199 |
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5 | 5 | | Condemning woke foreign aid programs. |
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6 | 6 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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7 | 7 | | MARCH6, 2025 |
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8 | 8 | | Mr. B |
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9 | 9 | | URCHETTsubmitted the following resolution; which was referred to the |
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10 | 10 | | Committee on Foreign Affairs |
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11 | 11 | | RESOLUTION |
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12 | 12 | | Condemning woke foreign aid programs. |
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13 | 13 | | Whereas the United States spent $2,000,000 on a |
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14 | 14 | | transgender health grant in Guatemala, awarded in 2024 |
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15 | 15 | | to Asociacio´n Lambda for ‘‘gender-affirming health |
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16 | 16 | | care’’, plus economic empowerment and advocacy for |
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17 | 17 | | trans-led groups, with $350,000 disbursed so far; |
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18 | 18 | | Whereas the United States spent $20,000,000 on Iraqi Ses- |
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19 | 19 | | ame Street, entitled ‘‘Ahlan Simsim’’, funded to support |
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20 | 20 | | educational programming for children in Iraq, with dis- |
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21 | 21 | | bursements ongoing; |
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22 | 22 | | Whereas the United States spent $1,500,000 on diversity, eq- |
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23 | 23 | | uity, and inclusion workplace programs in Serbia, a |
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24 | 24 | | United States Agency for International Development |
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25 | 25 | | (USAID) grant from 2023 to 2024 to Grupa Izadji to |
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26 | 26 | | push diversity, equity, and inclusion in workplaces, aim- |
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28 | 28 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 |
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29 | 29 | | •HRES 199 IH |
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30 | 30 | | ing to boost LGBTQI+ economic engagement, with |
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31 | 31 | | about $1,140,000 paid out so far; |
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32 | 32 | | Whereas the United States spent $45,000,000 on diversity, |
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33 | 33 | | equity, and inclusion scholarships in Burma, funded to |
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34 | 34 | | provide diversity, equity, and inclusion-focused edu- |
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35 | 35 | | cational opportunities, with details on disbursements un- |
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36 | 36 | | available at this time; |
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37 | 37 | | Whereas the United States spent $10,000,000 on male cir- |
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38 | 38 | | cumcision in Mozambique; |
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39 | 39 | | Whereas the United States spent $250,000 on gender equal- |
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40 | 40 | | ity workshops in Morocco, through a 2023 Department of |
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41 | 41 | | State grant to Association Marocaine pour les Droits des |
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42 | 42 | | Femmes for workshops promoting gender equality and |
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43 | 43 | | women’s entrepreneurship; |
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44 | 44 | | Whereas the United States spent $100,000 on a drag HIV |
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45 | 45 | | awareness campaign in South Africa; |
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46 | 46 | | Whereas the United States spent $85,000 on a bee conserva- |
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47 | 47 | | tion musical in Brazil, funded in 2023 to raise awareness |
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48 | 48 | | about bee conservation through a musical performance in |
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49 | 49 | | Sa˜o Paulo; |
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50 | 50 | | Whereas the United States spent $70,000 on an Irish diver- |
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51 | 51 | | sity, equity, and inclusion musical, funded a ‘‘live musical |
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52 | 52 | | event’’ in Ireland in 2022 to promote United States-Ire- |
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53 | 53 | | land shared values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and ac- |
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54 | 54 | | cessibility, not a full musical, but a concert-style gig at |
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55 | 55 | | the United States Embassy; |
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56 | 56 | | Whereas the United States spent $60,000 on indigenous di- |
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57 | 57 | | versity, equity, and inclusion training in Bolivia, through |
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58 | 58 | | a 2023 USAID grant for diversity and inclusion work- |
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59 | 59 | | shops for indigenous leaders in La Paz; |
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61 | 61 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 |
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62 | 62 | | •HRES 199 IH |
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63 | 63 | | Whereas the United States spent $50,000 on vegan cooking |
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64 | 64 | | classes in Kenya, and USAID funded this 2023 program |
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65 | 65 | | to teach plant-based cooking in Nairobi to promote sus- |
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66 | 66 | | tainability; |
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67 | 67 | | Whereas the United States spent $40,000 on a feminist |
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68 | 68 | | podcast series in Chile, funded in 2022 by the Depart- |
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69 | 69 | | ment of State for a podcast on feminist issues in |
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70 | 70 | | Santiago; |
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71 | 71 | | Whereas the United States spent $32,000 on a transgender |
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72 | 72 | | comic book in Peru, through Department of State fund- |
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73 | 73 | | ing in 2021 to Peru’s Education Department via Ful- |
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74 | 74 | | bright for ‘‘The Power of Education’’, a comic featuring |
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75 | 75 | | an LGBTQ+ hero tackling social and mental health |
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76 | 76 | | issues; |
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77 | 77 | | Whereas the United States spent $30,000 on a trans youth |
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78 | 78 | | art exhibit in Vietnam, through a 2022 Department of |
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79 | 79 | | State grant for an art exhibit by transgender youth in |
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80 | 80 | | Ho Chi Minh City; |
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81 | 81 | | Whereas the United States spent $25,000 on a transgender |
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82 | 82 | | opera in Colombia, through a Department of State grant |
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83 | 83 | | in 2022 to Universidad de los Andes in Bogota´for ‘‘As |
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84 | 84 | | One’’, an opera about a transgender woman’s coming-of- |
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85 | 85 | | age story, framed as public diplomacy (total project |
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86 | 86 | | $47,020 with non-Federal funds); |
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87 | 87 | | Whereas the United States spent $25,000 on a transgender |
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88 | 88 | | fashion show in Thailand, through a 2024 grant for a |
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89 | 89 | | fashion show featuring transgender designers in Bang- |
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90 | 90 | | kok; |
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91 | 91 | | Whereas the United States spent $20,000 on drag queen |
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92 | 92 | | training in Pakistan, funded in 2022 by the Department |
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94 | 94 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 |
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95 | 95 | | •HRES 199 IH |
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96 | 96 | | of State to train drag performers in Pakistan as part of |
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97 | 97 | | a cultural exchange program; |
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98 | 98 | | Whereas the United States spent $15,000 on a queer film |
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99 | 99 | | festival in Ecuador, through a 2024 grant to fund an |
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100 | 100 | | LGBTQ+ film festival in Quito, Ecuador, for ‘‘public di- |
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101 | 101 | | plomacy’’; and |
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102 | 102 | | Whereas the United States spent $10,000 on a queer poetry |
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103 | 103 | | slam in India, through a 2024 grant for a poetry event |
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104 | 104 | | in New Delhi celebrating queer voices: Now, therefore, be |
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105 | 105 | | it |
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106 | 106 | | Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 |
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107 | 107 | | (1) is firmly opposed to funding these programs 2 |
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108 | 108 | | and programs like these, viewing them as wasteful 3 |
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109 | 109 | | expenditures of taxpayer dollars on frivolous or ideo-4 |
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110 | 110 | | logically driven initiatives; 5 |
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111 | 111 | | (2) requests more oversight of Federal aid pro-6 |
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112 | 112 | | grams, including a comprehensive audit by the Gov-7 |
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113 | 113 | | ernment Accountability Office of all grants awarded 8 |
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114 | 114 | | by the Department of State and United States 9 |
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115 | 115 | | Agency for International Development since 2021; 10 |
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116 | 116 | | (3) urges the immediate suspension of similar 11 |
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117 | 117 | | discretionary grants pending a review of their align-12 |
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118 | 118 | | ment with core national interests and fiscal responsi-13 |
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119 | 119 | | bility; 14 |
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120 | 120 | | (4) demands transparency by mandating public 15 |
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121 | 121 | | disclosure of all grant applications, justifications, 16 |
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122 | 122 | | and outcomes on a searchable online database not 17 |
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124 | 124 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5 |
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125 | 125 | | •HRES 199 IH |
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126 | 126 | | later than 90 days after the date on which such a 1 |
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127 | 127 | | grant is awarded; 2 |
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128 | 128 | | (5) recommends redirecting funds from such 3 |
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129 | 129 | | programs to domestic priorities, including infrastruc-4 |
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130 | 130 | | ture repair, veteran health care, or disaster relief ef-5 |
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131 | 131 | | forts; 6 |
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132 | 132 | | (6) encourages the inspector general of each 7 |
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133 | 133 | | relevant agency to conduct annual reviews of grant 8 |
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134 | 134 | | efficacy, with findings reported to Congress and 9 |
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135 | 135 | | made available to the public; 10 |
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136 | 136 | | (7) proposes a cap on annual spending for cul-11 |
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137 | 137 | | tural exchange and advocacy grants abroad, limiting 12 |
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138 | 138 | | such expenditures to no more than 0.1 percent of 13 |
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139 | 139 | | the Federal discretionary budget; 14 |
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140 | 140 | | (8) insists on a requirement that all future 15 |
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141 | 141 | | grants over $10,000 receive explicit congressional 16 |
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142 | 142 | | approval via a streamlined review process; and 17 |
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143 | 143 | | (9) expresses its intent to draft legislation pro-18 |
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144 | 144 | | hibiting the use of Federal funds for overseas pro-19 |
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145 | 145 | | grams promoting niche social agendas absent a clear 20 |
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146 | 146 | | and direct benefit to United States national security 21 |
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147 | 147 | | or economic interests. 22 |
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148 | 148 | | Æ |
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150 | 150 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB |
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