GOP probes liberal ‘social change’ programs backed by Fish and Wildlife Service.

Months after House Republicans learned the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) sponsored “ecogrief” sessions for federal employees, lawmakers on Capitol Hill discovered the agency is hiring outside consultants for “social change” initiatives.

In a letter to FWS last week, lawmakers expanded their inquiry into agency misuse of American tax dollars with questions about contractors hired to implement campaigns that go beyond the scope of FWS’s mission.

Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., with Paul Gosar, R-Ariz, who chairs the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, wrote, “The Service purportedly utilizes the expertise of outside consultants to institute ‘social change’ initiatives, including but not limited to, programs on social justice; environmental justice; eco-grief; diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (‘DEIA’); and justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (‘JEDIA’).”

Questions Remain Unanswered

• FWS did not answer The Federalist’s question about whether the agency also calculated the cost of employees’ salaries for the time wasted on the sessions.
• FWS did not have an answer to The Federalist’s question about the identity of the consultants or who chose to hire them.

“The Service is in receipt of the committee’s request, and we are working on our response,” said an FWS spokesman in a statement to The Federalist.

Westerman and Gosar are looking for the same answers related to the agency’s hiring of outside consultants to facilitate so-called social justice movements. In their letter last week, the pair referenced a recent Justice Department inspector general investigation of consultants hired by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

After news of FWS sessions on ecogrief sessions surfaced in February, Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., who serves on the Natural Resources Committee, threatened to restrict federal spending on such activism through the appropriations process. The workshops, Hageman told The Federalist, would be “specifically addressed,” whether by appropriations or some other legislative remedy.

Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at [email protected]. Sign up for Tristan’s email newsletter here.