{"id":3520,"date":"2023-06-03T05:04:05","date_gmt":"2023-06-03T05:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=3520"},"modified":"2023-06-15T15:25:17","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T15:25:17","slug":"iowa-senator-ernst-and-wisconsin-representative-gallagher-introduce-taxpayer-transparency-bill-on-dollars-sent-to-china-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=3520","title":{"rendered":"Iowa Senator Ernst and Wisconsin Representative Gallagher Introduce Taxpayer Transparency Bill on Dollars Sent to China, Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared at https:\/\/wisconsindailystar.com\/news\/iowa-senator-ernst-and-wisconsin-representative-gallagher-introduce-taxpayer-transparency-bill-on-dollars-sent-to-china-russia\/mkittle\/2023\/06\/03\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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Two Midwest members of Congress have joined forces on a bill aimed at creating transparency and accountability for U.S. taxpayer money handed out in China and Russia.<\/p>\n

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) (pictured above, left) and U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI) (pictured above, right) have introduced the Tracking Receipts to Adversarial Countries for Knowledge of Spending (TRACKS) Act<\/a> requiring every penny from a government grant paid to any organization in China and Russia to be tracked and publicly disclosed.<\/p>\n

More than $1.3 billion U.S. tax dollars was sent to Russia and China over the past five years, according to a new analysis released by Ernst and Open the Books.<\/a> The lawmakers said the amount likely doesn\u2019t reflect the total amount because federal agencies do not follow the trail of tax dollars to their final destination.<\/p>\n

Using data provided by the Congressional Research Service,<\/a> Ernst and Open the Books determined more than\u00a0<\/b>$490 million\u00a0from U.S. grants and contracts was paid to organizations in China over the period and another\u00a0$870 million went to entities in Russia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWashington\u2019s continued spending is so out of hand, it is losing track of Americans\u2019 hard-earned taxpayer dollars, but I am creating accountability for every penny,\u201d\u00a0Ernst said in a press release.\u00a0\u201cIt is gravely concerning that no one in Washington can actually account for millions sent to Russia and China for pointless projects. But I have the receipts. I\u2019m shining a light on this reckless spending, so bureaucrats can no longer cover up their tracks and taxpayers can know exactly what their hard-earned dollars are funding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the projects taxpayers are funding include:<\/p>\n