“How Leftist Nonprofit Networks Exploit Federal Tax Dollars to Advance a Radical Agenda”

1[House Hearing, 119 Congress]2[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]34                     HOW LEFTIST NONPROFIT NETWORKS5                 EXPLOIT FEDERAL TAX DOLLARS TO ADVANCE6                            A RADICAL AGENDA78=======================================================================910                                HEARING1112                               BEFORE THE1314                       SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT1516                                 OF THE1718                       COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY1920                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES2122                    ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS2324                             FIRST SESSION2526                               __________2728                         TUESDAY, JULY 15, 20252930                               __________3132                           Serial No. 119-303334                               __________3536         Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary3738[GRAPHIC NOT AVAIABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]3940               Available via: http://judiciary.house.gov4142                                __________4344                   U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE4561-125                     WASHINGTON : 20254647-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------4849                      COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY5051                        JIM JORDAN, Ohio, Chair5253DARRELL ISSA, California             JAMIE RASKIN, Maryland, Ranking54ANDY BIGGS, Arizona                      Member55TOM McCLINTOCK, California           JERROLD NADLER, New York56THOMAS P. TIFFANY, Wisconsin         ZOE LOFGREN, California57THOMAS MASSIE, Kentucky              STEVE COHEN, Tennessee58CHIP ROY, Texas                      HENRY C. ``HANK'' JOHNSON, Jr.,59SCOTT FITZGERALD, Wisconsin              Georgia60BEN CLINE, Virginia                  ERIC SWALWELL, California61LANCE GOODEN, Texas                  TED LIEU, California62JEFFERSON VAN DREW, New Jersey       PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington63TROY E. NEHLS, Texas                 J. LUIS CORREA, California64BARRY MOORE, Alabama                 MARY GAY SCANLON, Pennsylvania65KEVIN KILEY, California              JOE NEGUSE, Colorado66HARRIET M. HAGEMAN, Wyoming          LUCY McBATH, Georgia67LAUREL M. LEE, Florida               DEBORAH K. ROSS, North Carolina68WESLEY HUNT, Texas                   BECCA BALINT, Vermont69RUSSELL FRY, South Carolina          JESUS G. ``CHUY'' GARCIA, Illinois70GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin            SYDNEY KAMLAGER-DOVE, California71BRAD KNOTT, North Carolina           JARED MOSKOWITZ, Florida72MARK HARRIS, North Carolina          DANIEL S. GOLDMAN, New York73ROBERT F. ONDER, Jr., Missouri       JASMINE CROCKETT, Texas74DEREK SCHMIDT, Kansas75BRANDON GILL, Texas76MICHAEL BAUMGARTNER, Washington7778                                 ------7980                       SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT8182                 JEFFERSON VAN DREW, New Jersey, Chair8384BARRY MOORE, Alabama                 JASMINE CROCKETT, Texas, Ranking85ROBERT F. ONDER, Jr., Missouri           Member86DEREK SCHMIDT, Kansas                JARED MOSKOWITZ, Florida87BRANDON GILL, Texas                  HENRY C. ``HANK'' JOHNSON, Jr.,88                                         Georgia8990               CHRISTOPHER HIXON, Majority Staff Director91                  JULIE TAGEN, Minority Staff Director9293                            C O N T E N T S9495                              ----------9697                         Tuesday, July 15, 202598                           OPENING STATEMENTS99100                                                                   Page101The Honorable Jefferson Van Drew, Chair of the Subcommittee on102  Oversight from the State of New Jersey.........................     1103The Honorable Jasmine Crockett, Ranking Member of the104  Subcommittee on Oversight from the State of Texas..............     3105The Honorable Jim Jordan, Chair of the Committee on the Judiciary106  from the State of Ohio.........................................     5107The Honorable Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on108  the Judiciary from the State of Maryland.......................     6109110                               WITNESSES111112Tyler O'Neil, Author, Senior Editor, The Daily Signal113  Oral Testimony.................................................     9114  Prepared Testimony.............................................    11115Scott Walter, President, Capital Research Center116  Oral Testimony.................................................    19117  Prepared Testimony.............................................    21118Mike Gonzalez, Senior Fellow, The Heritage Foundation119  Oral Testimony.................................................    34120  Prepared Testimony.............................................    36121Luis C.deBaca, Former Ambassador-At-Large, Monitor and Combat122  Trafficking in Persons, United States Department of State123  Oral Testimony.................................................    45124  Prepared Testimony.............................................    47125126          LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC. SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING127128All materials submitted by the Subcommittee on Oversight, for the129  record.........................................................    67130131Materials submitted by the Honorable Jasmine Crockett, Ranking132  Member of the Subcommittee on Oversight from the State of133  Texas, for the record134    An article entitled, ``Hungary's Orban demonstrates how to135        dismantle democracy : NPR,'' Apr. 20, 2025, NPR136    An article entitled, ``Elon Musk Gets '$8 Million A Day' From137        Taxpayers--Dem Question Why No One Is Investigating His138        Billions Of Dollars From Federal Government,'' Feb. 17,139        2025, Yahoo!finance140    An article entitled, ``Blue States are bailing out Red141        States,'' Feb. 14, 2025, Time Magazine142    An article entitled, ``Mass. sends more funding to the feds143        than any other state,'' Feb 18, 2025, Axios144    An article entitled, ``Convicted sex offender serves as faith145        leader of Philly `Moms for Liberty' chapter,'' Nov. 21,146        2023, Pennsylvania Independent147    An article entitled, ``IRS says churches can now endorse148        political candidates,'' Jul. 8, 2025, NPR149An article entitled, ``Publix heiress-backed Jan. 6 group spent150  $180K on rally,'' Dec. 20, 2022, Citizens for Ethics, submitted151  by the Honorable Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee152  on the Judiciary from the State of Maryland, for the record153154                                APPENDIX155156Materials submitted by the Honorable Jasmine Crockett, Ranking157  Member of the Subcommittee on Oversight from the State of158  Texas, for the record159    An article entitled, ``What to know about Moms for Liberty160        before Trump's event appearance,'' Aug. 30, 2024, Axios161    An article entitled, ``Southern Poverty Law Center designates162        Moms for Liberty as `extremist' group,'' Jun. 7, 2023,163        Florida Politics164    An article entitled, ``Moms for Liberty outreach leader165        exposed as registered sex offender,'' Nov. 21, 2023, The166        Guardian167    An article entitled, ``Moms for Liberty urges schools to168        follow executive orders targeting transgender students,''169        Apr. 18, 2025, KCBX170    An article entitled, ``Moms for Liberty chapter splits off171        over response to rape allegation against co-founder's172        husband,'' Dec. 5, 2023, NBC News173    An article entitled, ``Moms for Liberty goes to war with New174        York school over five library books,'' May 29, 2025,175        Yahoo176A letter to the Honorable Jefferson Van Drew, Chair of the177  Subcommittee on Oversight from the State of New Jersey, and the178  Honorable Jasmine Crockett, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee179  on Oversight from the State of Texas, from the Southern Poverty180  Law Center (SPLC), Jul. 17, 2025, submitted by the Honorable181  Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on the Judiciary182  from the State of Maryland, for the record183184                     HOW LEFTIST NONPROFIT NETWORKS185        EXPLOIT FEDERAL TAX DOLLARS TO ADVANCE A RADICAL AGENDA186187                              ----------188189                         Tuesday, July 15, 2025190191                        House of Representatives192193                       Subcommittee on Oversight194195                       Committee on the Judiciary196197                             Washington, DC198199    The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:58 p.m., in200Room 2141, Rayburn House Office Building, the Hon. Jefferson201Van Drew [Chair of the Subcommittee] presiding.202    Present: Representatives Van Drew, Jordan, Moore, Onder,203Schmidt, Gill, Crockett, Raskin, and Johnson.204    Mr. Van Drew. The Subcommittee will come to order. Without205objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a recess at any206time.207    We welcome everyone to today's hearing on how nonprofits208exploit Federal tax dollars to advance what we believe is a209radical agenda.210    I now recognize the gentleman from Alabama, Mr. Moore, who211will lead us in the pledge of allegiance, and then I ask that212we remain standing for a moment of silence.213    All. I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States214of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one215Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for216all.217    Mr. Van Drew. I am now going to recognize myself for an218opening statement.219    Welcome to all of you to today's hearing on the220Subcommittee on Oversight. Today's hearing will expose how221Leftist, nonprofit networks hijack and exploit your Federal tax222dollars to advance a radical agenda, and we will hopefully223answer the most important question of the day--and I'm having a224little bit of fun here--who the hell is George Soros? We're225going to find out.226    Your tax dollars, your money--money that you earned, and227you worked hard for, have been funneling into Left-wing228nonprofits pushing extremist causes. It's not speculation. It's229not just an idea. It's a pattern, and it's the truth.230    Under Democratic leadership, Federal agencies awarded231hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to supposedly232neutral, nonprofit organizations, but those nonprofits just so233happen to be run by their political allies. They used your234money--your money--to fund policies you never voted for and235probably, in most cases, the majority of Americans strongly236oppose.237    Is this how our democracy is supposed to work? I think we238know the answer, and I think we know it's not supposed to work239that way. Is this how your tax dollars should be spent? That, I240do know. Regardless of what your opinion is, absolutely not. It241is an abuse of power, one that is quietly restructuring242American society in ways no one asked for and they certainly243never voted for. We've seen it again and again, over and over.244    The last administration disbursed $3 billion to a migrant245housing group whose employees were accused of sexually abusing246children. Nearly one million went to a group linked to riots in247Los Angeles. Over 1.8 million meant for women's safety overseas248instead was used to promote gender ideology through LGBTQ+249grants. Even if you--here's the point. Even if you agree with250the ideology, we should all agree our tax dollars shouldn't be251paying for this.252    Then, there's the biggest culprit of them all, the253mastermind, the guy behind the curtain, the guy in the dark,254George Soros. Who is he? What is he about? He's not just255another billionaire with strong opinions. We've got plenty of256them. He's the architect of an international Left-wing257influence machine. His Open Society Foundation sits at the258center of a global web of nonprofits, grant recipients,259political operatives, and shadow partners. Yes, despite his260vast wealth, he also takes your tax dollars and uses them as261well.262    Let's look at the facts. The Vera Institute of Justice,263Soros connected, received over $60 million in Federal contracts264from Democrats. Impact Justice, also Soros connected, took in265over 30 million to push weak-on-crime agendas instead of266prosecuting criminals. These are the same groups driving the267movement to decriminalize crime, defund the police, and268destabilize our cities.269    George Soros does not stop there. He doesn't stop at270nonprofits. He has poured tens of millions into buying271political influence and quietly bankrolling soft-on-crime272prosecutors and attorneys general in cities like San Francisco,273Philadelphia, Chicago, and others. That's why some of them have274become havens for lawlessness.275    He's buying up radio stations, thousands of them, and media276outlets across the country to control the political message and277drown out any conservative voice in Red States or wherever.278That's not philanthropy. That's propaganda. It's funded with279your tax dollars.280    Beyond the efforts of George Soros, Democrats also funneled281over one billion in DEI-related grants through the Department282of Education. They sent taxpayer funds to anti-Israel groups283and climate radicals determined to dismantle American energy284independence.285    The USAID used your money to fund--I love this one. I286really don't. I'm being sarcastic. Everybody is ready, right?287Because I really want to know what the deal is with this--a288transgender comic book in Peru. Because we don't have needs in289our country, right? We've got money to fund a transgender comic290book in Peru, and $13 million for Sesame Street in Iraq. Come291on. Is that American policy? Is that what your paycheck should292fund? I don't think so. Regardless of your ideology, I don't293think so.294    Why do we need a government--this is why. No, I won't even295ask the question. I'll say we need a government that is296transparent, accountable, and focused on American interests:297America First. We've already saved--this administration has298already saved $190 billion in taxpayer money by rooting out299this waste. That's what accountability looks like. That's what300real leadership delivers.301    Today's hearing isn't just about spreadsheets and it's not302just about budget line items. It's about who controls the303country: Unelected billionaires or the people who live, vote,304and work here. It's about restoring accountability and ending305ideological freeloading on the taxpayers' dime. It's about306drawing a line in the sand and saying, ``No more.'' It's about307the American people are tired of being lied to. It is about the308American people being tired of their money funding somebody309else's political agenda. It's about the American people being310tired of being ignored.311    Today, we're going to follow the money. We'll name the312names. We will lay bare how the system was rigged, and we'll313make it clear, your tax dollars should serve only one purpose:314The interest of the American people, not the Soros agenda, not315the nonprofit cartel.316    You know what's a neat gig if you can get it? You make a317nonprofit. You create a nonprofit. You spend a little bit of318money. Then because you've got the nonprofit, all kinds of319money pours in from the taxpayer. That's not how the system was320supposed to work. This country does belong to the American321people, and it's time Washington started acting like it.322    With that, I recognize the Ranking Member, Ms. Crockett.323    Ms. Crockett. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair, and thank you324so much to our witnesses for being here.325    Unfortunately, we are witnessing today yet another326political stunt, plain and simple. Republicans are here drawing327a clear line in the sand. They will stop at nothing to advance328Donald Trump's agenda, and the dangerous blueprint laid out in329Project 2025, even if it means targeting the very groups that330are working to protect our communities and support our law331enforcement agencies.332    Let's be clear: My colleagues across the aisle have shown333little to no interest in working with Democrats on real334solutions for the American people. Instead of addressing335pressing civil rights issues constituents actually care about,336like wrongful deportations of U.S. citizens, ongoing efforts to337undermine voting rights, or the serious flaws in our criminal338justice system, this Committee is spending its time holding a339hearing with a title that sounds like it was ripped from a340conspiracy blog. This hearing, ``How Leftist Nonprofit Networks341Exploit Federal Tax Dollars to Advance a Radical Agenda.''342Really?343    When I listened to you, Mr. Chair--who I do respect--I344heard you say things about why is it that we're giving money in345other places. I want to make sure that I answer that question346because to put America first looks like we are going to keep347American citizens safe. There is such a thing as soft power,348and that is exactly what we were trying to do when we engaged349in things such as USAID.350    When you start to talk about whether or not Sesame Street351or anything else that's on NPR or PBS ends up in other places,352this is so there is not this warped thought process about the353Western world or about the United States. We're talking about354making sure that we don't end up allowing people to be355radicalized against us because they have a terrible vision of356us, because they may be in a government that actually puts out357bad, terrible propaganda about us. For pennies on the dollar,358we are able to educate those around the world on who we really359are in America and keep Americans safe.360    Soft power is really power, and it minimizes how much money361we have to spend, say, on dropping bombs in countries at a362random time without, say, Congressional authority, but I363digress. This kind of rhetoric--whether directed at nonprofits,364their leaders, or elected officials--is not only reckless, but365it is beneath the dignity of this institution. Sadly, this366isn't the first time this has happened.367    Over the past six months, we've seen hearing after hearing368do nothing but attack nonprofits as well as those who are just369generally on a mission to serve, protect, and uplift vulnerable370communities.371    In just my own Committees, this has got to be the second or372third time I've had to sit through the same tired narrative. If373my Republican colleagues are truly concerned about taxpayer374dollars being misused for political agendas, I would encourage375them to take a long, hard look in the mirror. Since we're here376again spending more of the American people's money and time on377political theater, let's at least stick to the facts.378    Fact: Under the Trump Administration, the Department of379Justice stripped hundreds of millions of dollars from the380Office of Justice Programs, money that funded essential381community safety initiatives like victim services, gang382prevention, and reentry support.383    Fact: Trump and Republicans slashed grants to384organizations, like the National Organization for Victim385Assistance which trains advocates who staff domestic violence386shelters, hotlines, and rape crisis centers.387    Fact: They cut over $10 million in funding to the National388Policing Institute, a nonprofit helping rural police389departments reduce violent crime.390    Fact: This week, Republicans are trying to gut PEPFAR, a391lifesaving program that partners with nonprofits around the392world and has saved more than 26 million lives.393    Let's not forget many of these cuts were laid out in394Project 2025, a radical, far-Right playbook drafted by395hyperconservative nonprofits for the express purpose of396dismantling the very government institutions and systems that397serve the public good. Ironically, we even have one of the398authors of Project 2025 here with us today.399    Let's not pretend this is about nonprofit accountability400because, if it were, this Committee would also be investigating401the Conservative Partnership Institute which has pushed anti-402immigrant, anti-LGBTQ+, antivaccine propaganda, and hosted403efforts to challenge the 2020 Election. Mind you, as we have404these organizations that are pushing antivaccine propaganda, we405know that measles has reached a 13-year high when measles had406actually been over and done with. Now, that we don't believe in407vaccines, now children are our targets, unfortunately. Yes,408they are dying.409    The New Century Foundation, a White nationalist410organization that somehow maintains its 501(c)(3) status to411launder hate speech through the language of ``intellectual412inquiry.'' They would investigate Turning Point USA, which has413been linked to organizers of the January 6th insurrection. The414Republicans aren't talking about those groups because this415isn't about accountability. It's about silencing organizations416that challenge Republican power. It's about targeting417nonprofits that protect the very people this Trump-aligned418movement continues to harm.419    These organizations are defending victims of unlawful420actions. They are helping to combat global pandemics. They are421supporting police departments when this very Committee won't.422They are working to build safer, healthier communities while423Trump and his allies defund them to hand out tax breaks to424billionaires.425    Maybe that's the real threat here. They are effective. They426get people off the streets, out of prison, and into427opportunity. They educate people about injustice, and that428apparently scares some folks more than any so-called radical429agenda because the only thing truly radical about these430nonprofits is their belief that human beings deserve dignity,431opportunity, and equal protection under the law, values my432Republican colleagues seem to have forgotten along with love433thy neighbor.434    Instead of demonizing the groups trying to do right by our435communities, maybe we should be asking how to support them, how436to ensure taxpayer dollars reach the people who need it the437most, because this hearing should be about public safety, not438political vendettas. Until that happens, these hearings are439doing more harm than good.440    Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I yield back.441    Mr. Van Drew. Thank you, Ranking Member.442    I now recognize the Chair of the Full Committee, Chair443Jordan.444    Chair Jordan. Thank you, Mr. Chair.445    In simple terms, they used your money against you. Take446your tax money, spend it on stupid things and things you don't447approve. This is what the Biden-Harris Administration did:448Millions of taxpayer dollars on their progressive pet projects.449    As the Chair highlighted, $1 billion in DEI grants from the450Education Department; $2 million in grants for gender ideology451from the Justice Department; and millions of dollars for452progressive criminal justice reforms. Radical open-border453activities, billions and billions of dollars for that. As the454Chair mentioned, our favorite, of course, is Sesame Street in455Iraq. Bert and Ernie, Big Bird in Baghdad. Wow. What a great456use of taxpayer dollars.457    That's what this hearing is about. It's talking about all458the stupid things they spent your money on. Now, the good news459is the American people said, ``We're going to put President460Trump in the White House,'' and he put this group together461called DOGE, and they have identified all kinds of crazy462things, and later this week, hopefully, maybe even today, the463Senate is going to vote on the first package to rescind some of464stupid things they took your money and spent it on.465    I want to thank the Chair for his hard work on this466Subcommittee--all the good hearings he has had--and for this467hearing and thank our witnesses for being here.468    With that, I yield back.469    Mr. Van Drew. Thank you, Chair. I now recognize the Ranking470Member of the Committee on the Judiciary, Mr. Raskin.471    Mr. Raskin. Thank you very much, Chair Van Drew.472    ``Pointing fingers is for losers.'' I'm quoting our473colleague, Representative Chip Roy, from last week. This has474become a mantra for our colleagues in the wake of the475devastating flooding in Texas which cost already 132 lives with476still 160 people missing. It's now an article of faith among477our colleagues.478    In the age of climate change disasters, like Hurricane479Helene, which cost 200 lives in North Carolina, or deadly480tornadoes in the Midwest--you name it--in the age of out-of-481control gun violence, whether in Uvalde, Buffalo, Charleston,482or Parkland, we should never engage in finger-pointing or483casting blame or attributing responsibility to individuals,484although, of course, Donald Trump finger-points and casts blame485at Democratic leaders as he did recently with Governor Newsom486with the wildfires in California.487    In any event, the point is we don't really want to know488which individuals are responsible. We should be addressing the489underlying systemic problems, like climate change, effective490emergency response and planning, or mass gun violence and491reducing access to military-style assault weapons, rather than492vilifying people and casting blame on a partisan basis.493    Fine. Let's adopt that rule. Finger-pointing is for losers.494For this Committee, no to finger-pointing, yes to problem-495solving. This entire hearing is nothing but an absurd political496finger-pointing. It's not even finger-pointing at people who497actually run our government or occupy public office. It's498finger-pointing at not-for-profit groups, like Church World499Service or Huyen Lutheran community services and the reviled500philanthropist George Soros, who has given away hundreds of501millions of dollars to make the world a better place.502    I don't like everything that every Right-wing, not-for-503profit group does in America or around the world, but I don't504think it merits a full-blown Congressional hearing. We didn't505even have a hearing on the richest billionaire in the world,506Elon Musk, who actually had a government job running DOGE,507destroying large parts of our government and firing tens of508thousands of our Federal workers. The Republicans didn't even509call in Elon Musk for a hearing or have a hearing about what he510was doing, but they want to have a hearing in 2025 about George511Soros, and all the old, tired, exhausted, absurd conspiracy512theories again.513    I don't see any--and these witnesses can correct me if I'm514wrong. I perused all their statements. I didn't see a single515one of them allege a single crime, or anything illegal going516on. They just don't like the things that he invests in. They517don't like what certain not-for-profit groups do. I don't love518everything that the Right-wing not-for-profits do. Why are we519having a hearing about this? What an absurd waste of time.520    If our motto is going to be, ``finger-pointing is for521losers,'' this hearing is for losers, because all this is522finger-pointing at somebody who doesn't even have political523power. This is an oversight hearing before the Oversight524Subcommittee that's not doing any oversight on the government.525Indeed, the Judiciary Committee has not yet conducted a single526oversight meeting this Congress with a single government527witness. Not one.528    They've not called Attorney General Bondi. They've not529called FBI Director Patel. They haven't even called anybody to530talk about George Soros from the government. They won't subject531any of their government officials to any cross-examination by532this panel.533    Now, this is an absurd waste of our time. Why are we not534addressing urgent policy problems like the pervasive,535nationwide violation of due process and First Amendment rights536by ICE and other Federal agents who arrive now in unmarked537cars, in plain clothes, without badges or arrest warrants, and538then snatch people off the streets and send them to a torturous539prison in El Salvador? Do you think the U.S. House of540Representatives Judiciary Committee should have an interest in541defending due process?542    Some of my colleagues say, ``You're not for due process for543guilty people, are you?'' Well, yes, because we don't know if544they're guilty until they've gotten due process. That's why545``due process'' are the two most beautiful words in the English546language. It's what separates our rights and our freedoms from547arbitrary State power.548    Why are we not addressing the threats to the security and549safety of judges who are working to uphold the rule of law, and550now are subject not just to slander and defamation and signs551all over Congress saying impeach this judge or that judge for552standing up for the Constitution? Now, violent threats not just553to them, but to their family members. Why are we not addressing554the mass firing of dozens of experienced crime-fighting Federal555prosecutors at the Department of Justice who have been fired en556masse for the sole reason that they did their job and557prosecuted police beaters, violent insurrectionists, and other558rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to559overthrow a Presidential Election in the United States of560America and attack our Constitution? Why are we not having a561hearing about that?562    We could actually have a hearing--here's something we can563agree on, Mr. Chair, on a bipartisan basis. Why don't we have a564hearing on what the whole country is talking about right now if565you turn on the TV and go on the internet? Why don't we have a566hearing about the continuing suppression and cover-up of the567information in the Epstein files, about a child sex ring run by568powerful people? The whole country--not just Republicans and569MAGA, but liberal Democrats are in an uproar because President570Trump, Attorney General Bondi, and their allies in the DOJ and571FBI repeatedly claimed in public that the Epstein files have572the names of power elite actors involved in human trafficking573and sexual abuse of minors with convicted sex offender Jeffrey574Epstein, and they promised to release all the information in575the name of maximal transparency. Do you remember that?576    They said this would be the most transparent administration577in the history of the United States, but now they are shouting578nothing to see here, sweeping it all under the rug, steadfastly579refusing to release the files despite broad bipartisan demand580to release the Epstein files after everything they have said581publicly.582    The Democrat Members of this Committee sent a letter today583at 2 p.m., demanding that the President keep his word and584release the files to the American people and that Chair Jordan585call a bipartisan hearing where we can work together to get to586the bottom of this. How about a hearing on that? Do any of my587colleagues want to talk about that, or does everybody want to588talk about George Soros? I'm curious to know which of my589colleagues support our call for a bipartisan hearing on the590Epstein files.591    Here we are at this utterly pointless hearing spinning592absurd, discredited conspiracy theories again about George593Soros. Again, I don't see a single claim of any criminality or594illegality taking place. They don't like the guy's politics. I595can find you 50 Right-wing billionaires whose politics I don't596like. So what? What an utter absurd waste of time this is.597    It's an attempt to change the subject obviously from what598America wants to talk about now, which is why, after promising599for all of these years to release the Epstein files, will600President Trump not release them. We know they were friends. We601know they hung out. We know there are all these pictures602together. We know that Michael Wolff, Trump's biographer, said603he saw photographs of Donald Trump and Epstein with minor-aged604girls. Well, where does that leave us? That doesn't look good605if they then cover up all the information. Come clean and606release the information, as the Republicans have repeatedly607promised to do.608    I look forward to hearing--if there are any allegations of609criminality or illegality, they should be turned over610immediately to the Department of Justice today. Otherwise, this611hearing, I'm afraid, Mr. Chair, is for losers. It's about612finger-pointing at people who don't have any governmental power613at all. It's old, recycled allegations, and we're not advancing614the ball on anything.615    At the very least, the Judiciary Committee should be616demanding that the Epstein files be made public. That is a617bipartisan agenda, or at least I thought it was, and if618something has changed, please let me know. I thought that we619were all for that together, and we should move on today.620    Thank you, and I yield back.621    Mr. Van Drew. Mr. Ranking Member, I thank you for your622testimony and fundamentally disagree with you on everything.623    Without objection, all other opening statements will be624included in the record, and we're now going to introduce625today's--626    Mr. Raskin. Please elaborate if you would, Mr. Chair. I'm627happy to hear it.628    Mr. Van Drew. I don't want to hold up the whole hearing. It629would take a considerable amount of time. It really would. I630want to give these fine gentlemen a chance from both sides of631the aisle to place their testimony into the record, but we632certainly could do that, and we may as we move along.633    Now, today's witnesses. Thank you for being here, all of634you.635    Mr. Tyler O'Neil. Mr. O'Neil is a Senior Editor at The636Daily Signal, a news and commentary outlet. He previously637served as Managing Editor of The Daily Signal from 2022-2025638before transi-639tioning to his current role to spend more time writing. Mr.640O'Neil's articles focus on nonprofits among other topics.641    Mr. Scott Walter. Mr. Walter is the president of Capital642Research Center, a nonprofit watchdog organization. He643previously served as Special Assistant to President George W.644Bush and as Vice President of the Philanthropy Roundtable.645    Mr. Gonzalez. Mr. Mike Gonzalez. Mr. Gonzalez is the--I646want to say this right--Angeles T. Arredondo--say it for me.647    Mr. Gonzalez. Angeles T. Arredondo.648    Mr. Van Drew. You said it so much better. Thank you.649    E pluribus unum--that, I can say--Senior Fellow at The650Heritage Foundation where his research focuses on identity651politics, multiculturalism, and foreign policy. He previously652worked as a journalist and served in the Securities and653Exchange Commission and the State Department.654    Finally, Ambassador Luis C.deBaca. Mr. C.deBaca is a655Professor from Practice at the University of Michigan Law656School. He previously served as Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor657and Combat Trafficking in Persons during the Obama658Administration where he worked to advance efforts to combat659contemporary forms of slavery.660    We will begin by swearing you all in. Would you please rise661and raise your right hand?662    Do you swear or affirm that under penalty of perjury, the663testimony you are about to give is true and correct to the best664of your knowledge, information, and belief, so help you God?665    Thank you. Please be seated. Let the record reflect that666the witnesses have answered in the affirmative.667    Please know that your written testimony will be entered668into the record in its entirety. Accordingly, we ask you to669summarize your testimony in five minutes.670    Mr. O'Neil, you may begin.671672                   STATEMENT OF TYLER O'NEIL673674    Mr. O'Neil. Mr. Chair, Ranking Member, thank you for the675opportunity to testify before you today.676    Did you know that millions of your tax dollars go to fund677Leftist activist groups who then lobby the government for678policies you may disagree with? The funding comes in at least679three ways: Directly through contracts and grants, indirectly680through unions taking Federal employees dues and sending a681portion of it to activist groups, and then obliquely through682taxpayer-funded union time.683    Examples of direct funding are legions. The USAID awarded684more than $800,000 to New Venture Fund--a dark money,685passthrough nonprofit that cloaks which donors give to which686nonprofits--and $27 million to the Tides Center, another dark687money nonprofit that supports anti-Israel rioters among other688issues.689    An arm of the Open Society Foundations, the funding organ690set up by Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros and now691run by his son Alex, received so much money from USAID that it692found it worthwhile to sue the agency to bypass guardrails on693funding. The resulting legal battle reached the Supreme Court694not once, but twice. The Justice Department, the key purview of695this Committee, funded at least one major Soros-backed NGO.696    George Soros supports rogue prosecutors who lower the697penalties for crime. Not surprisingly, many of the cities with698the highest murder rates have prosecutors backed by Soros. The699Vera Institute of Justice, which says the criminal justice700system is rooted in a history of White supremacy, received more701than $11 million from the Foundation to Promote Open Society.702The Biden DOJ also paid Vera 73 million in contracts, mostly703for providing legal services to immigrant children. In just704over one year, HHS paid Vera nearly 200 million for refugee705assistance.706    Vera says it aims to establish a right to representation707for all immigrants facing deportation. That's a rather curious708stance to take under Biden, when at least nine million illegals709entered the country. Meanwhile, NGOs received hefty government710funding to house and transport immigrants across the country.711The U.S. Committee For Refugees and Immigrants, one of many712such groups, received 98 percent of its revenue--a whopping713$284 million--from government grants in the 2023 fiscal year.714The Foundation to Promote Open Society gave the group $75,000.715    The government also supports the Left's dark money network716indirectly. Federal employees in a union give part of their717taxpayer-funded paychecks to the union, ostensibly for718representation in bargaining for perks like working from home.719Yet, instead of using all the money to help employees, unions720take a portion of those dues and send it to activist NGOs.721    The SEIU, for example, gave $1.6 million to the New Venture722Fund and $1.8 million to the Tides Foundation. The AFL-CIO gave723$250,000 to the New Venture Fund, and $100,000 to the Tides724Foundation among other Left-wing groups. Both the SEIU and the725AFL-CIO bankroll the Center for American Progress, which sent726at least 60 staff into the Biden Administration, and Demos,727which helped write and helped implement a policy turning728government offices into voter registration machines likely to729help Democrats.730    Many of these unions have sued to block the Trump731Administration's reforms to the Administrative State. Not only732did the SEIU and AFL-CIO send part of members' dues to Leftist733causes, but they also benefit from a process known as official734time. Federal employees can bill the taxpayer for the time they735spend not doing their jobs but doing work for the union. This736creates another stream of taxpayer funds supporting unions that737then back Leftist causes.738    As we've seen, your tax dollars fund the Left's dark money739network through grants, indirectly through union dues, and740obliquely through taxpayer-funded union time. In this and other741ways, Americans are forced to foot the bill for activist causes742they may disagree with, like climate alarmism, gender ideology,743open borders, and the Left's racial rhetoric. Congress should744seek to prevent this perverse State of affairs.745    [The prepared statement of Mr. O'Neil follows:]746   [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]747748    Mr. Van Drew. Thank you, Mr. O'Neil.749    Mr. Walter, you may begin. Thank you.750751                   STATEMENT OF SCOTT WALTER752753    Mr. Walter. Chairman Van Drew, Ranking Member Crockett, and754the distinguished Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for755the honor of testifying. I am the President of the Capital756Research Center where we study money flows to nonprofits and757other special interests.758    America's nonprofit sector is one for glories, the envy of759the world, but though I admire many American nonprofits,760including, for instance, The Heritage Foundation, I don't want761tax dollars going to The Heritage or to my own nonprofit, and762neither they nor we ever have or will accept a penny of763government money. If tax dollars ever go to a nonprofit, it764should probably be performing biblical good works: Healing the765sick, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and the like. Tax766dollars should never go to nonprofits best known for pushing767controversial social issues or meddling in politics here and768abroad. Yet, that is what so many federally funded nonprofits,769especially those receiving USAID funding, have done.770    This improper funding harms both the charitable sector and771our politics. It harms innocent American nonprofits abroad by772stigmatizing all American nonprofits. I've heard from leaders773of those nonprofits who resent their genuine good works being774ignored as they become and localize just one more American NGO775fighting for Soros' hard-Left agenda.776    Imagine you're a nonprofit leader who struggles to raise777private funding as she desperately fights human trafficking in778a poor country. Meanwhile, a wealthy Soros-funded network of779NGOs in the same country receiving the American Government's780imprimatur through USAID funds is loudly trying to781decriminalize the very prostitution that's the engine driving782the human trafficking you are trying to stop. This Left-wing783collusion of government and NGOs not only hurts your noble784charitable work directly. It also makes local citizens and785government view you as the enemy.786    The same improper funding hurts our politics as well. We787hear a lot about so-called dark money in politics, but what is788darker than the funding of alleged charities that work in789foreign countries to elect politicians they like to, say, the790European Parliament, or to enact government policies involving791controversial issues like prostitution and abortion, or even to792change entire regimes? Much evidence has been published on the793Soros' network trying to do these things as well as on the NGO794networks of other American billionaires, including those with795the same last name, foundation.796    My written testimony documents that massive amounts of tax797dollars going to numerous improper grantees. Examples include798the 15 groups receiving Federal funds who sued the current799administration in just its first month. Four were Justice800Department grantees and three USAID grantees. Then, there's801TransLatina Coalition, a radical group that advocates for,802among other things, expanding abortion, abolishing ICE, and one803day abolishing the police. It receives funding from Justice as804well as Labor and HHS. Fully half of its 2023 revenues came805from government, proving that so many NGOs, nongovernmental806organizations, are really BGOs, basically government807organizations.808    Another group should especially worry this Judiciary809Committee: The Environmental Law Institute, which receives810funds not only from Justice, but also from the EPA, the811National Science Foundation, and the Departments of Homeland812Security, Agriculture, and State. It runs the notorious Climate813Judiciary Project, which allegedly educates Federal and State814judges on climate issues, but whose speakers, as one critic815notes, come exclusively from the climate tort bar's witnesses816and amicus brief filers. Senator Cruz accurately describes it817as ``ex parte indoctrination.''818    Many more grantees boosting the Left's agenda occur in the819immigration field. As one critic puts it, billions of tax820dollars have been used to construct a shadow immigration system821that operates in direct defiance of U.S. Federal immigration822law, yet is financed partly by Congressional appropriations.823One Justice Department grantee in this area is Chinese For824Affirmative Action, which denounced Secretary Rubio's policy of825revoking visas for persons tied to the Chinese Communist Party826as racist and dangerous.827    Another Justice Department grantee and contractor is the828Acacia Center for Justice, spun off from the Vera Institute, a829hard-Left, Soros-backed group famous for its soft-on-crime,830soft-on-illegal immigration advocacy. It received $769 million831from the last administration, though it insists no immigrant832should be detained, electronic surveillance of illegal aliens833must be abolished, and the use of local law enforcement for834immigration purposes must be dismantled.835    If this funding were put to a vote of the American public,836little to none of it would survive the democratic process. This837funding is democracy suppression. Thank you.838    [The prepared statement of Mr. Walter follows:]839[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]840841    Mr. Van Drew. Thank you, Mr. Walter. Mr. Gonzalez, you may842begin.843844                   STATEMENT OF MIKE GONZALEZ845846    Mr. Gonzalez. Thank you, Chair Van Drew, Ranking Members847Crockett and Raskin, for giving me the opportunity to appear848before you today. The views I express are my own, and should849not be construed as representing the official position of The850Heritage Foundation.851    For over a decade, I've studied how Leftist nonprofits,852particularly George Soros' Open Society Foundations, team up853with government agencies like USAID to push the pet causes of854the Left domestically and overseas. These agendas promoting855divisive issues, like transgenderism for minors, euthanasia,856and drug decriminalization lack broad support in the U.S. and857harm our national security interests by alienating conservative858societies overseas. Eliminating this nexus between Big Left and859our money is at the heart of much of what DOGE has done since860President Trump took office.861    I have firsthand experience with how this nexus can hurt862Americans. In March 2017, I wrote a The Heritage Foundation863report calling for Congress and the State Department to864investigate joint efforts between Soros groups and USAID. I865wrote that,866867        In the promotion of radical agendas in several countries, USAID868        has found an ideal partner in George Soros, who throws his869        considerable fortune behind efforts to fight traditional870        Western values.871872    The hearings I called for in my piece never took place873until today, but something did happen to me. Two and a half874months after my report, a shadowy outfit calling itself the875Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project published a876sinister article that smeared me and The Heritage Foundation.877When I looked into it, it turned out that the OCCRP was funded878both by Soros foundations and USAID.879    I quickly wrote a column refuting their smears and said the880OCCRP did what bullies always do: It backtracked amending its881report. Let's not lose sight of what happened. A foreign entity882backed by Soros and my own tax dollars was attacking me, an883American, for daring to question the influence of the nexus in884Macedonia.885    I want to underline that I believe it is Soros' right to886spend his money supporting his convictions. I may not agree887with these ideas, but I would not call for interference in any888American's right to act politically. Likewise, of course, some889of the USAID programs did do good. I'm glad that Secretary890Rubio says he will keep some programs if they advance U.S.891interests. What I do take issue with is the U.S. Government892working with Leftist NGOs to promote causes with which large893majorities of Americans disagree and which are inimical to U.S.894interests.895    You see, the Left has cleverly built a machine to finance896itself with money that the taxman extorts from hardworking897Americans. Because it has captured the cultural heights, this898new Left has been able to invent some terms that make899resistance difficult. Thus, we have sustainability, sex900workers, and compassion care rather than economy-crushing901climate extremism, prostitution in human trafficking, and902killing grandma once she has become a burden. It doesn't matter903what you call any of these activities, however. They all turn904cities into Dantesque hellholes and leave behind human debris,905men and women who are empty husks rather than beings with906purpose and hope.907    The collusion between Big Left and taxpayer money peaked908under the Obama and Biden Administrations. In Guatemala,909USAID's focus on activists who also received financing from910Soros institutions and the Ford Foundation, frustrated the pro-911U.S. President Alejandro Giammattei, who once told me he912thought our embassy was undermining his government.913    In Hungary, USAID provided funding to the OSF which went on914to spend $781 million between 2016-2023 in pursuit of its915political agenda. Hungary--lest we forget--is a strategically916located U.S. ally, whether liberals like its pro-U.S. Prime917Minister or not. The same thing happened in Macedonia where an918advisor to former President Ivanov--also pro-U.S.--told me that919USAID and OSF had begun a regime-change operation.920    Dismantling this nexus is critical. This is why President921Trump has taken up arms against woke universities, museums, and922public broadcasters--a battle being played out in the Senate923today--and other institutions laundering the hard-earned money924of Americans on behalf of Cultural Marxism. However, I also925urge this Committee to demand a comprehensive audit of USAID926and government entities to expose how taxpayer money is spent927and with whom.928    I want to thank you for your time and for letting me929address this important matter.930    [The prepared statement of Mr. Gonzalez follows:]931    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]932933    Mr. Van Drew. Thank you, Mr. Gonzalez. Ambassador C.deBaca,934you may begin.935936                   STATEMENT OF LUIS C.deBaca937938    Mr. C.deBaca. Chair Van Drew and Chair Jordan, Ranking939Members Raskin and Crockett, and the Members of the940Subcommittee, I'm Luis C.deBaca, a proud alum of the Judiciary941Committee staff. It's an honor to be back in this room.942    I spent almost 25 years in government, much of it943investigating and prosecuting cases involving human trafficking944and other crimes. America has always led the fight against945transnational crime, especially human trafficking, and I've946seen firsthand how important law enforcement and NGO947partnerships are from across the ideological spectrum in948protecting the American people.949    Those partnerships can't be assembled in the middle of a950case. It's too late at that point. The DOJ, USAID, and the951State Department worked collaboratively to bring criminals to952justice and save and support victims of trafficking and sexual953abuse around the world. It takes partners motivated by their954faith, by their dedication to crime victims, and their955compassion for the abused and neglected. The NGOs and956governments worked together and made America safer.957    Some highlights. We worked with environmental groups in the958Catholic Church to rescue Filipino and Indonesian workers lured959into horrible conditions at sea. In Mexico, USAID funding stood960up modern court systems that could withstand the pressure of961their cartels while DOJ provided prosecutor training and the962State Department supported evangelical groups in providing963shelter to sex trafficking victims.964    In Peru, Justice aid and State-coordinated funding to965entities that ran the gamut from law enforcement to legal966service providers to Catholic nuns, all to choke off the967profits from illegal gold mining and the sex trafficking that968followed in its wake. Today, DHS seizures of slave-made goods969continue and hopefully intensifies because of partnerships with970NGOs who bring credible referrals about Uyghur and other forced971labor in the supply chain.972    These efforts worked thanks to the support of Congress,973interagency coordination, and vital collaboration with NGOs.974It's a fight that has always been proudly bipartisan and975powered by Right-Left coalitions because it embodies American976values. I'm proud to have worked with a diverse range of NGOs977on these issues, from International Justice Mission and The978Heritage Foundation, to Human Rights Watch and Rabbis For Human979Rights.980    Not all the NGOs apply for government funding, but when981they do, they receive support that comes with the highest982standards. They are subjected to thorough reviews, including983vetting, to prevent trafficking, terrorism, human rights984violations, or other criminal activity. Congress provided the985rules guiding these reviews, and when I was in government, we986worked closely with our Committees of oversight every step of987the way.988    Additionally, to maximize effect and to prevent redundancy,989antitrafficking funding is coordinated across the agencies.990Safeguards don't stop just at issuance. Their work is tested991through ongoing grants monitoring and monitoring and evaluation992efforts. The results are not just protection and restoration of993victims, but prosecution and convictions.994    In recent weeks, innovative offices have been defunded and995shut down or moved about on agency org charts in service of an996imaginary set of efficiencies. Having decimated USAID in recent997days, the administration has gutted offices devoted to global998criminal justice, antiterrorism, and counter-trafficking. When999experts are forced out, reassigned, or RIF'd, America is less1000safe. The only actors that should welcome these moves are1001criminals and those corrupt or complacent nations that allow1002them to act with impunity.1003    Is there a hidden agenda here? Every nonprofit that works1004to support survivors does indeed have a policy agenda. They are1005committed to serving trafficking victims. They do from all1006parts of our political system and for countless reasons, but1007they stand up for trafficking victims.1008    Women shelters that have expanded their mission beyond1009domestic violence, churches, or even just motivated people of1010faith, who have heard the call to serve, worker organizations1011that won't stand for abuses in the fields, long-haul truckers1012who have asked, What can I do? Their commitment and the1013ideological and cultural diversity that matches the bipartisan1014antitrafficking consensus of this Committee is something we1015should celebrate. They deserve our thanks and the thanks of the1016American people for their tireless efforts.1017    For me, this goes beyond my law enforcement career. My1018parents weren't just farmers and ranchers. They implemented1019these types of partnerships during the cold war. During the1020first Bush Administration, the government sent my parents out1021to help host socialist societies transition to a capitalist1022agricultural system. Later, my mother witnessed the Chinese1023showing up in West Africa competing for the hearts and minds of1024the Ghanaian people through road-building projects.1025    Today, my 90-year-old mother worries about the price she1026can get for her soybeans given the sudden reduction of U.S.1027food assistance, and she worries about the loss of American1028power and stature in the world.1029    Stepping away from U.S. leadership doesn't just impact that1030village in Africa. It impacts the small towns of rural America1031for whom feeding the world and raising a family is everything.1032Stepping away from the United States leadership and1033partnerships that advance them make us less safe at home and1034abroad.1035    Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.1036    [The prepared statement of Mr. C.deBaca follows:]1037   [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]10381039    Mr. Van Drew. Thank you, Ambassador C.deBaca.1040    Without objection, Mr. Kiley will be permitted to1041participate in today's hearing for the purpose of questioning1042the witnesses if a Member yields him time for that purpose.1043    We are now going to proceed under the five-minute rule with1044questions, and the Chair will recognize--let me see who is1045going to go first here, actually. Are you ready? OK.1046    The Chair will recognize the gentleman from Alabama.1047    Mr. Moore. Thank you, Mr. Chair.1048    This will be for our Republican witnesses. What are some of1049the worst Federal grants that the Biden-Harris Administration1050approved?1051    What about Mr. O'Neil, what's your opinion? What's the1052worst Federal grant that you heard or top 10 maybe?1053    Mr. O'Neil. There are too many to choose from, but I think1054the biggest overall is just the way that we funded the1055immigration industrial complex that moved illegal aliens across1056the country through--as The Heritage Foundation's project1057showed, to every single Congressional District except one.1058    Mr. Moore. Mr. Gonzalez, do you have a worst?1059    Mr. Gonzalez. Yes. I would say the grants that Samantha1060Power, the head of USAID, and USAID itself made to Hungarian1061opposition forces in 2023, I think it was. Hungary is a NATO1062ally which borders Ukraine. We shouldn't be trying to make a1063regime change as our Ambassador was doing in Budapest. This is1064not soft power. This is the opposite. That was really--I don't1065know--very counterproductive to the kind of policy we should1066have with an ally.1067    Mr. Moore. With an ally. Viktor Orban is a fine President1068and ally of the country.1069    Mr. Gonzalez. Yes. He's the Prime Minister. Yes. The Left1070doesn't like him. He's very pro-U.S. I don't, you know--1071whatever. Either way, we shouldn't be doing this in an ally1072country.1073    Mr. Moore. Securing their borders, he was pretty on that1074too.1075    Mr. Gonzalez. Right.1076    Mr. Moore. Mr. Walter, what about it? What's your--1077    Mr. Walter. I, too, am overwhelmed a little by the1078question, and I default to a website, actually, that we have1079called the DOGEfiles.org which lists what we believe to be the1080worst grants from most of the main departments of the Federal1081Government.1082    Mr. Moore. So, Mr. O'Neil, how many individuals involved in1083these Leftist dark money groups worked within the Biden-Harris1084Administration? Any idea?1085    Mr. O'Neil. A specific number, I don't have. I do know that108660 officials went from the Center for American Progress to the1087Biden Administration. Overall, what I'll say is there are some1088that really stand out.1089    I think of Tracy Stone-Manning who is actually at the1090National Wildlife Federation who, is notorious because she1091wrote a letter on behalf of tree spiking, eco-terrorists, and1092then she led up a department, the Bureau of Land Management,1093that oversees about half of the Federal lands in the United1094States.1095    Mr. Moore. Mr. Walter, how much Federal funding has the1096Arabella Advisors network received?1097    Mr. Walter. Surprisingly, there's not a large quantity of1098that, although Mr. O'Neil's written testimony documents some of1099the examples to the New Venture Fund and elsewhere.1100    Mr. Moore. What were the initiatives and policies? Do any1101of you know what the Arabella Advisors network were pushing1102the--are you familiar with those?1103    Mr. O'Neil. Oh, they run the gamut on the Left. I focused1104on the New Venture Fund for the research for this, but they1105funded the Center for American Progress which pushes climate1106alarmism, critical race theory, and focus on gender ideology.1107They funded the Natural Resources Defense Council, the National1108Wildlife Federation, as I mentioned, the Sierra Club, the Human1109Rights Campaign, and one of the biggest ones for me is the1110Southern Poverty Law Center, which--1111    Mr. Moore. In Alabama. I'm very familiar with it.1112    Mr. O'Neil. Yes.1113    Mr. Moore. Yes. Mr. Gonzalez, how did the Biden-Harris1114Administration cut a deal with the far Left organizations to1115swiftly obtain and hold radio stations in the U.S.?1116    Mr. Gonzalez. Are you talking about the radio stations that1117were bought with money that George Soros facilitated that--the1118Spanish language radio stations in 2023, I believe. Are you1119talking about those?1120    Mr. Moore. Yes.1121    Mr. Gonzalez. Or are you talking about the ones last year?1122Because he also made a purchase.1123    Mr. Moore. I wasn't aware. Just, in general, buying up the1124radio stations for me is a concern, and how do we go through1125that process? How do they fund it? What was the purpose behind1126it? Do we know?1127    Mr. Gonzalez. Well, the FCC Brendan Carr--which is now the1128Chair of the FCC--said that approval of that purchase was fast-1129tracked and it shouldn't have been because a big component of1130the funds came from overseas and that requires more time to1131look into them. I believe that he's going--now that he's the1132Chair, I believe he's going back and looking into this. I1133forgot the name of the radio station consortium, but it's going1134to come to me in a minute.1135    Mr. Moore. What process do you think should have been1136followed? What process--to take more time?1137    Mr. Gonzalez. Well, the process--yes. Take more time.1138That's what Brendan Carr complained about, that the time that1139is supposed to take in looking into who these donor--not1140donors, but who these funds are.1141    Mr. Moore. Especially with foreign money being involved,1142right?1143    Mr. Gonzalez. Yes, because it was foreign money. That's the1144thing.1145    Mr. Moore. Sir, what is the effect of the radio1146acquisition? What do you think the endgame is from the Left?1147    Mr. Gonzalez. Well, it has become very clear over the years1148that they are very bad at talk radio, and this is--the Left1149wants to control the narrative just like they have been able to1150control a lot of the media, just not talk radio because it's1151just unentertaining. They've been trying to catch up to that1152for a very long time.1153    Mr. Moore. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm out of time. I will1154yield back.1155    Mr. Van Drew. Thank you. I thank the gentleman. I will1156recognize Mr. Johnson from Georgia.1157    Mr. Johnson. Thank you, Mr. Chair.1158    The Majority's witnesses have repeatedly condemned the1159revolving door between what they call Leftist nonprofits and1160the Federal Government, but they need to take a long, hard look1161in the mirror and talk about what's happening with MAGA,1162billionaire, corrupt, corporate, conservative front groups such1163as The Heritage Foundation, a giant recipient of dark money.1164That happens to be your employer, Mr. Gonzalez, correct?1165    Mr. Gonzalez. I certainly take issue with the premise that1166we receive dark money.1167    Mr. Johnson. You work for The Heritage Foundation, correct?1168Yes or no?1169    Mr. Gonzalez. Yes. I'm very proud--1170    Mr. Johnson. You've gotten a lot of dark money from Charles1171Koch, right?1172    Mr. Gonzalez. No, actually. We don't.1173    Mr. Johnson. Well, let me ask you this.1174    Mr. Gonzalez. Very little.1175    Mr. Johnson. Let me ask you this: Who is the biggest dark1176money guy out there between Charles Koch, who is worth $71.41177billion, and George Soros, who is only worth a measly $7.21178billion? Who is the biggest dark money guy out there between1179those two?1180    Mr. Gonzalez. I don't know. Actually, I want to thank you1181for letting us sit down at the beginning.1182    Mr. Johnson. You can't say that it's Charles Koch?1183    Mr. Gonzalez. First, you are aware that Charles Koch is a1184Libertarian and we're not Libertarian, right?1185    Mr. Johnson. Let me just move on, sir.1186    Ahead of the 2024 Presidential Election, a network of1187Right-wing, dark money groups, led by The Heritage Foundation,1188launched the notorious and infamous Project 2025, a Federal1189policy agenda for the second Trump Administration that provides1190a blueprint for the radical and unconstitutional empowerment of1191the executive branch to shutter bureaus and offices, overturn1192regulations, and replace thousands of public sector employees1193with political cronies and yes-men, all in the services of a1194Right-wing, radical, and corrupt corporate agenda. As of March11952024, Project 2025 advisory groups have received more than $551196million from donor networks led by Leonard Leo and Charles1197Koch.1198    Now, during the campaign, which billionaire Elon Musk, by1199the way, purchased with about $275 million in dark money--1200Donald Trump swore he had nothing to do with Project 2025, but1201just like he lied about releasing the Epstein files, he also1202lied about his plan to implement Project 2025. Isn't that1203right, Mr. Walter? Didn't he lie? You don't know? You won't1204say? Are you afraid?1205    Mr. Walter. I'm quite awake. I don't have any--1206    Mr. Johnson. What about you, Mr. O'Neil? Did he lie?1207    Mr. O'Neil. No. He said he didn't read it. He told the1208truth. He told the truth. He said he didn't read it.1209    Mr. Johnson. Trump didn't lie when he said he was going to1210release the Epstein files?1211    Mr. O'Neil. He said he didn't read Project 2025.1212    Mr. Johnson. Didn't he say he was going to release the1213Epstein files?1214    Mr. O'Neil. I mean--1215    Mr. Johnson. Let me move on. Since the inauguration--1216    Mr. O'Neil. I will allow it.1217    Mr. Johnson. Since the inauguration, the Trump1218Administration officials have worked tirelessly to implement1219Project 2025 and even has the author of Project 2025 as the1220Office of Management and Budget director, Russell Vought.1221    He used to be the Vice President of Heritage Action, right,1222Mr. Gonzalez?1223    Mr. Gonzalez. I believe he had a position at--1224    Mr. Johnson. Big dark money guy used to be head of your1225operation, and now he is in the revolving door with the second1226Trump Administration.1227    Mr. Gonzalez, you've worked for The Heritage Foundation1228since 2009. Did you have any involvement with the creation and1229authorship of this infamous document of Project 2025?1230    Mr. Gonzalez. Oh, yes, sir. I'm proud to say that I wrote1231an essay in it.1232    Mr. Johnson. You're proud of it?1233    Mr. Gonzalez. Yes. I worked for every portion of this1234project, which we have every four years of an election year.1235    Mr. Johnson. The American people are not with you on that,1236Mr. Gonzalez.1237    Mr. Gonzalez. I'm just giving you the facts.1238    Mr. Johnson. I'm going to tell you, in my remaining time1239I'm going to sum up the testimony of you three guys, the1240Republican witnesses, and to sum it up you are antiracial1241justice, you're antigender equity, and you're anti-1242environmental protection. With that--1243    Mr. Gonzalez. Can we repeat our testimony?1244    Mr. Johnson. I will yield back the remainder of my time.1245    Mr. Gonzalez. Can we have time to--1246    Mr. Van Drew. There is no remainder of time. I'm sorry, Mr.1247Gonzalez. You're going to get a chance when some other people1248ask you questions, you will have an ability to answer, actually1249answer the question.1250    Thank you, Mr. Johnson. I now recognize Dr. Onder from1251Missouri.1252    Mr. Onder. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thanks to all the1253witnesses for being here today.1254    First, Mr. Gonzalez, again, you work for The Heritage1255Foundation. Does The Heritage Foundation receive any Federal1256Government money?1257    Mr. Gonzalez. Zero.1258    Mr. Onder. Any USAID money?1259    Mr. Gonzalez. Zero.1260    Mr. Onder. No. OK. Any of these other organizations that1261receive--any grants from the Vera Foundation, which does1262receive Federal Government money?1263    Mr. Gonzalez. No.1264    Mr. Onder. I think my Democratic colleagues missed the1265point of today's hearing.1266    Mr. Gonzalez. Yes.1267    Mr. Onder. George Soros has every business to spend his own1268money however he sees fit, as does Charles Koch, and as does1269Elon Musk. The point is we are talking about taxpayer's money1270here today. The idea that these Left wing so-called NGOs, I1271think one of you said--called them BGOs, basically government1272organizations. Was that you, Mr. Walter.1273    They're basically acting as money laundering operations1274from our pockets, my taxpayer's who I represent in Missouri, to1275these Leftist causes. That is antithetical to a democratic1276republic like we work--we live in. We think we live in.1277    Mr. Walter, during President Trump's first few weeks in1278office DOGE identified Federal funding that was not being used1279as Congress intended. Many times, I heard my Democratic1280colleagues say, well, it was appropriated, so this NGO or this1281government agency has a right to it.1282    One egregious example was Federal funding of $1.3 million1283to the NIH's Institute of Nursing Research which was awarded to1284a nonprofit to partner with girl-to-girl to text minors sex1285education content, including how to have sex with other minor1286girls.1287    The Girl-to-girl's website encouraged girls not to tell1288their parents that they're taking part in this research. The1289Federal Government--the Federal Government should not be in1290this business of doing research that parents would disapprove.1291    Going forward, we need to ensure that agencies are1292complying with existing transparency requirements.1293    Now, this NIH grant was identified through USAspending.gov,1294but most of DOGE's work was uncovering grant misuse that was1295not publicly reported. USAspending.gov was created by Congress1296through the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act1297of 2006, which required OMB and treasury to coordinate with1298Federal agencies to publicly post Federal awards on a publicly1299searchable website. A 2023 GAO report found that 49 of 521300Federal agencies didn't report data to USAspending.gov, and1301some of the agencies reported COVID spending that didn't match1302their annual financial reports.1303    Mr. Walter, would you say that the current version of1304USAspending.gov is compliant with this law?1305    Mr. Walter. No. As you point out, there seems to be1306evidence that it hasn't. Plus, there's a huge thing that needs1307to be done, the grants are not listed by the grantee's EIN1308number, their tax ID number, which would make it enormously1309simpler to find what you're looking for.1310    Mr. Onder. Right. You mentioned your website,1311DOGEfiles.org, I imagine it's fair for me to say that there are1312things in DOGEfiles.org that I couldn't find on USA--1313    Mr. Walter. Well, we used USAspending.gov to get it, but,1314believe me, it's a struggle to--1315    Mr. Onder. It was difficult.1316    Mr. Walter. It needs to be much better.1317    Mr. Onder. It was not easy. OK. What can we do in this1318Committee to ensure that agencies under our jurisdiction are1319complying with existing transparency requirements?1320    Mr. Walter. Well, I'm not aware of any accountability.1321Right. If I'm an agency and I don't do what I'm supposed to,1322who cares, what happens, if anybody even finds it out.1323    Mr. Onder. OK. How can we increase transparency and account1324for subawards and subcontracts? Is that part of the problem,1325that it goes to--there's a contract, but then, Mr. O'Neil maybe1326alluded to some of this, and then it goes to a contractor who1327then awards it to another subcontractor and the money cannot be1328followed.1329    Mr. Walter. Yes. There's a little bit of that sort of1330information on USAspending.org, but absolutely not all of it.1331Some of the most notorious things in the last administration1332were some of the green slush funds that got created in the1333billions.1334    Mr. Onder. Very good. OK. Thank you very much for your1335testimony. I yield back.1336    Mr. Van Drew. Thank you, Dr. Onder. I now recognize the1337Ranking Member of the whole Committee, Mr. Raskin.1338    Mr. Raskin. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Ambassador C.deBaca, is1339there anything illegal about not-for-profit spending money on a1340priority that the government agency or department also has?1341I'll give you an example. The Gates Foundation has spent $301342billion to advance vaccines, both research and spreading1343vaccines around the world. The USAID spent $3 billion over the1344last decade on that.1345    Is that either illegal or unusual that you would have a1346convergence of the not-for-profit philanthropic sector with a1347governmental priority?1348    Mr. C.deBaca. It is not illegal. In fact, it is a best1349practice so that you can extend both the governmental and the1350philanthropic--1351    Mr. Raskin. Presumably we can expect the same thing under1352R.F. Kennedy, Jr., who opposes vaccines, he opposes vaccine1353research, he wants to stop vaccine programs, and presumably1354he's going to--all the same people that he just packed the1355Advisory Committee with will be getting grants to go and try to1356stop vaccine research. As our colleagues constantly say,1357elections count, elections matter, and RFK, Jr., is in there.1358    There's not much we can do about it. We can have a hearing1359lamenting it and bewildering it. I would much rather have money1360going into promoting vaccine research and distribution than1361opposing it, but that's the difference between our two parties.1362    Is there anything illegal about people in not-for-profits1363going to work in the Federal Government in a new1364administration?1365    Mr. C.deBaca. No, sir.1366    Mr. Raskin. In fact, a great example of that is this guy Ed1367Martin who was for a while the acting U.S. Attorney of the1368District of Columbia, they were forced to withdraw his1369nomination when it turned out that his close friend is a Neo-1370Nazi who dresses up like Adolf Hitler and they just switched1371over to appointing him to a nonconfirmable position in the1372Department of Justice, believe it or not, running the task1373force on weaponization.1374    In any event, he ran something called the Patriot Freedom1375Project, which is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization,1376that supported January 6th defendants and their families. More1377than 100 criminal defendants, including people who violently1378assaulted our police officers, wounding them, injuring them,1379disfiguring them, permanently disabling them, and then he went1380into the government. He's got close ties, in fact, he dismissed1381some of the prosecutions against these people, and they have1382fired lots of January 6th prosecutors. That looks like a really1383tight little revolving door channel that's not just him. In1384fact, they hired an actual January 6th insurrectionist who was1385convicted of crimes to go work for him at that same entity in1386the Department of Justice.1387    As much as we might hate it, as much as we might think the1388American people should know about it, that the criminals in1389this soft-on-crime administration are taking over at the1390Department of Justice, it's hard to say that there's anything1391illegal about it, right?1392    If somebody goes from working at the Gates Foundation, or1393the Open Society Institute at the State Department, is there1394anything illegal or criminal about that? Is there anything that1395should cause public alarm in the way these gentlemen are trying1396to stimulate it?1397    Mr. C.deBaca. No, sir.1398    Mr. Raskin. Well, in fact, is there anything illegal about1399the government, if it's spending funds appropriately, giving to1400organizations that other people disagree with? I think some of1401the witnesses were saying the vast majority of the people1402disagree with it, which, of course, our colleagues would answer1403by saying, that's what elections are for, in other words, we've1404elected a particular government.1405    Now, I'll give you an example of that. I just looked it up.1406The $434 million has gone in the first Trump Administration,1407and I'm sure more will flow now, to crisis pregnancy centers.1408OK. Who from our perspective lure young people in and give them1409distorted or tilted information about abortion. I'm sure that's1410what they say about Planned Parenthood. OK. That's politics.1411People have different perspectives on things.1412    Hundreds of millions, presumably billions of dollars are1413going to go to the crisis pregnancy centers, which a lot of1414people think are completely objectionable. Is that illegal1415because some other people disagree with it.1416    Mr. C.deBaca. It is not.1417    Mr. Raskin. It is not illegal. It's not criminal. This1418hearing is just weird. It's just people getting up and1419complaining about things that happened under an administration1420they disagree with when the administration they agree with is1421doing the exact same thing on a mirror image basis.1422    There's something that everybody here, at least I used to1423think, agreed with, which is let's release the Epstein files.1424That guy is a child sex offender who was convicted of it and1425then took his life before the larger trial could take place.1426His associate, Ms. Maxwell, is in jail for 20 years. The whole1427country is saying to release the files. That's what Donald1428Trump said, that's what JD Vance said, that's what the Attorney1429General said, and that's what the FBI Director said. Now,1430suddenly they want to sweep the whole thing under the rug.1431    Why don't we have a real hearing with real government1432officials talking about the government and talking about a real1433investigation with the real problem, which is the nationwide1434crisis in the sexual abuse of children and human trafficking.1435Why don't we do that? I yield back to you, Mr. Chair.1436    Mr. Van Drew. The Ranking Member yields back. With that I1437believe that, Mr. Schmidt, you're going to yield your time; is1438that correct?1439    Mr. Schmidt. Yes.1440    Mr. Van Drew. OK. Mr. Schmidt is going to yield his time to1441Mr. Kiley, who's not going to speak quite yet because Mr. Gill1442is in front of you, but I wanted to make that note. OK. Thank1443you, Mr. Schmidt.1444    With that, Mr. Gill is next in line from the great State of1445Texas.1446    Mr. Gill. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for putting this1447hearing together here and helping us continue to identify1448waste, fraud, and abuse that we can cut out of our Federal1449budget, particularly abuse that is pushing Left-wing pet1450projects.1451    Before I jump into that I would like to address something1452that one of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle1453mentioned earlier about gender equity. I find it particularly1454amusing that the party who doesn't know how many genders there1455are to begin with has the gall to lecture us about gender1456equity.1457    If we want to talk about gender equity, let's talk about1458it. Which party believes that men should be using women's1459bathrooms? It's not this side of the aisle. It's the Democrat1460party. Which party believes that men should be playing in1461women's sports? It's not this side of the aisle. It's the1462Democrat party. Which party believes that our tax dollars1463should fund transgender surgeries for minors? It's not this1464side of the aisle. It's that side of the aisle. Those are1465things that they don't like to talk about because they know how1466widely unpopular they are with the American people. That is the1467reality, and that's what we are up against right now is a1468Democrat party that is pushing some of the most wild and1469perverse social programs on the American people.1470    With that said, I would like to jump into the point of this1471hearing, which is not gender equity. It's to talk about other1472Left-wing projects.1473    Mr. Gonzalez, thank you for being here, and thank you for1474taking the time. During President Biden's tenure, USAID, under1475Samantha Power, took a particular interest in Hungary; is that1476right?1477    Mr. Gonzalez. Yes, that's right, Congressman.1478    Mr. Gill. Would you say that USAID's involvement in that1479country, including funding media organizations, was1480nonpartisan, or do you think that was used to push a particular1481agenda?1482    Mr. Gonzalez. Oh, it was meant to do regime change in a1483NATO ally, and a very key NATO ally, that was unconscionable.1484    Mr. Gill. Would you say that Hungary is an important NATO1485ally in central and Eastern Europe?1486    Mr. Gonzalez. Yes. It borders Ukraine. I believe, yes, it1487borders Serbia as well. Yes, this was something that we should1488never be doing this in friendly countries to begin with. The1489fact that Samantha Power did this and met with leaders of the1490opposition before she met with government administrators, who1491she scolded, and our Ambassador--well, I don't want to go into1492it because I know you have more questions, but--1493    Mr. Gill. Well, that's where I'm going with this. Why do1494you think that the Biden Administration was so interested in1495using our tax dollars to funnel monetary support for domestic1496political opposition in an allied Nation to harm a1497democratically elected government?1498    Mr. Gonzalez. For the same reason it did it in Guatemala1499and Macedonia with equally pro U.S. leaders. It just didn't1500like conservative governments that were trying to do things1501like fighting, fighting for life, fighting for demographic1502growth in all these countries, disagreed with the foreign1503policy. All these leaders were also very pro-Israel, pro-1504Taiwan, in the case of Guatemala. It was just the Biden1505Administration disagreed with the politics of these countries,1506even though it went against U.S. interests to disagree with1507these governments.1508    Mr. Gill. Right. That's where I was going as well. Do you1509think that any of Hungary's domestic policies in question here,1510whether it's related to woke ideology, or identity politics, or1511migration, have any bearing on America's national security1512interests in the region?1513    Mr. Gonzalez. It was completely the opposite. It played1514exactly into Vladimir Putin's hands. It made pro-American1515Hungarians and Guatemalans or Macedonians question the United1516States and think of alternatives. It was very misguided.1517    Mr. Gill. Shifting focus to the United States, do you think1518that there are similar Left wing virtually money laundering1519operations here that are aimed at influencing American1520politics, particularly through the media?1521    Mr. Gonzalez. Yes. Mr. Soros said very early on, I believe1522in the mid-1990s, that he wanted to turn his attention inward1523toward the United States. An American is free to do so, as I1524said in my testimony. I'm also free to criticize him. I1525disagree with him about the positions he takes. As I said, he's1526free to do that with his money. I'm free to criticize.1527    Mr. Gill. Right. We can also look to taxpayer-funded1528propaganda outlets like NPR and PBS as well.1529    Mr. Gonzalez. I believe that's playing out today in the1530Senate, yes.1531    Mr. Gill. Thank you for your time. I appreciate it.1532    Mr. Gonzalez. Thank you.1533    Mr. Van Drew. Thank you, Mr. Gill. I now recognize Ms.1534Crockett, the Ranking Member.1535    Ms. Crockett. Thank you so much. Listen, I have heard some1536interesting things. I have heard about fighting for life. Mr.1537DeBaca, I am just--Ambassador C.deBaca, I am curious, does it1538look like you're fighting for life when you cut 17 million1539people off of their healthcare?1540    Mr. C.deBaca. It does not.1541    Ms. Crockett. Does it look like you're fighting for life1542when you're kicking people, in this country, I want to be1543clear, we're talking about the United States, in this country,1544off food assistance?1545    Mr. C.deBaca. No, ma'am.1546    Ms. Crockett. OK. All right. Well, this hearing is1547supposedly is being about radical Leftist and whatnot. I do1548have some questions about that, but before I get there, I am1549tripping about how much we are loving on Viktor Orban here in1550the United States. Well, and I shouldn't say we. Them. How much1551they are loving on Viktor Orban.1552    I have an interesting article that I would like to enter1553into the record as a UC.1554    Mr. Van Drew. Without objection.1555    Ms. Crockett. OK. Thank you.1556    Mr. Van Drew. Thanks for the tap.1557    Ms. Crockett. ``Hungary's Orban Demonstrate How to1558Dismantle Democracy.'' Some of the interesting things that are1559said in here, first, Trump went further in two months than1560Orban could in 15 years. This year is faced with an1561increasingly unified opposition in parliament that is rallied1562behind a charismatic lawyer and politician, Orban's attacks on1563media, civil society, and freedom of assembly--1564    Mr. Van Drew. Without objection.1565    Ms. Crockett. Have gained momentum. This is part of my1566words. My time was still going. In addition to that, there is1567mention that Orban focused on ridding Hungary of any1568institution capable of checking his power. Sounds something1569like Donald Trump; does it not?1570    Mr. C.deBaca. I wouldn't necessarily speculate on what the1571two Presidents are doing.1572    Ms. Crockett. OK. Don't speculate. I'm going to tell you,1573sounds like Donald Trump.1574    Now, while we are talking about taxpayer dollars, let me1575tell you, and, Donald Trump agreed with me at some point in1576time about this particular one, I have another UC, ``Elon Musk1577gets $8 million a day from taxpayers.''1578    Mr. Van Drew. Without objection.1579    Ms. Crockett. Thank you so much.1580    Listen, if we want to start talking about who's donating to1581who and who's getting money, last time I checked, Elon Musk did1582close to $300 million to get him into office, and it seems like1583there was a direct payment right back to him. I get that it's1584not a not-for-profit, but at the same time it is Federal1585dollars.1586    Earlier someone mentioned these hellholes talking about the1587cities. Right. Talking about cities being hellholes. I just1588want to point to Los Angeles. I'm sure that's one of the cities1589they were referring to when they said that. Los Angeles1590contributes almost $20 billion in taxes. That's more than all1591States in this country, except for four.1592    If we are going to push any ideologies, it seems like LA1593should have an outsized interest in the ideology because it1594seems like they actually contribute more money than all these1595other States, especially these Red States, to be clear.1596    In fact, I have another UC.1597    Mr. Van Drew. Without objection.1598    Ms. Crockett. All right. ``Blue States are bailing out Red1599States.'' I have another UC.1600    Mr. Van Drew. Without objection.1601    Ms. Crockett. ``Massachusetts sends more funding to the1602feds than any other State.'' It seems like Blue States are1603constantly putting Red States on life support, yet we got these1604little Red States that aren't contributing nothing, but they1605are definitely taking up a lot of money.1606    It is interesting because the Governor in California, I1607don't know if you caught this, but Governor Newsom was talking1608about just holding onto his dollars because California is what1609they call a donor State, meaning, that they actually contribute1610more than they take from the Federal Government.1611    Then, you can go down South to States like Louisiana who1612are broke and so they need California to pay in. It is so1613interesting that we are so concerned about whether or not we1614are pushing certain ideologies, but let me talk about some of1615these. I've got a few questions. We're going to play a game1616called radical or restorative. Radical or restorative, a1617nonprofit that provides shelter and legal aid to human1618trafficking survivors?1619    Mr. C.deBaca. Restorative.1620    Ms. Crockett. A DOJ funded program that mentors at-risk1621youth to prevent gang violence?1622    Mr. C.deBaca. Restorative.1623    Ms. Crockett. A grant-funded organization that helps women1624fleeing domestic abuse with housing and trauma support?1625    Mr. C.deBaca. Restorative.1626    Ms. Crockett. A USAID program that works to shut down scam1627compounds trafficking people in southeast Asia?1628    Mr. C.deBaca. Restorative.1629    Ms. Crockett. A faith-based nonprofit helping migrant1630children reunite safely with family?1631    Mr. C.deBaca. Restorative.1632    Ms. Crockett. A community group receiving DOJ funds to1633reduce gun violence in cities?1634    Mr. C.deBaca. Restorative.1635    Ms. Crockett. The final one is a global initiative that1636prevents trafficking and keeps people from being forced into1637labor or sold into exploitation?1638    Mr. C.deBaca. Restorative.1639    Ms. Crockett. Thank you so much, Mr. Ambassador.1640    What's shocking is some of these programs are the very ones1641that Trump and my Republican colleagues are working to shut1642down, if we really want to look at who is doing the work to1643help us.1644    As we have just talked about some sex trafficking, I'm1645still trying to understand, if you have anything that you would1646like to contribute, about the Epstein files that they1647absolutely refuse to release.1648    Mr. C.deBaca. Ma'am, it would be very helpful for the1649American public to be able to see the results that have1650evidently been kept in whatever that file is. There's been many1651years in which folks have investigated Mr. Epstein and those1652around him. He has gone--he went to jail once, he was about to1653go to jail again before he died, and his compatriot is1654currently in prison. Those facts need to be known.1655    Ms. Crockett. Thank you so much. I will yield.1656    Mr. Van Drew. The Ranking Member yields back. Thank you. I1657now recognize the Chair of the Committee of the whole, Mr.1658Jordan.1659    Chair Jordan. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. O'Neil, who is the1660Southern Poverty Law Center.1661    Mr. O'Neil. The Southern Poverty Law Center is a far-Left1662radical activist group that routinely smears conservative and1663Christian organizations putting them on a map with the Ku Klux1664Klan.1665    Chair Jordan. First, does the Southern Poverty Law Center1666partner with the Open Society Foundation.1667    Mr. O'Neil. Yes. The Southern Poverty Law Center received1668$75,000 from foundation to promote Open Society.1669    Chair Jordan. The Open Society Foundation gets money from1670the American taxpayer; is that right?1671    Mr. O'Neil. No. The Open Society Foundation does not. There1672was an arm of the Open Society Foundation that is now closed1673that received a large number--1674    Chair Jordan. It did.1675    Mr. O'Neil. Yes.1676    Chair Jordan. It did get it. OK. As you pointed out, the1677Southern Poverty Law Center labels a lot of conservative groups1678as hate groups.1679    Mr. O'Neil. Yes, including Focus on the Family this year.1680    Chair Jordan. Focus on the Family, Alliance Defending1681Freedom, Family Research and Counseling for Immigration1682Studies, and Moms for Liberty. Moms are now a hate group.1683    Mr. O'Neil. Yes. They put Moms for Liberty on there. They1684actually said that they compared them to the Uptown Klan of the16851950s.1686    Chair Jordan. OK. You know what's interesting, I found1687this, we made an issue of this, and thank goodness it stopped1688with this--with our new Justice Department, but in the old1689Justice Department under Mr. Biden it was this, you may1690remember, this memorandum put out by the Richmond FBI field1691office. Do you remember this, Mr. O'Neil.1692    Mr. O'Neil. Yes.1693    Chair Jordan. Do you know when they talked about1694traditional Catholics were extremists, do you know who they1695cited in the footnote in this--I got the actual FBI memorandum.1696Do you know who they cited in that memorandum.1697    Mr. O'Neil. The Southern Poverty Law Center.1698    Chair Jordan. The Southern Poverty Law Center. Go figure.1699OK, how about this, who's the Tides Foundation.1700    Mr. O'Neil. They are there oldest dark money passthrough1701organization. They pioneered the process that now Arabella1702Advisors has perfected.1703    Chair Jordan. In your testimony, I'm looking at it, you1704said there's various--``the Service Employee's International1705Union gave money to a group that then gave money to the Tides1706Foundation''; is that true?1707    Mr. O'Neil. No. The SEIU gave directly to--1708    Chair Jordan. Oh, they gave directly.1709    Mr. O'Neil. The Tides Efficacy and the Tides Foundation,1710yes.1711    Chair Jordan. Also, in your testimony you point out that1712the Tides Foundation not only got money from Left-wing union1713groups, but they also got money directly from the taxpayers1714through USAID; is that right.1715    Mr. O'Neil. Correct. It was $27 million.1716    Chair Jordan. Twenty-seven million.1717    Mr. O'Neil. It was awarded. Not all those grants were1718fulfilled.1719    Chair Jordan. What is the Tides Foundation up to? What kind1720of crazy things are they doing with taxpayer money and1721shuffling employee union money, what are they doing?1722    Mr. O'Neil. Bankrolling the Southern Poverty Law Center,1723for one. They also have an in-house nonprofit called Palestine1724Legal.1725    Chair Jordan. The Tides Foundation gets a boatload of1726taxpayer money, people I get the privilege of representing from1727the 4th District of Ohio, some of their money is going to the1728Tides Foundation that is then going to the Southern Poverty Law1729Center where they can label moms as terrorists and say that if1730you're a Catholic you're an extremist, that all happens with1731American tax dollars; is that right?1732    Mr. O'Neil. We don't have concrete proof of the fact of the1733Tides Center receiving money that they then gave to the1734Southern Poverty Law Center.1735    Chair Jordan. Money is tangible. We're not--1736    Mr. O'Neil. Your overall point is 100 percent.1737    Chair Jordan. OK. That's all happening here in the United1738States. It's even worse. Right. Because the Tides Foundation1739also gets involved, Mr. Gonzalez was pointing to this, gets1740involved overseas as well. One of the things we know they're1741doing, correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. O'Neil, that we know1742they're doing is they're taking some of that money to undermine1743our allies and friends like Prime Minister Netanyahu in the1744State of Israel; is that right?1745    Mr. O'Neil. Well, one of the big things they have is an in-1746house nonprofit representing anti-Israel rioters on college1747campuses called Palestine Legal, so, yes.1748    Chair Jordan. They're doing it here and there. Undermining1749Israel here and there, antisemitic activity here on our1750campuses, all with American tax money. Wow.1751    Mr. O'Neil. Yes.1752    Chair Jordan. The other side says, again, Mr. Van Drew1753shouldn't be having this hearing. Are you kidding me? American1754tax dollars used to say moms are terrorists, we're going to go1755after prolife Catholics, and our best friend internationally,1756our best ally, the State of Israel, we're going to undermine1757their government while we're at it. Such a deal for the1758taxpayers, huh.1759    Mr. O'Neil. On the point from Ranking Member Raskin, he1760noted that George Soros does not have power. Alex Soros was1761asked if he would run for office, and he said that he would not1762because he believes that as head of the Open Society1763Foundations, he has more power than he ever would if he had any1764office in the land.1765    Chair Jordan. Well, based on what we just described, it1766sure looks like he got a lot of influence. All we're saying is1767maybe we shouldn't send American tax dollars to these1768organizations that are undermining American taxpayers. Wow.1769Somehow, we're not supposed to have this hearing. I yield back.1770    Mr. Raskin. Will the gentleman yield just quickly.1771    Chair Jordan. You get the last word--1772    Mr. Raskin. All I want to say is that I didn't say he1773didn't have power. I said, ``he did not have official1774governmental power.'' Thank you.1775    Ms. Crockett. I have a UC.1776    Mr. Van Drew. The gentleman yields back. Without objection.1777    Ms. Crockett. This is from The Pennsylvania Independent,1778``Convicted Sex Offender Serves As Faith Leader of Philly `Moms1779for Liberty' Chapter.''1780    Mr. Van Drew. We'll now recognize Mr. Kiley.1781    Mr. Kiley. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do want to briefly1782address a comment that the Ranking Member, the representative1783from Texas made about my State, California, claiming that our1784State gives disproportionately to the Federal Government and is1785some sort of donor State. Actually, the State of California1786doesn't give nothing to the Federal Government. Individuals and1787businesses do pay taxes. Governor Newsom's suggestion that we1788should withhold those taxes, as our Treasury Secretary has1789pointed out, is threatening to commit the felony of criminal1790tax evasion.1791    As to this notion that Los Angeles is somehow a model of1792good governance, just today Los Angeles came out with its new1793homelessness numbers. The current count is 72,308. The Police1794Chief in LA has formally advised people not to wear jewelry1795when they go outside because they will get mugged. The city1796just announced 614 layoffs because the finances are such a1797mess. This is to say nothing of the recent riots and the1798catastrophic wildfires that came after the Mayor defunded the1799fire department.1800    On to the topic of today's hearing. It's bad enough that we1801have all this funding going toward NGOs that then support1802radical ideological causes, sort of the logical next step that1803we've seen is funding organizations that then directly commit1804or facilitate criminal activity. This is exactly what we saw1805with respect to the recent riots in Los Angeles where you had a1806group known as CHIRLA, the Center for Humane Immigration Rights1807Los Angeles, that played a central role in organizing the1808riots.1809    They made use of a hotline through Signal where they would1810inform rioters at any given moment where ICE personnel could be1811found so those individuals could then converge, they could1812disrupt their operations, they could use commercial dumpsters1813as battering rams, they could assault officers, and so forth.1814    CHIRLA, by the way, has been implicated in other ways in1815all the recent chaos that we've seen. For example, the incident1816where tire spikes were used to disable the vehicles of border1817patrol, the individuals engaging in these crimes were carrying1818the tire spikes in bags with CHIRLA's name on them.1819    To top it all off, Karen Bass' recent proposal to give cash1820cards to illegal immigrants supposedly affected by ICE1821operations are being distributed to them by, you guessed it,1822CHIRLA.1823    I have introduced a bill, The No Tax Dollars For Riots Act,1824which will make sure that organizations like this do not1825continue to get funding. Indeed, that they cannot claim tax1826exempt status. President Trump has enthusiastically endorsed1827that bill and said it should be past immediately.1828    On top of that, this Committee, the House Judiciary1829Committee, has opened an investigation into CHIRLA's use of the1830Federal funding that it received during the Biden1831Administration. It also received $34 million from California,1832accounting for the vast majority of its revenue. It's1833effectively a subsidiary of the State, or a subsidiary of the1834sanctuary State, if you will.1835    With all that being said, Mr. O'Neil, or if Mr. Gonzalez,1836or other witnesses would like to chime in on this, how1837problematic is this that we now have these public taxpayer1838funds being used to directly facilitate criminal activity?1839    Mr. O'Neil. Extremely.1840    Mr. Gonzalez. Thank you for your question. Yes, in fact, a1841lot of the riots we have seen on our streets, the college1842encampments, all these things are paid for--CHIRLA, by the way,1843received $30 million, if I'm working from memory.1844    Mr. Kiley. The $34 million most recently from the State.1845    Mr. Gonzalez. Yes, most recently, from the taxpayer, and1846thank you for making that distinction between the State of1847California and California's hardput taxpayers. CHIRLA just1848raked in government money and was one of the organizers of the1849riots we saw in Los Angeles.1850    Everywhere we've seen, you talked about the Tides1851Foundation, in New York, the Answer Coalition, Students for1852Justice in Palestine, all of these groups have either received1853funding from these dark money people or are fiscal--or these1854dark money senders are fiscal sponsors of them.1855    It is very concerning, even in cases where, and I think in1856these cases that I'm talking about crimes have been committed,1857but even in cases where there's no--it's not illegal or1858criminal, there's such a thing as unseemly and disturbing, and1859we should be able to talk about these things.1860    Mr. Kiley. Absolutely. There's certainly a whole range of1861conduct that is objectionable, but it's particularly1862objectionable where the funds are used in a way that actually1863violates other laws that we have in place.1864    Thank you very much to my colleague from Kansas, Mr.1865Schmidt, for yielding the time. I yield the remainder of my1866time to the Chair.1867    Mr. Van Drew. Thank you, Mr. Kiley. I recognize myself for1868five minutes. I just don't know where to begin. It was1869interesting all the back and forth. I do have to say this, and1870it's partially complimentary, and it's just an observation, I1871do have to admit, my friends to the left of me, both1872geographically and, also, politically, they're good. They're1873really good at it. Mr. Raskin--both of you are--all of you are,1874actually, Mr. Raskin is particularly good at conflating and1875blurring.1876    He mentioned immigration. I always bring this up through1877other hearings as well, there is a difference between legal and1878illegal immigration. There's a difference. Nobody on this side1879has any problem with legal immigration. That's what makes1880America.1881    Let's be clear about it. Illegal immigration, and in some1882cases where we had people on the terror watch list that were in1883this country, and people that were convicted or indicted for1884crimes either in their country of origin or here, yes, we're1885against that. Absolutely. We would all say it proudly, we're1886against it.1887    Also, Mr. Raskin and Ms. Crockett as well, had brought up1888that there's nothing illegal. I agree. The purpose of the1889hearing is this wasn't talking about the legality. We don't1890know, maybe there is, but we don't know of illegal activity.1891The point is it's distasteful. It's disturbing. It's1892disgusting. If the American public had to sit through this1893today, and other hearings we've had, they would be very deeply1894upset at where their money is going.1895    Mr. Raskin called this a loser hearing. You know who's1896losing, the taxpayers, the union members when their money gets1897drained away to go for these things that the vast majority of1898them do not believe in.1899    Mr. Soros is good at this. That's why we're doing this.1900We're not doing--we didn't say we should take him to jail1901tomorrow, but he's good at it. He helps to establish these1902NGOs, these not-for-profits, and then they make sure that1903millions and millions of dollars flow to them from the1904taxpayer. It's a pretty ingenious idea. He's making money on1905his investment, and we think it's wrong, and we don't think it1906should happen.1907    I just wanted to clear the air on that, but these guys are1908good.1909    Ms. Crockett. Do you yield?1910    Mr. Van Drew. No. I would, and normally, we get along, I1911try to, but, Mr. Walter, can you explain why Soros' model is1912far more dangerous to public policy and democratic1913accountability than people realize?1914    Mr. Walter. Certainly. By the way, I'm happy to give the1915Ranking Member an example of illegality. There are documents1916from Soros' own 501(c)(3) nonprofits that show that money was1917being spent to influence elections to the European parliament,1918and, of course, that's a violation of 501(c)(3) limitations on1919political activity. I would be happy to provide the documents1920to you if you would like.1921    Mr. Raskin. Were they charged with that?1922    Mr. Walter. Excuse me?1923    Mr. Raskin. Were they charged? Were there criminal charges1924brought?1925    Mr. Walter. Sadly, no, nor was there ever a hearing in1926Congress about it. There's also the question of--my next report1927on Mr. Soros is going to show over $80 million going to1928nonprofits that support terrorism. Again, that is debatably not1929kosher under 501(c)(3) laws.1930    The way that the network operates is you have, in the case1931of Soros, dozens, even hundreds of things. There's an Open1932Society Macedonia, an Open Society Prague, and on and on. Many1933of these entities get Federal tax dollars, as well as Mr.1934Soros' private monies.1935    As Mr. Gonzalez was explaining, they are willing to go up1936to and include regime change, as well as trying to change who's1937elected of the European--1938    Mr. Van Drew. Mr. Walter, and I assume that's why you would1939think this is dangerous; am I right, Mr. Walter?1940    Mr. Walter. Yes.1941    Mr. Van Drew. This is a dangerous situation. You bring a1942good point, some of it very well may be illegal, but at the1943very very least it's disturbing, distasteful, of concern, and1944that's why we're having the hearing. The American people, I1945know and I wish, millions are watching this, quite frankly,1946they're not, deserve to know about this disturbing information.1947That's the point of this.1948    Mr. Walter. One other quick thing, too.1949    Mr. Van Drew. Please, quickly because I have other1950questions.1951    Mr. Walter. Ambassador C.deBaca has been a hero in fighting1952human trafficking. Soros on the other hand is one of the1953greatest pushers of decriminalizing prostitution throughout the1954entire world, which is one of the engines of human trafficking.1955There is a journal article on precisely that.1956    Mr. Van Drew. Thank you, Mr. Walter.1957    To all of you, for each of you, very briefly, is there one1958reform Congress should pursue to stop the highjacking of1959Federal dollars for activism that is this extreme? Like in 101960seconds each. We'll start with you, Mr. Walter. One reform,1961what is it?1962    Mr. Walter. Forcing greater transparency on where the1963Federal tax dollars go, including the grantees of the grantees.1964    Mr. Van Drew. I agree. Mr. Gonzalez.1965    Mr. Gonzalez. Do a thorough audit of what these programs1966are, and who the main implementer is in each country. This is1967really necessary.1968    Mr. Van Drew. Thank you. Mr. O'Neil.1969    Mr. O'Neil. Stop funding groups that also lobby the Federal1970Government.1971    Mr. Van Drew. Thank you. Ambassador C.deBaca.1972    Mr. C.deBaca. Restore USAID so that it can actually do1973these grants and protect the integrity of these grants and1974release the files about Jeffrey Epstein.1975    Mr. Van Drew. I don't have time. My time is up. I would1976debate that with you for a long period of time, sir.1977    With that, that concludes today's hearing.1978    Ms. Crockett. I've got a UC.1979    Mr. Van Drew. Without objection.1980    Ms. Crockett. OK. ``IRS says churches can now endorse1981political candidates.'' For the record, churches are 501s most1982of the time.1983    Mr. Van Drew. I'm not going to comment. I have feelings on1984that, too.1985    Mr. Raskin. Mr. Chair, I've got one, too, if that's all1986right.1987    Mr. Van Drew. Yes, Ranking Member.1988    Mr. Raskin. This is, ``Publix heiress-backed January 61989group spent $180,000 on the rally.''1990    Mr. Van Drew. Without objection.1991    That concludes today's hearing. We thank our witnesses1992appearing before this Subcommittee today. We really do mean it,1993time is treasure. We appreciate it.1994    Without objection, all the Members will have five1995legislative days to submit additional written questions for the1996witnesses, or additional materials for the record.1997    Without objection, this hearing is adjourned.1998    [Whereupon, at 4:40 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]19992000    All materials submitted for the record by Members of the2001Subcommittee on Oversight can be found at: https://2002docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=118494.20032004                           [all]