US Republicans slam ‘woke’ Pentagon spending
The US Department of Defense is splurging too much money on promoting Pride Month, while neglecting “military preparedness,” a faction of Republican congressmen has charged, in a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The representatives say they want full accounting of the DOD’s use of taxpayer dollars spent on furthering diversity and LGBTQ values.
On Tuesday, Arizona representative Andy Biggs, who is reported to be the mastermind behind the complaint, posted a tweet in which he demanded that Austin release data on this kind of spending. Accompanying the message was a link to an article by the US media outlet The Daily Caller, containing excerpts from the congressmen’s letter.
The Left’s woke LGBTQ agenda has infiltrated the U.S. military under the Biden regime.Secretary Austin must provide a breakdown of how taxpayer money is being spent during Pride Month and how these initiatives enhance military readiness. https://t.co/wF3n8R59Bv
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) June 14, 2022
Judging by it, the thirteen Republican lawmakers wrote, among other things, that while the Department of Defense’s “budget is consistently among the highest in the federal government and while you consistently ask Congress for more funding, you’ve chosen to use it to promote social programs instead of advancing military preparedness.” The congressmen called on the Pentagon to focus “on the growing threats facing our nation” instead.
Pride Month is being celebrated by LGBTQ activists from June 1 until June 30.
On several of its social media accounts, the DoD has presented a number of initiatives it has launched on the occasion of Pride Month. The US Space Force, for instance, posted a tweet devoted to its LGBTQ Initiative Team, whose aim is to “identify and address issues impacting diversity and inclusion.” The US Marine Corps, for its part, published a message, saying the “USMC takes #Pride in recognizing and honoring the contributions of our LGBTQ service members. We remain committed to fostering an environment free from discrimination, and defend the values of treating all equally, with dignity and respect.”
Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany had been planning to hold a Drag Queen Story Hour in early June, which was canceled, however, following criticism from some service members, parents and Senator Marco Rubio.
Explaining to The Daily Caller why he thought such practices were detrimental, Representative Biggs said: “The US military is designed to defend our nation and our freedoms. However, it is unacceptably using taxpayer money to advance a social agenda and virtue signal.” The congressman went on to express concern that “adversaries like China and Russia are making a mockery of the Biden Administration’s leadership priorities.”
“We should be promoting our military capabilities – not rainbow bullets,” Biggs argued.
The Republican lawmaker diagnosed the “US military under the Biden regime” as having been infiltrated by the “Left’s woke LGBTQ agenda.”
Last July, four Republican members of Congress issued a report that suggested the US Navy is unprepared for major conflict as its focus had shifted away from combat-related activities. According to the lawmakers, the naval chain of command was instead busy working on “programs to encourage diversity, human sex-trafficking prevention, suicide prevention, sexual assault prevention, and others.”
