Tag: National Defense Authorization Act

‘Incompetence’: Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Much Money It Sent to Chinese Entities for Risky Virus Research

South Carolina Sun Staff
Science Lab

The Department of Defense (DOD) does not know how much money it directly or indirectly sent to Chinese entities to conduct research on viruses with pandemic potential, according to a new report by the DOD’s Office of Inspector General (OIG).

The OIG’s report found that DOD has supplied Chinese entities — whether directly or indirectly via subgrants — with taxpayer cash to research pathogens and the enhancement thereof, but the exact figure is unknown because of “limitations” in the DOD’s internal tracking system. Government funding for such research in China has come under scrutiny since the coronavirus pandemic, which multiple government entities believe started when an engineered virus leaked from a Chinese laboratory that was hosting U.S. government-backed gain-of-function research.

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House Passes $883 Billion Defense Spending Bill with Abortion, LGBT Provisions

Just the News
US Military

The House on Friday approved an $883.7 billion defense spending bill that includes provisions addressing a number of provisions addressing social issues such as abortion, LGBT matters, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices.

The inclusion of such provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is sure to set up a standoff with Senate Democrats, which have not yet released the upper chamber’s version of the plan, according to The Hill.

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Pentagon Says It Can’t Calculate Diversity Training Costs Because Congress Defunded DEI Offices

South Carolina Sun Staff
Soldiers

The Pentagon told Congress it could not provide a required accounting of diversity training to Congress because it didn’t have enough people working in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) positions, the Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.

Congress mandated the Pentagon compile a report detailing how much the entire military spent on diversity training, salaries for DEI administrators and any impacts on recruiting and retention across the force that was due March 1, according to last year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets defense policy for the next fiscal year. But the Pentagon is nearly two months behind the due date for the report after the same defense authorization act for fiscal year 2024 slashed the salaries of DEI personnel, effectively gutting the departments, the DCNF learned.

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FISA Renewal Deadline Fast Approaching amid Bipartisan Call for Ending Warrantless Surveillance

Just the News
Mike Lee and Dick Durban in front of FISA court (composite image)

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) renewal deadline is fast approaching as conservative lawmakers and some Democrats continue their push for ending warrantless surveillance.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including conservative and progressive legislators, have called for reforming section 702 of FISA ahead of the April 19 deadline.

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