The Media Research Center watchdog’s Free Speech Alliance has turned to the House Appropriations Committee, with the request to move to put a definitive end to funding the current White House’s censorship initiatives.
A letter addressed to the Committee’s chief, Tom Cole, asked what the Free Speech Alliance said was a key congressional committee to completely strip the White House, the US Departments of Commerce, Defense, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security (DHS), Justice, State and Treasury, and the National Science Foundation of funds by introducing “blanket (pro free speech) language” across all bills.
We obtained a copy of the letter for you here.
At the same time, the letter praised the Committee’s work so far to defund what is referred to as unlawful censorship schemes that permeate various government sectors, by including “blanket language to prohibit any form of censorship of US citizens.”
So the push to eradicate these types of policies should be complete, the Alliance said, as it believes the agencies it mentioned, under the current administration, are operating in an “anti-Americana, anti-free speech” manner.
The letter makes a point of the Biden White House using the pretext of combating misinformation and its “companions” – such as “disinformation,” etc. – as defined by those in power – to implement censorship of speech targeting political opponents, adding that this amounts to “Biden’s assault on free speech.”
The letter goes on to specify which sub-divisions of various departments should be affected by the proposed defunding.
In the Department of Commerce, this should be the US Census Bureau; National Security Innovation Network (NewsGuard and other rating systems) and Army Cyber Institute in the Department of Defense; as for Health & Human Services, the group lists the Center for Disease Control (CDC), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and Office of the Surgeon General.
Any initiatives whose goal is censorship run by DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3), Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program (TVTP), Election Integrity Partnership (EIP), Disinformation Governance Board should also not be allocated any more funds by Congress, the group said.
Under the State Department, the letter mentions the Global Engagement Center, Global Disinformation Index, and US Embassies in Germany, and Hungary – but also in a number of other countries.
