{"id":2487,"date":"2023-03-31T17:24:52","date_gmt":"2023-03-31T22:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=2487"},"modified":"2023-03-31T17:24:52","modified_gmt":"2023-03-31T22:24:52","slug":"want-to-help-disabled-tajikistanis-fight-climate-change-biden-could-pay-you-1-million-for-your-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=2487","title":{"rendered":"Want To Help Disabled Tajikistanis Fight Climate Change? Biden Could Pay You $1 Million for Your Advice."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Biden&#8217;s USAID puts big money behind project to elevate disabled &#8216;climate leaders&#8217; in Central Asian country<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20370%20247'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-154.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"zeen-lazy-load-base zeen-lazy-load wp-image-2488\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"736\" height=\"491\" src=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-154.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2488\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-154.png 736w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-154-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-154-370x247.png 370w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-154-293x195.png 293w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-154-120x80.png 120w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-154-240x160.png 240w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-154-390x260.png 390w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 736px) 100vw, 736px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The Biden administration plans to spend up to $1 million in taxpayer funds on a project to help disabled people in the Central Asian country of Tajikistan become &#8220;climate leaders,&#8221; documents show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>President Joe Biden&#8217;s U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on March 9&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.grants.gov\/web\/grants\/view-opportunity.html?oppId=346714\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a>&nbsp;a grant notice seeking proposals for a &#8220;Disability-Inclusive Climate Action&#8221; project in Tajikistan. That project, a USAID&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/USAID-Tajikistan-doc.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">document<\/a>&nbsp;shows, aims to ensure disabled people in the Central Asian nation are included &#8220;in the development of climate change response and mitigation policies.&#8221; In doing so, USAID hopes to help disabled Tajikistanis become &#8220;climate leaders, effectively influence climate change response, and ensure that climate action by governments and other actors is informed by and responsive to the unique ideas and contributions of persons with disabilities.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The project\u2014which USAID will fund to the tune of at least $300,000 and up to $1 million\u2014comes months after the agency released its 2022-2030 climate strategy, which outlines a $150 billion &#8220;whole-of-agency approach&#8221; to building an &#8220;equitable world with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.&#8221; Included in the effort is a pledge to strengthen the &#8220;diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility of the climate workforce&#8221; through taxpayer-funded programs supporting gay, female, indigenous, and disabled people, among other &#8220;marginalized and underrepresented populations.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The agency&#8217;s strategy has already angered Republicans, who argue that the Biden administration&#8217;s overseas climate spending is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Sen. Rick Scott (R., Fla.) and Rep. Ben Cline (R., Va.), for example, hammered Biden for wasteful spending after a Monday&nbsp;<em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/one-billion-gretas-biden-admin-pledges-taxpayer-cash-to-support-young-climate-activists-abroad\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a>&nbsp;revealed that USAID plans to use public funds to inspire young climate activists in developing countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;American tax dollars should be spent supporting Americans, not overseas climate activists,&#8221; Scott&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ScottforFlorida\/status\/1640491022932164609?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>. &#8220;American taxpayer dollars should not be used to build an army of Green New Deal activists around the world,&#8221; Cline&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepBenCline\/status\/1640685375462031360?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">added<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>USAID did not return a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Biden has placed climate change at the center of every facet of his administration. In January 2021, the Democrat issued an&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/presidential-actions\/2021\/01\/27\/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">executive order<\/a>&nbsp;demanding his administration &#8220;combat the climate crisis with bold, progressive action that combines the full capacity of the federal government with efforts from every corner of our nation, every level of government, and every sector of our economy.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Government agencies that seemingly have little to do with combating climate change responded to the order by releasing climate plans of their own. The Department of Veterans Affairs, for example, in August 2021&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.va.gov\/climate.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unveiled<\/a>&nbsp;its &#8220;Climate Action Plan&#8221;\u2014which pledged to respond to the &#8220;projected impacts of climate change&#8221; by making its buildings more &#8220;climate-resilient.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tajikistan was once a Soviet Socialist Republic and is now the poorest nation in Central Asia. The predominantly Muslim country is bordered by Afghanistan to the south and China to the east. Roughly two years after Biden&#8217;s disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal saw the Taliban seize power, the militant group has expanded its presence in Tajikistan\u2014it took control of an Afghan consulate in an eastern Tajikistan city two months ago, according to a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/eurasianet.org\/tajikistan-taliban-take-control-of-consulate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While USAID has long operated in Tajikistan through an office in the nation&#8217;s capital, Dushanbe, that presence has not stopped the country from accepting investment from its eastern neighbors. Tajikistan in 2021&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rferl.org\/a\/tajikistan-approves-chinese-base\/31532078.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">approved<\/a>&nbsp;a Chinese-funded military base, and one year later, the two nations&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/eurasianet.org\/china-stepping-up-military-cooperation-with-tajikistan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reached an agreement<\/a>&nbsp;to conduct joint military drills. USAID&#8217;s climate grant proposal, however, makes clear that it will not consider funding any program that comes with &#8220;significant infrastructure or construction activities&#8221;\u2014instead of building facilities that are accessible for disabled people, the grant says, the USAID project will &#8220;empower persons with disabilities to influence the outcomes of infrastructure or construction activities&#8221; on their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>USAID was formed under then-president John F. Kennedy in 1961 and exists to provide &#8220;timely and effective humanitarian response&#8221; and &#8220;disaster relief and life-saving assistance amidst complex crises.&#8221; Still, the agency&#8217;s spending does not always reflect that anodyne mission. The agency in 2021 sent millions of dollars to the research group that funded bat virus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and in November, it\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/biden-admin-awards-grant-to-palestinian-activist-group-whose-leaders-hailed-terrorist-as-hero-fighter\/\" target=\"_blank\">announced<\/a>\u00a0a $78,000 grant to a Palestinian activist group whose leaders openly praised terrorists, the\u00a0<em>Free Beacon<\/em>\u00a0reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>USAID&#8217;s emphasis on climate change has come under former Obama aide Samantha Power, whom Biden tapped in January 2021 to head the agency. In some cases, that emphasis seems to have kept Power from discussing more pressing humanitarian issues. After Power met in February with Iraq&#8217;s foreign minister, for example, USAID released a\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usaid.gov\/news-information\/press-releases\/feb-14-2023-administrator-samantha-power-meeting-iraqi-foreign-minister-fuad-hussein\" target=\"_blank\">readout<\/a>\u00a0that did not mention the words &#8220;ISIS&#8221; or &#8220;terrorism&#8221; but did praise Iraq for its work addressing &#8220;the impacts of climate change.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Published under:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/afghanistan\/\">Afghanistan<\/a>\u00a0,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/biden-administration\/\">Biden Administration<\/a>\u00a0,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/climate-change\/\">Climate Change<\/a>\u00a0,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/disability\/\">Disability<\/a>\u00a0,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/feature\/\">Feature<\/a>\u00a0,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/government-spending\/\">Government Spending<\/a>\u00a0,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/samantha-power\/\">Samantha Power<\/a>\u00a0,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/usaid\/\">USAID<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Original Article: <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/want-to-help-disabled-tajikistanis-fight-climate-change-biden-could-pay-you-1-million-for-your-advice\/\">https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/want-to-help-disabled-tajikistanis-fight-climate-change-biden-could-pay-you-1-million-for-your-advice\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/winred.tomcotton.com\/tom-cotton\/claim-yours-ots-fbeacon-ads-30?utm_source=rc&amp;utm_medium=fbeaconads&amp;utm_campaign=2023marchots\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Biden&#8217;s USAID puts big money behind project to elevate disabled &#8216;climate leaders&#8217; in Central Asian country The Biden administration plans to spend up to $1 million in taxpayer funds on a project to help disabled people in the Central Asian country of Tajikistan become &#8220;climate leaders,&#8221; documents show. President Joe Biden&#8217;s U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on March 9&nbsp;announced&nbsp;a grant notice seeking proposals for a &#8220;Disability-Inclusive Climate Action&#8221; project in Tajikistan. That project, a USAID&nbsp;document&nbsp;shows, aims to ensure disabled [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion","category-president-biden"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/85"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2487"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2489,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2487\/revisions\/2489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}