New GOP Bill May Ban DEI Hires and Funding

(UnitedHeadlines.com) – On June 12, Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and Republican Texas Rep. Michael Cloud introduced the Dismantle DEI Act, which bans the federal government from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring and funding.

The proposed legislation prohibits the federal government from hiring and promoting based on DEI, and from conducting DEI training. The bill eliminated federal grant funding for diversity initiatives for all federal agencies and prohibits “entities that employ” DEI initiatives from being awarded federal contracts.

Accreditation agencies would be prevented “from requiring DEI in schools” under the bill. The proposed legislation also prohibits colleges and universities from using federal funds to maintain offices, staff, or training courses related to DEI.

The proposed bill would rescind President Joe Biden’s 2021 executive order that said the federal government would be “a model for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.”

Vance stated that DEI has “no place” in the government, calling DEI “a destructive ideology that breeds hatred and racial division.”

While DEI advocates say DEI initiatives help companies, organizations, and schools diversify, critics say the practice of giving people preference because of their gender or race is discriminatory.

Some of the federal government’s DEI efforts have already been overturned. In March, the federal spending bill that passed included stripping the funding from the U.S. House Office of Diversity and Inclusion, which was established to help make the diversity of the federal workforce similar to the diversity of the country.

The bill was supported by Republicans, Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer, Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt, and Rick Scott, and over a dozen Republicans in the House.

Democratic Rep. Judy Chu reacted to the proposal, calling it “misguided and counterproductive.”

Twenty states have proposed similar legislation to limit DEI in workplaces and schools. The proposal also comes a year after the Supreme Court overturned affirmative action in colleges.