WASHINGTON. D.C. – On July 18, the U.S. House quickly approved a $9 billion dollar rescission package, sending the controversial measure to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.
Following a 51-48 vote in the Senate earlier the same day, the narrow vote in the House (216 to 213) cleared the way for presidential approval of the rescission package, the first time in decades that lawmakers have agreed to a White House request to cut funding that had previously by approved by Congress.
That final hurdle for the historic legislation seems a virtual certainty, as Trump and White House officials have been pushing lawmakers to pass the bill which would codify budget cuts recommended by the semi-official Department of Government Efficiency.
Specifically, the rescission bill includes $7.9 billion in cuts to foreign aid and $1.1 billion in cancelled funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting CPB), which partially funds the National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting System (PBS).
At local level, the CPB cuts will translate to a more than $200,000 bite out of funds for Utah Public Radio, about 15 percent of their annual budget, according to recent Facebook posts.
Anticipating those losses, the station’s staff has been seeking additional donations from the public in recent weeks.
Democrats were critical of the rescission measure for cutting billion in humanitarian aid and development assistance. They also opposed the CPB cuts, predicting that they would reduce access to public radio and television programming and would also disproportionately impact rural communities.
The bill’s GOP supporters argued that the proposal fulfilled Trump’s 2024 campaign pledge to reduce fraud, waste and abuse in the federal government.
The inside-the-Beltway journal Roll Call reported that the passage of the rescission bill was applauded by Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget in the White House.
Following the House vote on the rescission passage, Vought told reporters that he was hoping to see additional legislation of this sort in the future.