Packed inside the $1.7 trillion 4,155-page omnibus bill congressional leaders advanced in the Senate on Tuesday reads a feature that would fund half a billion dollars into “family planning/reproductive health,” including in areas where population growth “threatens biodiversity.”
Senate leaders advanced the massive spending bill 70-25 Tuesday night, expecting the House to vote on it Wednesday. The legislation was unveiled in the Senate early Tuesday and boasts $858 billion in defense funding and $772.5 billion for non-defense “discretionary programs,” according to a summary.
However, several Republican lawmakers, like Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC), said on social media the federal government earmarked the bill with “some of the most egregious provisions,” including making $575,000 available for so-called reproductive health in the event too many human beings threaten the very existence of endangered species.
“On a more sinister note, here’s at least $575 million for ‘family planning’ in areas where population growth ‘threatens biodiversity,” Bishop said on Twitter. “Malthusianism is a disturbing, anti-human ideology that should have ZERO place in any federal program.”
On a more sinister note, here's at least $575 million for "family planning" in areas where population growth "threatens biodiversity."
Malthusianism is a disturbing, anti-human ideology that should have ZERO place in any federal program. pic.twitter.com/7EfFx2pq0M
— Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) December 20, 2022
Bishop listed other provisions stemming from Left-wing activism that are littered throughout the spending package.
At a time when Republicans condemn the Biden administration for not doing more to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, Bishop pointed out that the bill allocates $410 million towards border security in the Middle East, $65 million to Pacific coastal salmon recovery, and $3 million for “bee-friendly highways.”
The Heritage Foundation released a list of its own focused on “WOKE PRIORITIES IN THE OMNIBUS,” including several LGBTQ projects and “anti-racism” initiatives like $1.2 million for “LGBTQIA+ Pride Centers,” $477,000 for the Equity Institute in Rhode Island “to indoctrinate teachers with ‘antiracism virtual labs,'” and $3 million for the American LGBTQ+ Museum.
CNN reported the bill also provides $2.6 billion in funding for U.S. Attorneys for “prosecutions related to the January 6 attack on the Capitol and domestic terrorism cases,” with an additional $11.3 billion to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate extremist violence and domestic terrorism.
Meanwhile, the spending bill also includes approximately $45 billion in aid to Ukraine amid the war against Russia.
According to the Council of Foreign Relations, the Biden administration and the U.S. Congress have directed nearly $50 billion in assistance to Ukraine in 2022, which includes humanitarian, financial, and military support.
Some other Republican lawmakers also criticized the bill for the lack of time to sift through its text.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said the process “stinks.”
“I brought along the 1.7 trillion, 4,000+ page Pelosi-Schumer omnibus spending bill that’s being fast-tracked through the Senate,” Paul wrote on Twitter. “This process stinks. It’s an abomination. It’s a no good rotten way to run government. We’re standing up and saying NO.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told CNN’s Manu Raju that the Appropriations Committee had worked on the legislation for “a very, very long time.”
“Most of the provisions were well known weeks and weeks and weeks in advance, and getting this bill done for the American people, which really matters, is the most important thing,” Schumer said, according to FOX News.
Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report.