Rep. Brandon Gill Questions Witness on Government Grants and 'Birthing People'

Questioning Government Grant Spending

• 🎯 Rep. Brandon Gill questioned witness Emily DiVito about government grants pulled back by DOGE, including a $1.5 million NIH grant to Morehouse College for research on "reproductive justice and behavioral health among black pregnant/postpartum women and birthing people."
• 💡 Gill challenged the definition of "birthing people," asking if it referred to women and if the term constituted "eraser language."
• 🔬 DiVito stated she was not familiar with the specific grant but defended government investment in medical and scientific research of all types.

Controversial Grant Topics

• 🧪 Another grant discussed was for a conference on "gender equity in the mathematical study of commutative algebra," and research on "women and non-binary mathematicians."
• 🏳️‍🌈 A grant for adapting an "LGB plus inclusive teen pregnancy prevention program for transgender boys" was also questioned.
• 💰 Gill expressed skepticism about these grants, implying they were not a useful spend of taxpayer money, while DiVito maintained that government investment in scientific research is of the utmost importance.

Filibuster and Policy Stance

• 🗣️ Gill also inquired about DiVito's past stance on abolishing the filibuster, suggesting it could help pass DOGE cuts.
• 🏛️ DiVito reiterated her focus on discussing the harms of DOGE cuts for working families, rather than strategies for achieving them.
• 🧐 Gill noted that DiVito's comments on the filibuster seemed to align with the Biden administration, implying a shift in opinion.

Further Grant Scrutiny

• 🧐 The discussion returned to grants, with Gill questioning a $500,000 NSF grant on the "racialized basis of trait judgments from faces."
• 🔬 DiVito, unfamiliar with the grant, again emphasized the importance of government investment in scientific research, including topics like cardiovascular risk in transgender females.