As the Russian war in Ukraine approaches its first anniversary, Voice of America could be an important resource. Russian conscripts should understand the futility of their mission and the horrors they face. Russian families who adopt Ukrainian children should know the international community considers them human traffickers. VOA could explain to Russian pensioners how they starve while President Vladimir Putin rotates between billion-dollar palaces. Many Russians, however, hear little about this: VOA only supports 12.5 hours of Russian broadcasting per week, much of which VOA fills with entertainment news or science and medicine spotlights.

So where does the money Congress dispenses to VOA go? According to acting director Yolanda Lopez’s weekly email, junkets are high on the list. "I traveled with Beth Mendelson of the News Center to the United Kingdom last week to speak at two screenings of our documentary 'Symphony of Courage,'" she wrote, describing visits to Cambridge University and Queen Mary University in London.

The documentary Symphony of Courage tells the story of two female musicians who fled Afghanistan after its fall and relocated to Portugal. While their story may be compelling, it could be the subject for any number of other media outlets rather than VOA, nor should it require a top executive to travel when such funding could be better spent sending reporters to Ukraine, Moldova, or Poland. Even if Lopez, a former Spanish journalist, wants to argue that their story is a worthy subject, the choice of audience should raise a red flag: When press freedom around the globe is in retreat, should VOA really prioritize targeting the British? What’s next? Canada? The Bahamas? Someplace else Lopez would like a taxpayer-funded vacation?

The problem is not just a single documentary but rather them all. Lopez’s " 52 Documentary " series siphons funds from VOA’s core mission for no compelling purpose. VOA sources say the series employs at least 10 contractors. How does a documentary about multigenerational rodeo help the United States? Is it more important than speaking truth to power in Russia, China, or Turkey? If VOA claims to have an audience of more than 300 million listeners, why do its uploaded documentaries often draw less than 1,000 viewers on its YouTube channel ?

While Lopez and Amanda Bennett, the CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, cut back on shortwave and radio broadcasting, often the only media target audiences can access in times of war and revolution, is it a wise strategic choice to divert funds to a mission that Netflix could provide at no cost to taxpayers? Unfortunately, it seems that VOA leadership increasingly treats its budget as a slush fund for vanity projects. VOA is home to many professionals whose commitment to their core mission is lifelong. They chose VOA for a purpose and resent its treatment by its appointed leadership as a resume builder for a plush private sector position once political winds change.

VOA needs a reboot . It needs to return to its core mission. It should not be a political football, top-heavy with management, or a shelter for those who falsify their credentials. With the world on fire, it is time for VOA to get its house in order. If Bennett and Lopez cannot do the job or lack the necessary judgment, it is time the Biden administration finds people who can.

Michael Rubin ( @mrubin1971 ) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential. He is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.