The latest version of the Democrats’ $1.5 trillion spending bill being pushed through Congress includes funding for questionable foreign projects, such as “gender programs” in Pakistan and democracy building in authoritarian nations.
According to a section of the bill outlining State Department funding for the year, an unspecified portion of the nearly $4 billion available in bilateral economic assistance — meaning direct transfers from the United States to other countries — shall “be made available for programs to promote democracy and for gender programs in Pakistan.”
Up to $200 million of bilateral assistance will go to the Gender Equity and Equality Action Fund, which the Biden administration says “supports efforts to address the impact that Covid-19, climate change, conflict and crisis have on the economic security of women and their families.” An additional $50 million will go toward increasing leadership opportunities for women in countries where they face discrimination.