This week, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., teamed up on two bills “to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars meant to advance U.S. national security interests do not support radical social initiatives.”
Rubio and Mast introduced the “Prohibition Against U.S. Contributions to International Organizations that Advocate for Sexual Activity Among Minors Act.”
“The legislation is a bill against radical social agendas paid for by American taxpayers. This bill would prohibit U.S. contributions to international organizations, including the United Nations, that support, advocate, or seek to decriminalize sexual relations or sexual conduct by persons who are younger than the minimum age of consent (as defined by the national government of the country in which such persons reside); and prohibit U.S. contributions to any entity or organization that supports or advocates for the belief that sexual activity involving persons below the domestically prescribed minimum age of consent to sex may be consensual in fact, even when it is not consensual in law; or opposes any statute that recognizes that persons below the prescribed age of consent do not have the capacity to engage in consensual sex under any circumstance,” Rubio’s office noted.
The two Florida Republicans also paired up on the “Stop Wasteful, Odious, and Kooky Exercises (WOKE) at State Act” which “would eliminate Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) requirements during the foreign service tenure and promotion process, replace DEIA references in the Foreign Affairs Manual, the Foreign Service Precepts, and Foreign Service Employee Evaluation Report with references to adherence to the merit system principles.”
Rubio and Mast weighed in why they introduced the bills.
“We have a moral duty to protect the innocence of America’s children. At a time when woke initiatives endanger our youth, Congress must ensure that the hard-earned money of the American people is not aiding international organizations that advocate for the decriminalization of sexual relations with minors,” said Rubio.
“Neither America nor the world needs a woke agenda right now. If President Biden doesn’t see the negative consequences of his policies globally, Congress needs to put an end to this woke nonsense,” said Mast.
Rubio’s bills were sent to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Mast’s bills were sent to the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee. So far, there are no co-sponsors for any of the bills.
Rubio and Mast also unveiled a report this week entitled “‘Diversity Over Diplomacy’ – How Wokeness is Weakening the U.S. State Department,” which “details how the U.S. State Department has prioritized promoting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) policies at the expense of carrying out its mission to build international relationships and protect America’s national security.”
“The State Department’s misguided focus on wokeness has undermined its effectiveness and distracted from its duty to protect and promote America’s national interests. This focus on promoting divisive partisan goals will only undermine our efforts on the world stage. We need to ensure that the State Department is effective in representing our national interests and that our diplomats are focused on our national security rather than bizarre DEIA objectives, most of which are rejected by Americans,” said Rubio.
“A woke America is a weak America. After the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the world is questioning whether or not the United States is the beacon of strength it’s always been. But instead of trying to strengthen our position abroad, the Biden State Department is focused on pushing woke ideology worldwide. We need unity more than ever; the Biden Administration’s attempt to sow division under the guise of ‘diversity’ is not the answer to the geopolitical threats we are facing,” said Mast.
