The State Department has not yet spent any of the $120 million that was to be allocated toward combatting foreign interference in elections, the New York Times reported Sunday.
Toward the end of former President Barak Obama’s administration, Congress voted to direct the Pentagon to give the State Department $60 million for combatting Russian and Chinese “anti-democratic propaganda,” according to the Times. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson took nearly seven months to decide what to do with the funding and the Pentagon ultimately decided to keep it. The Department had another $60 million available for the next fiscal year, but decided last week to only take $40 million, the Times reported.
That money will reportedly be transferred to the State Department and its Global Engagement Center in April, which will counter Russian meddling efforts with anti-propaganda counter-attacks. Currently, the Global Engagement Center doesn’t have someone who speaks Russian on the team and it is primarily focused on countering jihadist and other forms of extreme propaganda, according to the Times.
The news of the unspent millions comes as National Security Agency director Adm. Mike Rogers told the Senate armed services committee last week that President Donald Trump has not yet directed his department to work to thwart Russian cyber threats to the 2018 election.
EVERY Democratic senator and congressman should raise this at every opportunity. Every speech on the floor of the chambers should start with, “Mr President [or Mr. Speaker] as I rise to speak the State Department continues to put our democracy at risk by blocking funds to oppose Russian intrusions into our electoral process.” Every statement in a committee hearing–whatever the topic–should start with the same words.
All of this inaction has me concerned about the anticipated ‘Blue Wave’ this coming election cycle. Reporting of this nature keeps surfacing, and I hear crickets regarding individual State election safeguards…just sayin.
~banging head against wall~
Total ineptitude, or demonstration of compliance/service to help Russian election interference?
Shorter Republican
Why mess with something that helps us.
How do you expect us to win if we don’t cheat?
Sheesh ?
Inpoundment. Its a word that should be used by Congress every day in the wake of this news article.
Its also unconstitutional.
The money is appropriated by Congress to be spent in a specific way. The Executive Branch cannot choose to not spend the money after that happens. Nixon got into a lot of trouble for doing this, and SCOTUS ruled that the practice is unconstitutional.