U.S. Capitol This Week April 29 -May 3

U.S. Department of State

Rep Maria Salazar (R-FL) and Rep Warren Davidson (R-OH) are circulating a letter criticizing the US State Department for pressuring Guatemala to adopt progressive legislation on family and abortion. It reads: “Officials from the U.S. Department of State and USAID have no legitimate authority to press for ideological changes in Guatemala that compromise their Constitution or deeply held values concerning life and family.”

This week, the International Human Rights Defense Act of 2023 has gained another cosponsor. This bill would mandate that the Department of State  Bureau of Democracy creates and maintains the position of the Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Peoples in the Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. More than 30 Special Envoys, including the Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Peoples, were not expressly authorized by statute or confirmed by the Senate. This bill would also continue to include a section on LGBTQI international human rights in the annual State Department Report on Human Rights released last week. 

U.S. Congress

49 Senators signed a letter to President Biden calling it “unacceptable” to give the World Health Organization authority to declare public health emergencies and to expand the WHO’s authority over member states during these emergencies. This letter comes at the beginning of a month in which the WHO will have three big decisions: the International Health Regulations being redrafted, the Pandemic Accord [Treaty], and if they will enter into “official relations” with the Center for Reproductive Rights,  a well known progressive pro-abortion organization. 

More evidence of the White House’s censorship worldwide came out this week. After a hearing on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, the committee published a staff report detailing findings from tens of thousands of emails and documents exchanged between Biden officials and Facebook, YouTube, and Amazon. The report accuses the Administration of pressuring social media companies to censor social media posts and policies on COVID-19, infringing free speech at home and abroad. At the hearing, the Chair of the Committee, Jim Jordan (R-OH), accused former White House staff Flaherty and Slavitt of coercing social media companies to take down posts. The Congressman showcased emails the White House sent to Facebook employees to remove what they claimed was misinformation around Covid-19. Back in July, a lower court ruled to bar government communication with social media. Since then, the White House seems to have reduced its outreach to tech companies, but the FBI has resumed sharing intelligence about “foreign influence campaigns” with tech companies.