Last Updated on December 22, 2022
U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) drew attention to a “sinister” feature of the agreed upon Omnibus bill that allocates funds for “reproductive health” in areas where “population growth threatens biodiversity.”
Several House and Senate Republicans, including Bishop, have criticized the massive $1.7 trillion bill as more wasteful spending from the federal government. Bishop highlighted several examples in a Twitter thread Tuesday, including the more “sinister” portion relating to “family planning” in areas with growing population.
The amount allocated for family planning is consistent with what was given in previous years, the Appropriations Committee noted in a summary. “Not less than $575,000,000 should be made available for family planning/reproductive health, including in areas where population growth threatens biodiversity or endangered species,” a draft of the omnibus bill reads.
The Omnibus bill also includes $900 million to support global health security programs to help countries detect and respond to infectious disease outbreaks, a total of $6.7 billion to combat HIV/AIDS, and $385 million to support biodiversity conservation programs, among other items, the Washington Examiner reported.
Outside the health lens, Bishop also highlighted numerous other questionable expenses in the bill, including the naming of a building after Nancy Pelosi, $524.4 million for a DEI and “structural racism” National Institute of Health subdivision and the explicit prohibition of funds going to the Customs and Border Patrol “to acquire, maintain or extend border security technology and capabilities,” Fox News reported.
Congress has until Friday to pass the Omnibus bill or a stop-gap measure to prevent a government shutdown.
