U.S. Capitol This Week August 12-16

U.S. Congress

House Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) continues to advocate for the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This program is problematic as it promotes access to abortion under its “reproductive health” policies as several pro-life groups brought to the attention of Congress. House Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) has long argued that PEPFAR funds are being used to funnel U.S. funds for abortion services overseas. Lee is the co-chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus and the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus and has emphasized the need to prioritize pandemic preparedness and reproductive health, advocating for the end to the Mexico City Policy which barred “U.S. federal funding for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that provided abortion counseling or referrals, advocated to decriminalize abortion, or expanded abortion services.”

Barbara Lee is about to leave office and the two candidates that are on track to replace her are Jennifer Tran endorsed by the pro-LGBT organization LPAC, and Lateefah Simon, which is endorsed by abortion giants like Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Emily’s List, and Barbara Lee herself.

The State Department

The West Africa Regional Peace and Governance Office of USAID intends to spend almost $10 million on combating “sexual and gender based violence” (SGBV) with the aim of  reducing Trafficking in Persons. This is a very important cause but will they actually fight against human trafficking or will they use the funds to fight for controversial gender ideology?. One of USAID’s SGBV activities is “Media Sector Development Activity”, a $16.5 million project providing support to local media and civil society organizations to raise awareness against GBV. They supported community theater groups through the pro-LGBT Internews to “raise awareness for 50 leaders of theatrical groups on community-related issues including gender and SGBV.” It is concerning that resources intended to combat severe crimes like human trafficking may be diverted to advancing ideologies that undermine traditional cultural values and social structures. Instead of addressing the root causes of violence and exploitation, promoting such ideologies risks alienating local communities, which could lead to less effective interventions and further entrenchment of the very issues these funds aim to resolve.