A disturbing pattern of secrecy is unfolding within Pentagon-funded animal laboratories, as revealed by Senator Joni Ernst and the government watchdog group White Coat Waste. These labs are actively defying federal law, shielding taxpayers from the true cost of bizarre and ethically questionable experiments.
Senator Ernst has formally demanded answers from the Department of Defense Inspector General, citing blatant disregard for the COST Act – a transparency law she authored. This law requires full public disclosure of funding amounts for all DOD-funded projects, a simple measure designed to ensure accountability.
The examples are startling. Millions of dollars are being allocated to projects like “octopus hypnosis” research, studying the sleep patterns of elephant seals, and even analyzing snail mucus. Funding is also directed towards behavioral studies on “doomscrolling” on Facebook and attempts to decode monkey brain signals – essentially, “reading their minds.”
Each of these projects openly acknowledges Pentagon funding, yet conspicuously omits the actual dollar amount spent. This deliberate omission is a direct violation of the COST Act, passed in 2021, and fuels concerns about unchecked spending within the Department of Defense.
“The Pentagon is diverting defense dollars toward questionable research,” Senator Ernst stated, highlighting the absurdity of funding such projects while concealing the financial burden from the American public. Her goal is clear: to ensure taxpayers know precisely how their hard-earned money is being utilized.
White Coat Waste Project has independently filed a formal complaint with the Inspector General, naming four major universities for similar violations. These institutions are accused of brazenly disregarding the COST Act while conducting animal experiments funded by taxpayer dollars.
Oregon Health & Science University reportedly injected monkeys with an experimental virus, receiving over $7.3 million. Emory University pumped synthetic mRNA into mice, funded with roughly $28.7 million. Harvard’s Wyss Institute inflicted traumatic brain injuries on pigs, spending approximately $4.4 million. And UC Berkeley implanted neural probes into bats’ brains, utilizing nearly $1.5 million.
All four universities prominently featured these experiments on their websites, yet failed to disclose the associated taxpayer costs. This pattern of concealment underscores a systemic lack of transparency and accountability within the system.
White Coat Waste is calling for the suspension of funding to any grantee found to be in violation of the COST Act. They argue that taxpayers deserve to know how their money is being spent, and those who operate in secrecy do not deserve continued financial support.
This isn’t an isolated incident. Senator Ernst and White Coat Waste have previously collaborated to expose and shut down other wasteful animal experiments, including studies on cat constipation and cruel puppy poisoning tests conducted in China.
The Pentagon’s vast research budget – exceeding $140 billion annually – is intended to strengthen national security, not to fund frivolous projects shrouded in secrecy. The current situation demands immediate action to enforce the COST Act and restore transparency to the process.
The Inspector General now has a clear mandate to investigate these violations and ensure that taxpayer dollars are used responsibly. The public deserves a full accounting of how their money is being spent, and any institution that attempts to conceal this information must be held accountable.
