(USNewsMag.com) – In a bold move to try and push back against what he believes in “liberal propaganda,” Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri just introduced a bill that would stop the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from funding any entities or programs that discriminate against conservative values and viewpoints.
The act, aptly named “Ending DHS Funding for Liberal Propaganda,” will stop the DHS from sending money to any groups that demonstrably favor liberal political views while downplaying conservative views. Hawley said that President Joe Biden and his administration have continued to show they are willing “to weaponize” the federal government’s power “against conservatives.”
The Republican senator said his bill would bar Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas from using taxpayer dollars to pay for programs that are “dedicated to targeting” the political opponents of the Biden administration. The text specifically notes that the DHS should allocate no funding toward any programming that counters “narratives or views on political topics,” citing specific topics such as the 2020 pandemic, vaccinations, immigration, crime, and more.
Last year, in May, documents revealed that the Biden administration used taxpayer dollars funneled through a grant initiative for anti-terrorism to fund a specific university program targeting conservatives. The program lumped together Republican voters and lawmakers, conservative groups, and Christians into the same category as right-wing extremists and Nazis. A watchdog group, the Media Research Center (MRC), compiled a report after obtaining the documents and argued that the findings were criminal and worthy of prosecution.
Hawley cited another example of a “counter-propaganda” operation targeting conservatives and funded by the Biden administration through a University of Rhode Island grant. The grant of $700,000 went toward addressing “propaganda and misinformation” related to a variety of political hot topics, from immigration and “racial justice” to the 2020 pandemic and vaccines. He said such programs are an “outrageous” way to use federal funding and constitute an “abuse of power.” He said all of the funding should be revoked and that those involved in such grants “should be fired.”
The DHS denies profiling, targeting, or discriminating against any specific group or individual for exercising constitutional rights and reiterated that its mission is “to safeguard the American people” while “respecting and protecting” their rights.
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