Over $1.3 billion has been funneled abroad to China and Russia through ‘pointless projects’ over the last five years according to a compilation of taxpayer-funded grants uncovered by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.
Nonprofit transparency group Open the Books worked with Ernst to put together a new analysis of data from USAspending.gov, which found that between 2017-2022, U.S.-funded grants and contracts amounting to $490 million were paid to Chinese organizations and another $870 million was sent to entities in Russia.
According to Ernst’s analysis, the U.S. handed out millions in strange ‘pet projects’ to its biggest adversaries.
The study found the State Department handed nearly $58.7 million to China, and used nearly $100,000 of that sum to promote ‘gender equality’ awareness through a series of New Yorker magazine cartoons.
In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services shelled out over $770,00 to a state-run lab in Russia to put ‘cats on treadmills.’
h/t Simian_Stacker