Hundreds of millions in federal taxpayer dollars have been given to organizations around the world that likely facilitate prostitution and the sex industry, a watchdog group has found.
Through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program, the U.S. government has doled out roughly $385 million to foreign organizations suspected of violating U.S. policy on sex work and prostitution advocacy, according to a complaint filed by the Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) and obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. In addition to the grants that have already been spent, CASA uncovered another $480 million in obligated funds to the same groups.
CASA is calling on the State Department’s Office of Inspector General to conduct a comprehensive audit of the PEPFAR program.
“The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2020 that foreign organizations receiving federal money must have policies opposing prostitution and sex trafficking,” CASA Director James Fitzpatrick stated to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Our team at CASA has uncovered organizations receiving PEPFAR funds who not only do not have policies opposing, but are actively promoting, the sex work industry.”
“Now is the perfect time for a full audit of the PEPFAR program given our alarming findings,” Fitzpatrick continued.
The George W. Bush administration created PEPFAR in 2003 with the stated pledge of $15 billion over five years to help turn the tide against the AIDS pandemic in the hardest-hit countries in Africa and the Caribbean, according to CASA. The U.S. has committed around $110 billion through the program since its creation.
How many were CIA/NSA/FBI/etc Honeypot hires?