With the United States on the brink of default, “woke” ideology is the last place the federal government should be spending the taxpayers’ money, according to a conservative think tank.
Speaking before members of the House Budget Committee on May 11, Center for Renewing American Policy Director Paige Agostin described woke-ness as an identity-based form of neo-Marxism with an aim to “tear down the republic, eliminate capitalism, marginalize religion, and rupture the nuclear family.”
As one of four witnesses invited to testify before the committee on the “Woke, Wasteful, and Bloated Bureaucracy,” Agostin contended that the federal funding of woke programs presented not only a financial risk but an existential threat to the United States.
“Wokeness is now essentially a secular religion crafted by secular elites to supplant the nation’s Judeo-Christian traditions that have stood the test of time,” Agostin said. “It is dangerous—existentially dangerous—for Congress to continue funding the priorities of a neo-Marxist ideology that seeks only to destroy that which has come before.”
Agostin revealed that the Center for Renewing America had done a deep dive into federal spending on such policies, finding that the federal bureaucracy is a “significant funder” of woke policies and programs not only domestically but around the world.
“The Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) actively push gender-affirming care, which is cross-sex hormones and surgical mutilation, even for minors,” she noted. “NIH funds human fetal tissue harvesting from aborted babies for medical research, and CDC spent nearly $6 billion to address so-called ‘COVID health disparities’ through the lens of health equity.”
Other examples she provided included the incorporation of critical race theory and gender ideology in public schools and the use of federal dollars to promote LGBT programs and events in other countries.
Unsustainable
Agostin’s warning came amid growing tension over the national debt as, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the United States could run out of money to pay its bills as soon as June 1 if the federal borrowing cap—currently set at $31.4 trillion—is not raised.“We’re in a real mess financially,” Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) said, noting that the nation’s deficit spending and debt trajectory were “absolutely and completely unsustainable.”
In April, House Republicans passed a bill to increase the debt limit by $1.5 trillion, or through March 2024, whichever comes first.
Democrats have adamantly opposed the plan as it would also require future spending cuts, but Arrington said he felt the bill was a “good first step” toward fiscal responsibility.
Citing the Biden administration’s “avalanche” of spending as the source for historic levels of inflation and rising interest rates, the congressman contended that budget cuts were desperately needed to address the current debt crisis and that a failure to reverse course could be dangerous for the future of the country.
‘Devastating Consequences’
On the Democrats’ side, the committee’s Ranking Member Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) charged that the Republican debt ceiling plan would have “devastating consequences,” citing a Moody’s Analytics report (pdf) that estimated a resulting loss of 780,000 jobs by the end of 2024.“We have raised the debt ceiling 103 times since 1940, the majority of which were under Republican presidents. … So, we cannot suddenly change our views on this based on the political party of the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. That is unfair to the American people and risks our economic growth.”
Further criticizing Republicans for passing the bill without giving Democrats much time to review or discuss it, he added, “What’s in it reveals the priorities of those who wrote it, and we have to ensure that the devastating consequences that would result if that bill were ever to become law … are known to the American people.”
