Latest news with #foreignaid
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The clock's ticking on codifying DOGE cuts into law
Congress has until July 18 to pass a $9.4 billion DOGE cuts package. That includes cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting. It's running into resistance from GOP senators. With just over three weeks to go before a critical deadline, the push to codify DOGE cuts is hitting resistance on Capitol Hill. Several GOP senators sound skeptical about the $9.4 billion in cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting funding that the Trump administration is asking Congress to approve, raising the prospect of a high-profile setback for the DOGE project just weeks after Elon Musk and President Donald Trump's public feud. The House narrowly approved the cuts, in part identified by Musk and the White House DOGE Office, earlier this month. The administration's troubles were evident at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday. Lawmakers in both parties highlighted the potential negative impacts of clawing back the funding as they heard testimony from Russell Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. "We have Native American radio stations in South Dakota. They get their funding through NPR, 90-some percent of what they use," Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota said at the hearing. "They will not continue to exist if we don't find a way to take care of their needs." Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the committee chair, also raised concerns about the $1.1 billion in public broadcasting cuts. Another moderate Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, has previously said that she's opposed to the cuts because rural Alaskan communities depend on the funding. Several GOP lawmakers are also concerned about the $8.3 billion in foreign aid cuts. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former Senate GOP leader, broadly criticized DOGE efforts to cut wasteful foreign aid spending during his remarks at the hearing. "There's plenty of absolute nonsense masquerading as American aid that shouldn't receive another bit of taxpayer funding," McConnell said. "But the administration's attempt to root it out has been unnecessarily chaotic." Several of them have raised concerns in particular about cuts to PEPFAR, a global program to combat and treat HIV/AIDS, though the administration has insisted that life-saving programs will continue to receive funding. Democratic senators are expected to unanimously oppose the cuts, just as their counterparts did in the House. With the Senate divided 53-47, that means Republicans can only afford to lose three votes. The administration is using a process known as "rescission" to pursue the cuts, which allows the White House to ask Congress to claw back money it has already approved. The process has not been successfully used in over two decades, and the Senate rejected a rescission request in 2018, during Trump's first term. Lawmakers must approve the cuts within 45 days of the request — July 18 — or Trump is required by law to spend the money. The administration has said that this could be the first of several rescission requests. Democrats have argued that the prospect of constant rescissions threatens to undermine the bipartisan government funding process, where both parties agree to provisions in funding bills that they may not support in order to get enough votes to clear the 60-vote filibuster threshold in the Senate. Rescissions only require 51 votes in the Senate, raising the prospect that Republicans, led by the White House, could unilaterally strip out Democratic priorities after funding bills are passed. At least one Republican senator appeared to be listening to those arguments on Thursday. "My biggest concern is that the appropriations process work, and that Republicans and Democrats agree that the process will end up in a negotiated settlement," Rounds said. "If we get to the point where the Democrats look at this and say, 'We can put it in the bill, but they're not going to fund it, or they're not going to use it,' then there's no reason for them to work with us to get to 60 votes." Rounds said that he would "try to negotiate" with the administration about preserving public broadcasting funding, while Collins told reporters after the hearing that she wanted to see "fundamental changes" to the bill and was working on an amended version. If the Senate passes an amended version of the bill, the House would have to pass the measure again before the July 18 deadline. Read the original article on Business Insider
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Dem senator accuses top Trump official of being responsible for ‘hundreds of thousands of children dying'
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., accused Trump Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought of being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children due to the budget cuts he has overseen under the Trump faced a high-intensity grilling from both Democratic and GOP senators in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday over a package of proposed budget cuts – called a rescissions package - the administration sent to the legislative branch earlier this committee members, as well as some Republicans, appeared very frustrated with the administration over the proposed cuts. At one point during the hearing, several protesters stood and began shouting, causing the proceedings to briefly come to a halt. It was unclear what the protesters were objecting Vought claimed that the administration's cuts to USAID and PEPFAR have not halted lifesaving treatment, Merkley asserted that the claim is a "huge deception."TRUMP'S PLAN TO SLASH 'WOKE' FOREIGN AID, NPR FUNDS CLEARS HOUSE AS SENATE BATTLE LOOMSAccording to Merkley, a Boston University School of Public Health study claims that some 246,000 children have died due to the various foreign aid programs cut by DOGE."We are talking a quarter million children because of your irresponsible shutdown of programs that Congress had fully authorized, and you unconstitutionally shut down in partnership with Elon Musk and the Secretary of State," fired Merkley. "How do you feel about being responsible for hundreds of thousands of children dying because of your sudden interruption in these key programs?"Vought soundly rejected the assertion, saying that every administration "has the ability to do a programmatic review when they come into office" and to make changes based on "new spending priorities."Before he could finish, Merkley cut Vought off, saying, "I find your response both ignorant and callous."MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE LAUNCHES PROBE INTO PLANNED PARENTHOOD'S USE OF TAXPAYER FUNDS"You chose to shut down programs in the middle that have resulted in hundreds of thousands of children dying in the last few months. I find that abhorrent, and few Americans have ever had such a devastating and disastrously impact," Merkley Patty Murray, D-Wash., also confronted Vought, accusing the administration of trying to illegally maneuver around Congress to make its cuts, which she said undermine American interests abroad."Will you tell us specifically where, the Philippines, Pacific islands, Jordan, you're planning to undermine American interests?" she asked, to which Vought responded: "Of course not. We've been very clear in all the administration's priorities that all of our commitments with regard to Jordan and Egypt are maintained."Before Vought could finish, Murray cut in again, saying, "I assume you're unwilling to share which humanitarian crisis this administration plans to walk away with, which is what we would be voting on, and that is critical information."WATCH: RFK JR. REBUKES DEM SENATOR FOR PLAYING POLITICS WITH CANCER-STRICKEN CONSTITUENT: 'YOU DON'T CARE'But it wasn't just Democrats taking Vought to task during the Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, also voiced frustration over the Trump administration's DOGE cuts, taking particular issue with cuts to public broadcasting, which she said plays an important emergency services role in her Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., also voiced objections to the cuts to foreign aid, which he said were opportunities to project American soft power."Instead of creating efficiency, you've created vacuums for adversaries like China to fill responsible investments in soft power, prevent conflict, preserve American influence, and save countless of lives at the same time," said his part, Vought said that "it is critical that this body and the American people writ large, understand that many foreign aid programs use benevolent-sounding titles to hide truly appalling activity that is not in line with American interests."FOUR PLEAD GUILTY IN MASSIVE BRIBERY SCHEME AT AGENCY DEMOCRATS FOUGHT TO PROTECT FROM DOGECLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPVought said the "entire federal government must be responsible with each taxpayer dollar that comes to Washington.""The American people voted for change. President Trump stands ready to put our fiscal house back in order and put the American taxpayer first," he said, adding, "A vote for rescissions is a vote to show that the United States Senate is serious about getting our fiscal house in order. I hope that the Senate will join us in that fight."
New York Times
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Some Republicans Join Democrats in Unease Over White House Budget Cuts
A handful of Senate Republicans joined Democrats on Wednesday in sharp questioning of President Trump's proposed budget cuts, exposing the depth of congressional unease with the White House's new plan to pare back billions of dollars for foreign aid and public broadcasting. The rare display of bipartisan discord left the fate of that package uncertain at a moment when the Trump administration has signaled that it is willing to circumvent Congress to slash federal spending, potentially touching off a constitutional battle over the power of the purse. The dynamic played out over a tense, roughly three-hour grilling of Russell T. Vought, the White House budget director, who asked lawmakers to approve Mr. Trump's request to rescind more than $9 billion in enacted funds. The administration has framed the package, unveiled this month, as the first of possibly many that could implement changes identified by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. But Democrats and some Republicans on Wednesday questioned the president's proposed clawbacks, which passed the House earlier in June. Some lawmakers said the cuts would undermine longtime bipartisan priorities, including a shared desire to preserve local television and radio stations and combat the global AIDS crisis. Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine and the chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she worried about the implications for global health, particularly because some of the funding that the president targeted has 'saved more than 26 million lives.' Lawmakers from both parties later echoed some of those criticisms, prompting Ms. Collins to conclude the hearing by saying that it showed the 'depth of concerns about this rescission from members on both sides of the aisle' with the White House's plans. A spokesperson for the senator later confirmed that she was drafting an amendment to change the package when it reached the Senate floor. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
US Republican senators push back on Trump cuts to foreign aid and public media
WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) - Several Republican U.S. senators on Wednesday pushed back on the Trump administration's proposed cuts to American public media stations and foreign aid, a sign the request to cancel $9.4 billion of funding could be blocked by the upper chamber. At least five Senate Appropriations Committee Republicans voiced unease with the plan to erase the congressionally-approved funding proposed by White House budget director Russ Vought. None of the five specifically said they would vote to block it in the chamber, where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority. "This package reflects the Trump administration's steadfast commitment to cutting wasteful federal spending antithetical to American interests and correcting our fiscal trajectory," Vought told the committee. The hearing marked a rare moment of resistance from Republicans who hold both chambers of Congress to Trump's sweeping efforts to exert greater control over federal spending - which the U.S. Constitution gives Congress power over. The five who expressed concerns included Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and the Senate's former top Republican, Mitch McConnell, who have all opposed some Trump priorities before. Maine's Collins, who is the appropriations committee chair, repeatedly questioned the administration's goals in cutting foreign aid as she held up food packets and vitamins funded by these programs, which were approved earlier this year by President Donald Trump in a stopgap funding package. McConnell of Kentucky said the administration's plan to root out wasteful spending has been 'unnecessarily chaotic' and argued that instead of government efficiency, it 'created vacuums for adversaries like China' to fill soft-power gaps. Vought argued the foreign aid cuts, like some funding for LGBTQ advocacy in Uganda, are warranted because they are 'not in line with American interests,' despite the country having a draconian anti-homosexuality law that includes the death penalty for certain same-sex acts. The House of Representatives passed this funding cut package earlier this month, however, the funding changes also need to be approved by the Senate within the next several weeks to take effect. 'I want to see fundamental changes in the package, and I am already working on a substitute," Collins told reporters after the hearing. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said he will vote for the funding cut package despite long-standing support of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program because it is 'not beyond scrutiny.' A few Republicans also questioned the funding cut request that targets money for PBS public television and NPR radio stations nationwide, which receive a portion of their funding from more than $1 billion that Congress appropriates through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Senator Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican, defended his state's Native American radio stations that he said would not 'exist' without this funding, a concern shared by Nebraska Republican Senator Deb Fischer who noted parts of her state have poor cellular service. Vought said he would work with the committee on their concerns and noted that the public media funding in question is for two years in the future to allow for planning. But Murkowski, from Alaska, pushed back on the ability for rural radio stations to plan without this funding, especially for emergency communication responsibilities. "There is no way to recalibrate, there is no safety valve for them," Murkowski said. 'If President Trump and Director Vought get their way and Republicans pass this package, they will not only gut the heart of compromise that this committee is built around but zero out long-standing bipartisan investments,' said Senator Patty Murray, the top committee Democrat.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Senators challenge Trump's proposed cuts to foreign aid and public media in contentious hearing
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate panel challenged on a bipartisan basis the merits of cancelling billions of dollars in spending for foreign aid and public media as part of a contentious hearing Wednesday examining the White House's request for the cuts. The House has already voted to claw back $9.4 billion as requested by President Donald Trump. Now, the Senate is preparing to take up the package with a July 18 deadline for action. If the Senate declines to approve a measure by then, the Trump administration must obligate and spend the funds in question. Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, defended the proposed cuts, which are part of the administration's efforts to follow through on work done by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency when it was overseen by billionaire ally Elon Musk. 'A vote for rescissions is a vote to show that the United States Senate is serious about getting our fiscal house in order,' Vought told the lawmakers. But senators from both parties voiced concerns about the president's request. Their skepticism suggests that some aspects of the package could be altered through the amendment process, or that perhaps the bill will falter entirely. Maine Sen. Susan Collins, the Republican chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, questioned the proposed cuts to both public media and a program that combats the global HIV epidemic. Holding up a bottle of vitamins for pregnant moms and a package of peanut butter-based food supplements for malnourished children, Collins said it was hard to discern based on the information given lawmakers whether such aid would continue. 'These are not only the right thing to do for humanitarian reasons, but they are incredible instruments of soft power,' Collins said. Vought said lifesaving aid would continue and that the administration was focused on clawing back the 'funding of liberal (non-profit organizations) doing activities that the American people wouldn't support.' Meanwhile, the ranking Democrat on the panel, Washington Sen. Patty Murray, called on senators to reject the request entirely, saying it would undermine the committee's influence. 'If we do not reject this recissions package outright and seriously defend the authority of Congress and the work of this committee, we will find very quickly our bills become a loss less important and our time is consumed by more and more rescissions packages,' Murray said. Collins and other lawmakers with a large rural constituency voiced concern about what cancelling nearly $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would mean for public media stations throughout the country. Some of the money is assigned to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System to support national programming. But Collins said most goes to locally-owned public radio and television stations. 'The vast majority of this funding, more than 70%, actually flows to local television and radio stations,' Collins said. The White House says the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense. Vought said he would work with lawmakers through separate legislation to try and find a way to help local stations survive. At the same time, he said they would also have time to adjust to the cut because the rescission covers the coming two budget years, not the current one. 'We have given an opportunity to work through these things and allow them to plan accordingly so that they can continue to serve the communities you represent,' Vought said. The hearing comes amid increased tensions between the White House and Congress over the administration's moves to cancel or hold back funds that were approved on a bipartisan basis. Just this week, attorneys general from more than 20 states and Washington, D.C. filed a federal lawsuit challenging billions of dollars in spending cuts made by the Trump administration that would fund everything from crime prevention to food security to scientific research. The lawsuit filed in Boston is asking a judge to limit the Trump administration from relying on an obscure clause in the federal regulation to cut grants that don't align with its priorities. Since January, the lawsuit argues that the administration has used that clause to cancel entire programs and thousands of grants that had been previously awarded to states and grantees. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was one of the lawmakers who objected to how the administration has gone about its cost-cutting efforts. 'There's plenty of nonsense masquerading as American aid that shouldn't receive another bit of taxpayer funding, but the administration's attempt to root it out has been unnecessarily chaotic,' McConnell said. 'Instead of creating efficiencies, you've created vacuums for adversaries like China to fill.' Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., defended the administration's efforts. He called the proposed cuts 'surgical' and said that funding has gone to programs that lawmakers never would have allowed if they had known about the details of the spending. 'Reining in power that the administration state has seized is critical as we stare down a $37 trillion debt. It is critical in restoring trust in government,' Schmitt said. In response to Democratic questioning, Vought committed to lawmakers that if the Senate does not approve the rescissions package to cancel the funds, the administration would release the money. That was an assurance sought by Democratic Michigan Sen. Gary Peters.
