Politics predictably can get dirty during election years, but a new politicization of the Department of Health and Human Services has put the government squarely in the partisan mix. The odd thing about the situation at hand is that agencies in the executive branch are teaming up with groups opposed to President Bush and are weighing in with policy positions contrary to those held by the White House. The Hill newspaper reported yesterday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the independent United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are working with the activist group MoveOn.org to put on a June conference on “reproductive rights” issues. Some heads need to roll over this.
MoveOn.org is one of the most fiercely anti-Bush activist groups in the country. With more than $5 million in cash provided by radical leftist billionaire George Soros, the group ran a contest for anti-Bush ads. Its Web site featured commercials comparing Mr. Bush to Adolf Hitler. During MoveOn.org’s awards show in January, comedian Margaret Cho received a standing ovation when she said, “You know, I mean, George Bush is not Hitler. He would be if he applied himself.” In November, Mr. Soros announced that defeating Mr. Bush’s re-election bid “is the central focus of my life, and I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is.” By funding the conference and its Lobby Congress Advocacy Day as platinum contributors, the executive agencies are explicitly using public funds to push policies contrary to those of the administration under which they operate.
Mr. Soros and MoveOn.org are not the only strange bedfellows working on this pro-abortion population-control conference with the CDC, HRSA and USAID. The International Planned Parenthood Federation, the U.N. International Family Planning Fund, the Alan Guttmacher Institute, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and MTV are also sponsors. All of these groups are expressly opposed to the Bush administration’s agenda on sexual-health issues, particularly regarding the role of abstinence to prevent HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy. Planned Parenthood is a global promoter of abortion-on-demand, even for young children without the knowledge of their parents.
This type of cowboy politicking represents everything that is bad about bureaucracies that run out of control. A letter of protest by more than a dozen Republican congressmen points out that, “Various provisions of existing law, as well as provisions in the Fiscal Year 2004 Consolidated Appropriations Act, make it illegal [for government agencies] to fund lobbying activities.” Readers can share their views about this misuse of the civil service with the department heads responsible for the mess: Elizabeth M. Duke, Health Resources and Services Administration: (301) 443-2086; Julie Louise Gerberding, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: (404) 639-3311; Andrew S. Natsios, USAID: (202) 712-0000.
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