Trump's Cuts To Npr, Pbs And Foreign Aid Clear Congress

WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled House voted 216-213 to springiness last transition to a measure cutting $9 cardinal successful spending that had already been approved, sending it to President Donald Trump to go law.

The cuts aimed astatine nationalist media and overseas assistance passed successful different middle-of-the-night ballot connected Capitol Hill, 1 time aft nan Senate voted 51-48 aft 2 a.m. Thursday to o.k. nan measure. Two Republicans joined each Democrats successful opposing nan package successful nan House: Reps. Mike Turner of Ohio and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.

The measurement cuts $1.1 cardinal from nan Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides backing for NPR and PBS. It cuts $8 cardinal much from overseas aid, including to nan U.S. Agency for International Development and programs to beforehand world wellness and exile assistance. But planned cuts to PEPFAR were removed from nan package successful caller days, leaving backing for nan celebrated Bush-era overseas assistance programme to combat HIV/AIDS intact.

The package, which was requested by nan White House, passed some chambers pinch only Republican votes done a seldom utilized “rescissions” process that tin bypass nan 60-vote period successful nan Senate. GOP leaders touted it arsenic a bid to slash “woke and wasteful” spending by nan government.

“This measure coming is portion of continuing that inclination of getting spending nether control. Does it reply each nan problems? No. Nine cardinal dollars, I would say, is simply a bully start, and hopefully we do much things for illustration this,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.

Democrats unified to reason nan package, slamming nan cuts arsenic cruel, detrimental to American activity and a cynical effort by nan GOP to look fiscally responsible aft it added $3.3 trillion to nan debt successful its party-line megabill that passed Congress this month.

The House voted aft Republican leaders quelled a rebellion from their members connected nan Rules Committee who wanted a ballot connected requiring nan authorities to merchandise files relating to convicted activity offender Jeffrey Epstein, an rumor that has divided nan MAGA helping of nan statement successful caller days. They placated those GOP lawmakers by approving a abstracted “rule,” mounting up a ballot arsenic soon arsenic adjacent week connected a symbolic resolution calling for nan merchandise of definite Epstein documents.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who has projected a abstracted Epstein-related measurement that would transportation nan unit of law, called nan move by his party’s leaders a stunt.

“Congress thinks you’re stupid,” Massie said connected X. “The rules committee passed a NON-BINDING Epstein resolution, hoping folks will judge it arsenic real. It forces nan merchandise of NOTHING.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said nan Massie proposal, co-authored by Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., has “teeth.” By contrast, he said, nan type Republicans are advancing is “a meaningless, hortatory, fig leaf, Swiss food solution that has nary teeth astatine all.”

“It doesn’t moreover person dentures. It’s each cavities,” Raskin said. (Democrats, eager to instrumentality nan flames of Republican infighting, person embraced to push to merchandise Epstein documents.)

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, called nan home cuts an effort to “defund left-wing authorities sponsored outlets.” Other Republicans — astir notably Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who voted against nan measurement — warned that nan NPR and PBS cuts could beryllium damaging to agrarian areas that trust connected nationalist broadcasting.

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M., said, “The nationalist will retrieve who stood pinch Big Bird and who strangled him.”

The measure had to return to nan House aft nan Senate trimmed it from $9.4 billion, removing $400 cardinal successful projected cuts to PEPFAR, which galore Republicans said they support.

Before nan vote, apical Democrats successful some chambers warned that nan GOP was strangling nan bipartisan quality of authorities backing by undoing antecedently approved spending connected a partisan basis. They besides said nan rescissions package cedes excessively overmuch powerfulness to nan executive branch.

“I americium profoundly fearful that, astatine a clip erstwhile appropriators must travel together to take sides our powerfulness of nan purse, nan way nan mostly has chosen will only past to degrade nan efficacy and credibility of what we are doing successful this room,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., nan ranking personnel connected nan Appropriations Committee, said earlier nan House vote.