Burchett Proposes Amendment To Withhold Funding From Agency He Claims Is 'Misusing' Taxpayer Money

5 months ago

In remarks on the House floor last week, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) spoke about an amendment on United States Agency For Global Media.

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Transcript

00:00We'll designate the amendment. Amendment number five, printed in part B of House

00:04Report number 118-559, offered by Mr. Burchett of Tennessee.

00:09Pursuant to House Resolution 1316, the gentleman from Tennessee, Mr. Burchett,

00:14and the members opposed, each will control five minutes. The chair

00:18recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm offering this

00:22amendment to withhold funding from the United States Agency for Global Media.

00:26This agency has misused taxpayer money and also failed properly to vet its own

00:32staff. And I want to ask you, Mr. Speaker, is this the policy of this great nation

00:39is to misuse taxpayer money and fail to properly vet its own staff that's

00:44allowed to lie on their resumes? Back in January 2021, it was recommended the

00:49agency suspend one of its executives, Saterra Siege, following an investigation

00:55regarding her professional behavior. The investigation concluded that Ms. Siege

00:59lied on her resume. She lied. She misused taxpayer dollars for personal expenses

01:05and provided lavish contracts for friends. Is this the policy of this country, Mr.

01:10Speaker? I ask you. However, just weeks later and just hours after President

01:15Biden was sworn into office, guess what? Ms. Siege was reinstated to her previous

01:19position without loss of pay or seniority. The United States Agency for

01:24Global Media should be focused on its mission to inform and engage with people

01:28around the world in support of freedom and democracy, not a policy of allowing

01:33its employees to lie on their resumes, Mr. Speaker. Instead, they are playing

01:37political games and misusing our taxpayer dollars. I recommend we withhold

01:42funding until time when the U.S. Agency for Global Media can prove it is capable

01:46of removing its employees who have deceitful and irresponsible work histories

01:51and is capable of properly vetting its own staff. And I reserve the balance of

01:56my time, Mr. Speaker. The gentleman from Tennessee Reserves,

01:58the gentleman woman from California. Yeah, Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in

02:02opposition to this amendment. The gentleman woman is recognized.

02:06Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment. And let me just start by

02:12saying if we're really talking about misusing taxpayer money, remember the Pentagon has

02:17flunked six audits. This amendment prohibits any funding from going to the

02:23U.S. Agency for Global Media or USAGM. USAGM informs, engages, and connects

02:29people around the world, giving them an opportunity for independent media that

02:34may not be available in their own country. At a time when more democracies

02:38are declining and even sliding into autocracies than any other point in the

02:45last century, we cannot afford to cut USAGM programs. Funding for these

02:51programs targets programming in the languages of Iran, Russia, and the PRC

02:56and other authoritarian states to push back on false narratives about American

03:01policies that these adversaries are spreading and builds the capabilities

03:06at USAGM that they need to deliver content to its global audience quickly

03:12and reliably. One of the organizations that USAGM oversees, Voices of America,

03:18has the audience of more than 358 million people around the world. Their

03:23trusted and objective news is translated into 48 languages in order to share the

03:29American stories and perspectives that locals would not otherwise have access

03:33to. Another organization, Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, provides uncensored

03:39news in countries where free press is threatened and disinformation is

03:44pervasive. These programs are key to out-competing China and combating

03:49Russian disinformation. They are key to our success on the global stage.

03:54USAGM's Open Technology Fund provides a range of tools to help audiences

03:59overcome internal restrictions, especially in countries like Iran, where

04:03the internet can be a lifeline. Through its grantees and federal agencies,

04:08USAGM is reaching more than 420 million people weekly, and the great majority of

04:14those audiences have reported that they find the information received to be

04:18trustworthy. USAGM deserves our continued support, and I urge my colleagues to

04:23oppose this short-sighted amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.

04:27Gentlewoman from California Reserves, the gentleman from Tennessee is recognized.

04:31Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At the inception of these wonderful organizations that

04:35my colleague across the aisle described, I would say they probably had – they were

04:41very effective. I would say now they have very little effect. I can't imagine

04:47somebody in one of these countries turns on the radio and decides, hey, I'm not

04:52going to go down this path anymore because somebody from another country is

04:57on the radio telling me to do otherwise. I find this still. The policy that we

05:03have of promoting people who lie, who mistreat others because of political

05:09power or their connections to me is very offensive, and that is exactly why

05:15Americans do not trust this town. They do not trust Congress. They do not trust

05:19government because they see people continuously getting ahead in life that

05:24cheat, lie, do things that are inappropriate, things that we would not

05:28allow in our own homes, in our own businesses, in our churches or our places

05:31of worship. We sure as heck shouldn't allow it in the seat of government. And

05:36this continues. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Excuse me, Mr. Chairman.

05:41The gentleman from Tennessee Reserves, the gentleman from California is

05:48recognized. I yield back, Mr. Chairman.

05:50The gentleman from Tennessee is recognized.

05:54I yield back, Mr. Chairman.

05:56The gentleman from Tennessee yields back. The question is on the amendment

05:59offered by the gentleman from Tennessee. Those in favor say aye.

06:04Those opposed say no. And they pin the chair.

Burchett Proposes Amendment To Withhold Funding From Agency He Claims Is 'Misusing' Taxpayer Money

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