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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following a shocking and groundbreaking report by U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Ranking Member Sen. Ted Cruz, America First Legal (AFL) has launched an investigation into the misuse of billions of dollars in federal research funds by the Biden-Harris Administration to promote dangerous, divisive, and unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and filed a lawsuit against the National Science Foundation (NSF) for illegally concealing the employment records of the agency officials approving these grants.
Immediately upon taking power, the Biden-Harris White House created a task force on “scientific integrity” to provide “a review of the impact on [the] scientific integrity of diversity, equity, and inclusion practices” at all science-related agencies. Later, the White House and NSF ordered agencies to “[i]ncorporate DEIA [Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility] considerations into all aspects of science planning, execution, and communication.”
On October 9, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, issued a shocking and groundbreaking report finding that the NSF has awarded more than $2.05 billion in federal funding to thousands of scientific research projects that promoted DEI or “pushed neo-Marxist perspectives about enduring class struggle.” The report analyzed over 32,000 Prime Award grants between January 2021 and April 2024. The data showed that only 0.29 percent of all grants with start dates in 2021 centered on DEI initiatives, but by 2024, more than a quarter (27 percent) of all new grants pushed this divisive, dangerous, and illegal perspective, totaling $2.05 billion. Of this, “social justice”-related grants totaled a staggering $1.6 billion.
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Following up on the Cruz report, AFL is investigating:
NSF’s selection process regarding five of the most egregious social justice-related grant awards highlighted in the Senate Commerce report. The political leadership at NSF appointed by the Biden-Harris Administration. AFL initially filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for these records on May 9, 2023, but to date, has not received any substantive response from the agency. Influence by the Biden-Harris White House into federal research funding at the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The Biden-Harris Administration has hijacked billions in federal taxpayer funds meant for important scientific research to promote anti-intellectual, anti-science, and anti-American DEI and leftist ideology. Awarding taxpayer dollars to radical initiatives in the name of “science” is the height of government weaponization, waste, fraud, and abuse. AFL will keep fighting to expose the Biden-Harris Administration’s racism, to stop the misuse of taxpayer funds, and to protect the integrity of our taxpayer-funded research enterprise.
Statement from Reed D. Rubinstein, America First Legal Senior Vice President:
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“Federally funded scientific research plays a critical role in our national security and economic well-being. Every dollar matters. Thus, Sen. Cruz and his staff deserve the American people’s thanks for exposing the Biden-Harris Administration’s misuse of over $2 billion in taxpayer funds to advance the racist, neo-Marxist, and anti-American DEI ideology, and reward its cronies. Building on Sen. Cruz’s work, AFL’s oversight will identify the bad actors in the government and elsewhere, laying the foundation for accountability,” said Reed D. Rubinstein.
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Read the FOIA requests at the links below:
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Read the lawsuit here. |
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