Latest news with #AppropriationsCommittee
Politico
4 days ago
- Business
- Politico
Vought to Senate: Your move
Presented by Bayer Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government, your guide to Donald Trump's unprecedented overhaul of the federal government — the key decisions, the critical characters and the power dynamics that are upending Washington and beyond. Send tips | Subscribe | Email Sophia | Email Irie | Email Ben RUSS VOUGHT, a key architect of Project 2025 and a leader of the Trump administration's efforts to drastically shrink the federal government, heads to the Hill tomorrow with one goal: Put senators on the spot. He plans to tell the Appropriations Committee in a hearing that it's time for the Senate to pass the $9.4 billion package of cuts, called rescissions, that axes programs Republicans have long wanted to slash. 'They begged us for months for this,' a senior administration official, granted anonymity to discuss the strategy, told West Wing Playbook. 'We say, 'Great, you guys are all in.' Let's all have at it together. Can you do it or can you not?' Part of Vought's mission will be to provide justification for senators nervous about cutting funding for programs such as public broadcasting and the HIV and AIDS foreign aid program PEPFAR, which was created under GEORGE W. BUSH and is credited with saving more than 25 million lives. Another aim will be correcting what the administration believes are misconceptions about the rescissions package. It will be a high-stakes moment for Vought, who will testify before appropriators, some of whom have long championed the same programs he is looking to cut. Sen. SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine), chair of the committee, talks with Vought regularly about the rescissions package and the reconciliation bill, but she has publicly opposed cuts to PEPFAR. Sen. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-Alaska), another member of the panel, has voiced concerns about cuts to public broadcasting, and former Senate GOP Leader MITCH McCONNELL (R-Ky.) has historically been supportive of U.S. foreign aid. Further, the Appropriations Committee is stacked with lawmakers who strongly believe in Congress' power to decide how money is spent. Vought plans to stress that the rescission does not touch money for lifesaving HIV/AIDS treatment, only for some prevention programs that the administration opposes, according to two administration officials. 'This proposal would not reduce treatment but would eliminate programs that are antithetical to American interests and worsen the lives of women and children,' Vought wrote in his formal proposal to Congress, pointing to funding for 'family planning,' 'reproductive health,' 'LGBTQI+ activities,' and 'equity' programs. Examples Vought is likely to point to in tomorrow's hearing include: 'That's what 'preventative care' is. That's what we're cutting,' said another senior administration official, also granted anonymity to discuss strategy. 'Most of the money for PEPFAR is still going to be there. That's what we've been crystal clear about.' The package was shaped behind the scenes by feedback from appropriators in both the House and the Senate over the last two months. 'We had the original proposed package, they gave feedback and edits on what would be good,' the official said. 'They would say: 'These are accounts that could be a problem, these are ones we want to keep.'' MESSAGE US — West Wing Playbook is obsessively covering the Trump administration's reshaping of the federal government. Are you a federal worker? A DOGE staffer? Have you picked up on any upcoming DOGE moves? We want to hear from you on how this is playing out. Email us at westwingtips@ Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe! POTUS PUZZLER Which president had a cat named SOCKS? (Answer at bottom.) Agenda Setting DON'T YOU DO IT: President DONALD TRUMP today scolded both Iran and Israel for an apparent violation of the two countries' ceasefire agreement the president says he brokered, our GISELLE RUHIYYIH EWING and JAKE TRAYLOR report. Trump announced Monday evening that after nearly two weeks of war, the countries had agreed to a ceasefire that would begin at midnight EST. It didn't last long. Israel threatened to strike Tehran early this morning, claiming Iran had already broken the deal, which Iran denies. 'We have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the fuck they're doing,' Trump told reporters on the White House lawn this morning before departing to the Netherlands to meet with NATO allies. Moments after, he took to Truth Social to continue. 'ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!' he wrote. DATA WEB EXPANDS: The Trump administration is amassing a wide base of personal information about hundreds of millions of people living in the U.S., now including troves of databases run by states, NPR's JUDE JOFFE-BLOCK reports. Some examples include: WHO'S IN, WHO'S OUT THE OLD SWITCHEROO: While federal agencies scramble to deal with staffing shortages and coverage gaps from mass worker firings, the Trump administration is simultaneously reversing course on some of those firings and voluntary retirements and making new hires to fill vacancies, CNN's ERIC BRADNER reports. As hurricane season approaches, the National Weather Service received permission to hire about 125 new meteorologists and specialists to fill gaps in its forecast offices around the country, despite a federal hiring freeze. The agency lost more than 560 employees to layoffs and early retirement incentives this year. HHS reinstated 450 CDC employees who were fired in April, including workers focused on HIV and childhood lead exposure. The FDA rehired more than a dozen scientists at a food safety lab in Illinois. The Department of Agriculture halted plans to lay off a quarter of its staff at 58 facilities responsible for responding to the bird flu. In the Courts WE'RE NOT LISTENING: A top DOJ official who was nominated for a federal judgeship told colleagues that the administration would defy court orders in order to carry out its aggressive mass deportation plans, our JOSH GERSTEIN, KYLE CHENEY and HAILEY FUCHS report. According to a whistleblower letter submitted by another attorney present for the remarks, the official, EMIL BOVE, proposed ignoring court orders as administration lawyers discussed expected legal challenges to the president's plan to assert wartime powers to rapidly deport some immigrants. The letter, submitted by EREZ REUVENI, who was fired from DOJ in April, said that the episode was followed by several attempts by DOJ officials to reject court orders in at least three immigration-related cases. Musk Radar TO HAVE A LAPTOP OR NOT TO HAVE A LAPTOP: In a court filing over the weekend, ELON MUSK's lawyers claimed the former DOGE chief 'does not use a computer,' WIRED's CAROLINE HASKINS, KATE KNIBBS and WILL KNIGHT report. This claim, from a filing in a lawsuit against SAM ALTMAN and OpenAI, comes as Musk has posted pictures and referred to his laptop on X several times in recent months. Last year, Musk posted on X a picture of a laptop with a caption that said, 'This is a pic of my laptop.' What We're Reading Trump takes Middle East ceasefire to trade war strategy (POLITICO's Ben Lefebvre, Phelim Kine, Megan Messerly and Daniel Desrochers) Elon Musk Is Playing God (The Atlantic's Charlie Warzel and Hana Kiros) The plan to vaccinate all Americans, despite RFK Jr. (WaPo's Lena H. Sun and Rachel Roubein) POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER Former President BILL CLINTON had a pet cat named Socks, an adopted tuxedo cat who gained fame as the first family's first cat. But Socks didn't have fans in every corner. In the late 90s, Rep. DAN BURTON (R-Ind.), then-chair of the House Oversight Committee, publicly questioned the use of White House personnel to answer letters addressed to the feline. He eventually laughed it off as a 'mistake.'
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Future Fund spending revealed in new report
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The 18 lawmakers who oversee South Dakota state government's budget will have an opportunity on Friday to discuss a required report on a multi-million-dollar funding program that the governor exclusively controls. Container homes face challenges in Sioux Falls market The Legislature's Appropriations Committee will look at how former Gov. Kristi Noem spent from the Future Fund in the final months before she left office in January. Businesses are required to pay into the program, which lawmakers established in 1987 at the suggestion of then-Gov. George S. Mickelson as a means to supplement research and economic development. Lawmakers in 2024 passed legislation requiring semi-annual reports on the Future Fund's use be submitted to the Appropriations Committee. The current report shows that Noem distributed millions from the fund in the weeks before she resigned as governor to become the new federal Homeland Security secretary. Sioux Falls Development Foundation received $15 million on December 9, 2024. The report says the funding was to 'offset the costs associated with siting and constructing the CJ/Schwans facility in Sioux Falls.' South Dakota Community Foundation received $16.8 million on December 17, 2024, for the Build Dakota Scholarship Program, up from $10 million in the original agreement. South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry received $50,000 on December 17, 2024. The report says the funding was 'for winners of the Giant Vision Business Awards Competition to encourage entrepreneurial activity within the state.' South Dakota Trade Association received $3 million on December 27, 2024, to support 'their effort to expand international trade for South Dakota businesses,' according to the report. That was up from an agreed-upon original amount of $600,000. South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation received $13,940,211 on January 14, 2025, as 'support for the Registered Apprenticeship Program to expand its impact,' according to the report. That was up from an original amount of $7,940,211. The Appropriations Committee meeting starts at 10 a.m. CT. The Future Fund report is the third item on the agenda. A cover letter from Bill Even, who recently was appointed commissioner for the Governor's Office of Economic Development by Gov. Larry Rhoden, states that GOED 'is committed to providing comprehensive and transparent information to the Joint Committee on Appropriations, in line with legislation and South Dakota's economic development goals.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nebraskans to decide in 2026 whether to allow three four-year terms in Legislature
State Sen. Robert Dover of Norfolk holds a stack of binders containing the budgetary work spearheaded by the Legislature's Appropriations Committee. March 12, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — Nebraskans now know the first ballot measure or constitutional amendment voters will consider in 2026: whether state lawmakers can serve up to three consecutive four-year terms, instead of two. The change comes with the 39-10 approval Wednesday of Legislative Resolution 19CA, from State Sen. Rob Dover of Norfolk and 22 other senators. Nebraskans implemented the current limits of two four-year terms for state senators via a voter-led initiative in 2000. It passed with 55.8% of the vote. Senators can sit out one term after being term-limited and run again. A term is counted if it lasts more than two years. So an appointed senator, such as State Sen. Rob Clements of Elmwood, who was appointed in 2017, can serve up to 10 years straight. Dover has said term limits have particularly hurt Nebraska because of its Unicameral Legislature, limiting 'institutional knowledge' in the lawmaking body. 'In all other states in the U.S., there are two chambers, so that when a representative is termed out, they go to the other chamber and serve, taking their eight years of experience with them to continue to serve their state,' Dover said in a previous statement. Senators rejected multiple attempts from State Sen. Loren Lippincott of Central City to change LR 19CA so that the three four-year terms led to a lifetime ban or service, or prevented someone from returning to the Legislature until they had sat out eight years. Lawmakers advanced an identical measure to Dover's in 2012, in a 31-14 vote, which failed to pass at the ballot box, garnering 35.4% support. Lawmakers that same year, in a 31-15 vote, also advanced a constitutional amendment to increase lawmakers' salaries to $22,500 (up from $12,000). It failed with 31.6% support. The list of senators who have returned after being term-limited is relatively short: State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln is the only current senator to have done so, joining former State Sens. Ray Aguilar, Ernie Chambers, Steve Lathrop, Mike Flood and Rich Pahls. Chambers, across 46 years of service in two separate periods, is the only senator to be term-limited twice, in 2009 and 2021. He was a top target of the 2000 ballot measure. If voters approve LR 19CA next year, Dover is one senator who would be able to run for a third term in 2028. He was appointed in 2022, as was State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of the Millard area. Due to the timing of their appointments, Kauth had to run in a 2022 special election, but Dover did not have to run until 2024. Both supported LR 19CA. The remaining four-member class of senators elected in 2020 also would be allowed to run for a third term if voters approve LR 19CA: State Sens. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, Terrell McKinney of Omaha, Eliot Bostar of Lincoln and Rita Sanders of Bellevue. All four approved the measure. LR 19CA has supporters that include Civic Nebraska, the Civic Engagement Table, League of Nebraska Municipalities, Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nebraska Farm Bureau and the OpenSky Policy Institute. Civic Nebraska has also been working with State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair to increase lawmaker pay through LR 25CA. This time, the proposal would create an independent lawmaker compensation commission that could more regularly raise (or lower) senators' pay. In efforts to not repeat the dual electoral defeats of measures to increase term limits and increase lawmaker pay in 2012, Hansen sought to get his lawmaker compensation change on the November 2026 ballot. He steered Dover's term-limit proposal to the May 2026 primary election instead. Such a tactic would have required Dover's LR 19CA to pass with at least 40 votes. Dover abandoned seeking a primary election vote when some supporters began to get cold feet at that approach. Had it passed unchanged and been approved by voters next May, the 10 senators who will be term-limited after 2026 could have instead run a write-in campaign for a third term that November. Hansen's effor to create the lawmaker compensation commission will not move forward in 2025 but could return in 2026. Other bills that passed on Wednesday include: LB 192, from State Sen. Dan Quick of Grand Island, to extend the current SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) income eligibility before it would return to pre-pandemic levels this October. An amendment from State Sen. Bob Andersen of north-central Sarpy County prohibited the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services from waiving SNAP work requirements. DHHS 'may' require SNAP recipients to participate in an employment and training program. Passed 41-8. LB 290, from the Urban Affairs Committee and led by committee chair State Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha, to allow flexibility for a planned North Omaha area business park to be located outside a two-mile radius of Eppley Airfield. Problems complicated two proposed sites that a development team had prioritized for the project, which is seeded with a $90 million state grant. Passed 31-18. LB 346, from Speaker John Arch of La Vista at the governor's request, to eliminate or modify the membership or duties of 39 boards, commissions, committees, councils, task forces and panels. These range from the Nebraska Potato Development Committee and Advisory Council on Public Water Supply to the Women's Health Initiative Advisory Council and Whiteclay Public Health Emergency Task Force. Entities that faced opposition, such as the Racial Profiling Advisory Committee, were preserved as LB 346 worked through the Legislature. Passed 49-0. LB 371, from State Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Omaha, to provide civil damages for the creation and release of computer-generated or digitally manipulated intimate, 'private' or nude images without the depicted person's consent. DeBoer created the underlying civil law for the nonconsensual sharing of any intimate images in 2019. Passed 49-0. LB 382, from State Sen. Glen Meyer of Pender, to appropriate $4 million over the next two years for the state's eight designated agencies on aging in part to help keep Meals on Wheels afloat. The bill at one point included McKinney's LB 48, to create a family resource and juvenile assessment center pilot program in Omaha, which had previously failed to advance. McKinney's LB 48 was revived and removed from Meyer's bill. Passed 48-1. LB 398, from State Sen. Mike Moser of Columbus, chair of the Legislature's Transportation and Telecommunications Committee, would increase fees for driver and vehicle records beginning July 1. It also includes bills to create license plates honoring Arbor Day (LB 568, from State Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha) and for those who have served or are serving in the U.S. Space Force or have been awarded a U.S. Army Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal (LB 134, from State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue). Holdcroft's provisions would also allow disabled veterans or recipients of a Purple Heart to apply for specialty license plates. Passed 45-4. LB 504, from State Sen. Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln, and a priority of Gov. Jim Pillen and Attorney General Mike Hilgers, requires online services to explicitly protect minor users' data and personal information in the physical design of certain applications or websites, including social media. It would require default parental tools up to their child's 13th birthday, including ways to crack down on screen time, external communications, 'unnecessary' design features, in-game purchases, personalized recommendations and geolocation tracking. Notifications and push alerts for minors would also be prohibited during certain hours of the day. Passed 42-7. LB 513, also from Bosn, to give all 148 judges in the state a 1.5% raise each of the next two fiscal years. Judges have gotten increases in 30 of the past 36 years back to 1989, the last time that state lawmakers got a raise. Passed 38-11, the narrowest passage in about two decades. LB 521, from State Sen. Rita Sanders of Bellevue, as an election 'cleanup' package to allow hospice or disability services patient records to count as photo ID, stop petition signature verification on candidates or new political parties at 110% of the goal, prohibit petition circulation within 200 feet of ballot drop boxes, notify a voter if their voter registration is canceled and permit the Secretary of State's Office to distribute petition pages to counties 'by a secure method' rather than just by mail or law enforcement. The package included LB 659, from Andersen, which would allow political parties to appoint watchers to monitor county election officials' already mandatory three independent tests of vote-counting devices, the results of which would be published online. Also included was LB 19, from State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, to allow Lincoln or Omaha to move odd-year city elections in April and May to be in line with even-year statewide primary and general elections. Passed 49-0. LB 558, from State Sen. Brad von Gillern of the Elkhorn area, to create an Infrastructure Review Task Force to review past, present and future transportation infrastructure needs every year. The task force would include the governor, a designee of the governor, director of the Nebraska Department of Transportations, the speaker of the Legislature, the chair of the Legislature's Revenue Committee (currently von Gillern), the chair of the Legislature's Transportation and Telecommunications Committee (currently Moser), tax commissioner and three other state senators. Passed 49-0. Nebraska Examiner senior reporter Cindy Gonzalez contributed to this report. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
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Business Standard
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Rubio defends Trump's foreign policy amid Gaza aid, South Africa questions
Rubio told the Appropriations Committee that the Trump administration is encouraging but not threatening Israel to resume humanitarian aid shipments into Gaza AP Washington Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Democratic senators sparred Tuesday over the Trump administration 's foreign policies, ranging from Ukraine and Russia to the Middle East, Latin America, the slashing of the US foreign assistance budget and refugee admissions. Rubio defended the administration's decisions to his former colleagues during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, his first since being confirmed on President Donald Trump 's inauguration day. He said America is back and claimed four months of foreign-policy achievements, even as many of them remain frustratingly inconclusive. Among them, the resumption of nuclear talks with Iran, efforts to bring Russia and Ukraine into peace talks and efforts to end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. America's top diplomat praised agreements with El Salvador and other Latin American countries to accept migrant deportees, saying secure borders, safe communities and zero tolerance for criminal cartels are once again the guiding principles of our foreign policy." He also rejected assertions that massive cuts to his department's budget would hurt America's standing abroad. Instead, he said the cuts would actually improve American status and the US reputation internationally. Hearing opens with a joke, then turns serious Committee Chairman Jim Risch opened the hearing with praise for Trump's changes and spending cuts and welcomed what he called the administration's promising nuclear talks with Iran. Risch also noted what he jokingly called modest disagreement with Democratic lawmakers, who used Tuesday's hearing to confront Rubio about Trump administration moves they say are weakening US influence globally. Yet, Democrats on the committee, including ranking member Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, took sharp issue with Rubio's presentation. Shaheen argued that the Trump administration has eviscerated six decades of foreign-policy investments and given China openings around the world. I urge you to stand up to the extremists of the administration, Shaheen said. Other Democrats excoriated the administration for its suspension of the refugee admissions program, particularly while allowing white Afrikaners from South Africa to enter the country. Some Republicans also warned about the drastic foreign aid cuts, including former Senate leader Mitch McConnell and Susan Collins. They expressed concern that the US is being outmaneuvered by its rivals internationally after the elimination of thousands of aid programs. The basic functions that soft power provides are extremely important, McConnell told Rubio at a second hearing later in the day before the Senate Appropriations Committee. You get a whole lot of friends for not much money. Rubio says the US is encouraging but not threatening Israel on Gaza aid Rubio told the Appropriations Committee that the Trump administration is encouraging but not threatening Israel to resume humanitarian aid shipments into Gaza. He said the US is not following the lead of several European countries that have imposed sanctions against Israel for the dearth of assistance reaching needy and vulnerable Palestinians. However, he said US officials have stressed in discussions with the Israelis that aid is urgently needed for civilians in Gaza who are suffering during Israel's military operation against Hamas. We're not prepared to respond the way these countries have, but we are prepared to say as we have and I think the Israelis in their statements today acknowledged have engaged with our Israeli partners over the weekend, in the last few days, about the need to resume humanitarian aid, Rubio said. We anticipate that those flows will increase over the next few days and weeks it's important that that be achieved. Also on the Middle East, Rubio said the administration has continued to push ahead with attempts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and to promote stability in Syria. He stressed the importance of US engagement with Syria, saying that otherwise, he fears the interim government there could be weeks or months away from a potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions. Rubio's comments addressed Trump's pledge to lift sanctions burdening Syria's new transitional government, which is led by a former militant chief who led the overthrow of the country's longtime oppressive leader, Bashar Assad, late last year. The US sanctions were imposed under Assad. Rubio and senators clash over white South Africans entering the country In two particularly contentious exchanges, Kaine and Van Hollen demanded answers on the decision to suspend overall refugee admissions but to exempt Afrikaners based on what they called specious claims that they have been subjected to massive discrimination by the South African government. Rubio gave no ground. In one tense exchange, Kaine pressed Rubio to say whether there should be a different refugee policy based on skin color. I'm not the one arguing that, Rubio said. Apparently, you are, because you don't like the fact they're white. The United States has a right to pick and choose who we allow into the United States, he said. If there is a subset of people that are easier to vet, who we have a better understanding of who they are and what they're going to do when they come here, they're going to receive preference." He added: "There are a lot of sad stories around the world, millions and millions of people around the world. It's heartbreaking, but we cannot assume millions and millions of people around the world. No country can. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US bond rating downgrade is telling, Republican congressman says
U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., joins 'CUOMO' to talk about the GOP majority's continuing challenge in crafting a balanced federal budget as Moody's downgrades the government's credit rating. 'We have a spending problem in this country that we're going to have to address,' Zinke, an Appropriations Committee member, says. #Budget #Congress #Politics
