Citing Russian efforts to meddle in U.S. elections, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) called on the State Department on Tuesday to use $120 million allocated by Congress to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation since 2016.
The State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) hasn’t used any of the congressionally appropriated funds to counter foreign efforts to spread disinformation and to undermine trust in democracy, and none of GEC’s 23 analysts speak Russian, according to media reports.
In December 2016, Congress expanded the mission of the GEC to “counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts” that threaten the national security interests of the U.S. and its allies. GEC funding was doubled to $32 million in fiscal year 2017, and the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal years 2017 and 2018 each authorized $60 million.
Lynch, the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that “the State Department has failed to maximize its use of these critical resources.”
Calling for the State Department to step up GEC efforts, Lynch’s letter cites a “high confidence” assessment released a year ago that concluded Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign during the 2016 presidential election, as well as the Feb. 16 indictment of 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for illegal activities during the 2016 election.
“The full use of the authority and resources at the disposal of the State Department for the purpose of countering foreign interference in our elections would significantly enhance our ability to address this continuing national security threat,” the letter concluded.