{"id":2423613,"date":"2025-04-15T07:18:01","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T11:18:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ernst-uncovers-millions-of-secret-spending-on-china\/"},"modified":"2025-04-15T07:20:44","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T11:20:44","slug":"ernst-uncovers-millions-of-secret-spending-on-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ernst-uncovers-millions-of-secret-spending-on-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Ernst Uncovers Millions Of Secret Spending On China"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fernst-uncovers-millions-of-secret-spending-on-china%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2423613&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Biden administration has been reported to funnel approximately $18 million in U.S. taxpayer dollars to various initiatives within Communist China, of which about $4 million was found not accurately recorded in the federal goverment\u2019s funding database by Republican senator Joni Ernst&#8217;s staff. Most of this funding passed through the Departments of State and health and Human Services and supported projects related to diversity,equity,and inclusion trainings,and also cultural and environmental initiatives. Notably, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) directed funds to Chinese entities, including Peking University, which received notable grants for health studies.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, the NIH had previously provided funds to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is believed to be linked to the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, raising concerns over openness and the management of U.S. taxpayer money. In light of these findings, Ernst and House Republican Chairwoman Elise stefanik are proposing the TRACKS Act to improve oversight of U.S. funding directed towards foreign adversaries like China. They argue that Americans should not be financing such entities and aim to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-government-shutdown-is-a-warning-sign\/\" title=\"US Gov Shutdown: A Warning\">end wasteful spending<\/a> through increased scrutiny and accountability measures.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The Biden administration funneled $18 million in U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-erases-bidenbucks\/\" title=\"Trump Erases &#039;Bidenbucks&#039;\">tax dollars &#038;mdash<\/a>; approximately $4 million of which Republican Sen. Joni Ernst&rsquo;s staff found buried or absent from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-judge-grants-gop-lawmaker-standing-to-sue-biden-administration-over-unrwa-funding-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Texas judge grants GOP lawmaker standing to sue ... over UNRWA ... - Washington Examiner\">federal government&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s funding database &mdash; to causes in Communist China.<\/p>\n<p>The majority of the payments were funneled through the U.S. Departments of State and Health and Human Services to various Chinese entities and China-based projects for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/award\/CONT_AWD_19CH5021P3242_1900_-NONE-_-NONE-\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility<\/a> trainings (including some at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/award\/CONT_AWD_19CH2522P6257_1900_-NONE-_-NONE-\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">U.S. consulate<\/a>), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/award\/CONT_AWD_19CH2522P6095_1900_-NONE-_-NONE-\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&ldquo;art billboards,&rdquo;<\/a> a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/award\/CONT_AWD_19CH2522P6083_1900_-NONE-_-NONE-\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bicycle parking cover<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/award\/ASST_NON_SCH50021GR3080_1900\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pro-LGBT events<\/a>, various <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/award\/ASST_NON_SCH50023GR0007_1900\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">climate change<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/award\/ASST_NON_SCH50022GR0065_1900\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">initiatives<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/award\/CONT_AWD_75N95023P00683_7529_-NONE-_-NONE-\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rat research<\/a> and reported on USAspending.gov.<\/p>\n<p>Buried in that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/politifail-politifact-confuses-two-government-agencies-in-embarrassing-fact-check\/\" title=\"PolitiFAIL: PolitiFact Confuses Two Government Agencies in Embarrassing \u201cFact Check\u201d\">federal spending database<\/a>, however, is more of Americans&rsquo; hard-earned money that the National Institutes of Health handed to at least one Chinese university.<\/p>\n<p>In one example, the NIH grant database and USAspending.gov show Peking University in Beijing raked in approximately <a href=\"https:\/\/report.nih.gov\/award\/index.cfm?ot=&amp;fy=2024&amp;state=46&amp;ic=&amp;fm=&amp;orgid=10008779&amp;distr=&amp;rfa=&amp;om=n&amp;pid=&amp;view=state\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$4.8 million<\/a> in U.S. tax dollars from 2021 to 2024. A cursory search shows that the only project grant Peking University received U.S. funding for between 2021 and 2024 was a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/award\/ASST_NON_R01AG037031_7529\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&ldquo;China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.&rdquo;<\/a> Ernst&rsquo;s office, however, uncovered another $1.08 million to Peking researchers concealed as a subaward under a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/award\/ASST_NON_U01NS120824_7529\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">grant to the University of Southern California<\/a> for sensors designed to provide imaging of &ldquo;neuromodulators&rdquo; that &ldquo;regulate addiction attention, cognition, mood, memory, motivation, sleep and more through their influence on brain circuits.&rdquo; The subaward&rsquo;s purpose and amount are not associated with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/recipient\/42c8d5d4-373d-cc12-857a-756bd6ed0a3e-R\/latest\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">university&rsquo;s profile on USAspending.gov.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/820\/818989.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">April 2023 Government Accountability Office audit<\/a> confirmed that projects and programs in China often receive American funding through subawards but noted the &ldquo;full extent of these subawards is unknown because of limitations in the completeness and accuracy of subaward data reported in government systems.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Limitations in subaward data is a government-wide issue and not unique to U.S. funding to entities in China,&rdquo; the report added.<\/p>\n<p>This isn&rsquo;t the first time NIH handed taxpayer dollars to China. The Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), the lab believed to be the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic, covertly received <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/gao-23-106119.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$1.4 million<\/a> in taxpayer funds to study coronaviruses, routed in part through the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) and EcoHealth Alliance via subawards. The deliberate attempt to avoid the funding reporting requirements mandated by U.S. law earned both <a href=\"https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Debartment.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WIV<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Notice-_EHA_1.17.2025_Redacted.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">EcoHealth Alliance<\/a> suspension and disbarment, which made them ineligible for future subsidization.<\/p>\n<p>While the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) made an effort to <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DOGE\/status\/1895645518912795109\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rein in the flow of federal funds to China<\/a>, Ernst and Chairwoman of House Republican Leadership Elise Stefanik want to take the waste and fraud prevention further by introducing the Tracking Receipts to Adversarial Countries for Knowledge of Spending (TRACKS) Act: a bill that would ensure U.S. spending on foreign adversaries like China is publicly available to scrutinize and potentially cease.<\/p>\n<p>Ernst told The Federalist in a statement that she believes &ldquo;Americans should&nbsp;never send a cent&nbsp;to China,&rdquo; but &ldquo;you cannot stop what you cannot see.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I am exposing every single tax dollar sent overseas to scrutinize and halt all wasteful spending.&nbsp;DOGE already canceled nearly $2 million Biden was sending to Beijing,&rdquo; Ernst continued.<\/p>\n<p>Stefanik also pledged that the legislation &ldquo;will <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">ensure hardworking taxpayer dollars<\/a> are not funding our adversaries including Communist China as they work against American interests.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The days of poor stewardship over American dollars under the Biden Administration are long gone as House Republicans join President Trump in his efforts of rooting out government waste, fraud, and abuse,&rdquo; she said in a statement to The Federalist.<\/p>\n<p>The bill, if passed, mandates implementation &ldquo;not later than 90 days after the date of enactment.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Biden&#8217;s administration sent $18 million in U.S. tax dollars to China, with $4 million unaccounted for in funding databases<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":490,"featured_media":2423614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-design-2.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4501,11232,10680,3976,53472],"class_list":["post-2423613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-china","tag-ernst","tag-finance","tag-investigation","tag-secret-spending"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Untitled-design-2.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2423613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/490"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2423613"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2423613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2423617,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2423613\/revisions\/2423617"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2423614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2423613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2423613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2423613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}