Staff Reports
It appears the Pentagon has mastered the art of spending American taxpayer dollars like it’s Monopoly money. The latest chapter in this saga of bureaucratic bungling involves funding risky research at Chinese labs and then playing hide-and-seek with the truth. The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report this month mandated by the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), courtesy of Senator Joni Ernst, with more redactions than a CIA cover-up. The cherry on top? The Pentagon has no clue how much of the DoD’s money has been funneled into Chinese laboratories for what sounds an awful lot like the start of a sci-fi horror movie.
Why is the Pentagon paying for risky research in China and hiding it from the taxpayers footing the bill? pic.twitter.com/VQlCj7cEuo
— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) June 22, 2024
Senator Ernst is not amused and is demanding the Pentagon quit its game of cloak and dagger. She sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, lamenting the Pentagon’s inability to track its own expenditures on pathogen-enhancing research in Chinese labs. It’s as if transparency in D.C. has become a mythical creature, and Ernst is one of the few brave enough to embark on the quest to find it.
🚨My calls to audit government spending proved my point — Washington hasn’t learned any lessons from #COVID.
We need my TRACKS Act to require every penny sent to our adversaries be accounted for.
We must stop the funding of Chinese mad scientists in its tracks! 🐾💸🧪 https://t.co/SAD35Oe09w
— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) June 21, 2024
The OIG report’s limited details revealed an almost laughable lack of cooperation from the Navy, which didn’t even bother to answer the OIG’s questions. Meanwhile, the Biden administration continues waving its banner of transparency, but the actions of the DoD suggest otherwise. Ernst pointed out the Inspector General’s findings were redacted despite not being classified. All this, in blatant violation of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, showing that transparency is strike two for the Biden administration.
Adding more fuel to Ernst’s fire, it turns out a public announcement for one of those redacted projects is hiding in plain sight on the Pentagon’s website. Yet, conveniently missing is any mention of China or collaboration with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The Pentagon’s sleight-of-hand tactics obscure connections to entities potentially involved in human rights abuses. Ernst underscored the graveness of the government’s attempts to withhold information, emphasizing that the public deserves full disclosure on how their money is spent, especially when it involves cooperation with nations that pose a national security threat.
Senator Ernst is demanding the Pentagon come clean by August 1st. She wants specific individuals who recommended these redactions identified, explanations for why these expenditures aren’t publicly listed, and the Navy’s rationale for its non-compliance. At the heart of Ernst’s concerns is ensuring American taxpayer money does not fund mad scientist experiments in adversarial countries like China, especially while Biden’s IRS is busy auditing U.S. taxpayers.
This situation paints a compelling picture of a Biden administration that excels in opacity rather than transparency. Despite Biden’s promises, his administration’s antics give the distinct impression that deception and evasion are the new transparency. The Pentagon funding Chinese labs for dangerous research hidden from American citizens gives rise to broader concerns about the administration’s priorities and accountability, making Senator Ernst’s call for a deeper investigation not only warranted but crucial.
