On September 28, 2023 the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 4665, The Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act. Both Rep. Fulcher, and surprisingly Rep. Simpson, voted yea.
It now heads to the Senate so there is no guarantee it will survive there. While the whole appropriations bill itself is obscene with millions of dollars being sent to foreign countries, it does have some interesting inclusions.
The full text of the bill can be found here.
A short synopsis of the bill can be found here.
Some of those interesting inclusions:
- Prohibits funds to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); World Health Organization (WHO); Gender Equity and Equality Action Fund (GEEA); and terminates 18 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), UN Women, UN Montreal Protocol, UN Environment Fund, and World Economic Forum (WEF) programs. Why is the WEF funded by U.S. taxpayers?
- Section 7048 has some restrictions on using funding as it pertains to the UN. Prohibition of funds to the WHO is Section 7048(k).
- Section 7049 withholds funds for the Arms Trade Treaty pending ratification by the Senate. Say what, ratification?
- Section 7058(d) withholds funds to the Wuhan lab and for gain of function research.
- Section 7061 withholds funding for several climate change funds.
- Section 7070(c) holds funding for Executive Orders 7009, 34593, and 10825. (d) withholds funding for disinformation programs, and (e) withholds funds for sex change activities.
- Section 9018(1-7) all address holding funding for several executive orders on climate change and refugee resettlement.
For more on what this bill does read the synopsis. Will it pass the Senate? Or will it get bogged down in the current Congressional circus? If nothing else at least there is some indication that there is an effort to address some of the pressing problems that are on American minds.
