National Public Radio headquarters in Washington, on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 (photo of Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
Washington – the US Senate agreed to legislation at the beginning of Thursday, which previously cancel $ 9 billion on previously approved financing of public transmission and various foreign assistance accounts, another victory of the Trump administration.
. 51-48 Voting mainly in the party line Around 2:30 he sends the law back home, where GOP legislators in this chamber would have to pristine the final version of President Donald Trump’s signature before the Friday date.
Maine sleep. Susan Collins and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski was the only Republicans who voted against the adoption of the means in which all present and voice democrats.
The democratic senator Tina Smith from Minnesota was absent, and her staff said in social media that after she began to feel on Wednesday and saw Capitol, she went to the University Hospital of George Washington, where “a lot of caution, they keep her overnight.”
Kurkowski expressed concerns about the regulations during a floor speech, saying that the White House request is lacking in detail and may have negative repercussions around the world.
“We have large, wide categories, but I did not receive consolation, if you do that we do not affect the health of mother and children; that we do not affect HIV/AIDS; that we do not affect programs and nutrition programs related to tuberculosis, malaria, polio, neglected tropical disease, pandemic prevention, family planning,” said Murkwoski.
“I think we have the right to have this level of detail when the funds we authorized,” to which we appropriated are now sent. I don’t think to ask it too much, “she said.
Kurkowski said that the right approach to the perception of leftist prejudices at the National Public Radio should not be completely eliminating funds for public transmission corporations, which finances both public radio and television.
She said that the impact on local communities in rural areas could be significant, taking into account that many people relied on their stations in the field of emergency alerts related to Tsunami and other forms of extreme weather, as well as educational programs.
Republican senator Missouri Eric Schmitt, who managed the act, said that the appeals were aimed at “restoring some fiscal reason”, which is needed after “bureaucrats revealed the trust of the American nation”, spending dollars of foreign aid on programs that he described as “offensive”.
“What is what this bill is is to test the will of this chamber – if we can actually go ahead, what they sent us here, how to do it, it is a meaning of waste, finding fraud and finding abuse,” said Schmitt. “And also in order to equalize dollars of taxpayers who come out the door with real American interests.”
Victory in the Senate for GOP and Trump After confirming July 1 A huge tax package and reducing the expenses he told.
Two years of federal funds received
The bill on resignation will recover $ 1.1 billion into previously approved expenses for corporations for public transmission, which contribute to financing NPR, public transmitting service and hundreds of local stations throughout the country. This money was to cover the tax year, which would start on October 1 and the following year.
Legislation also cancels about USD 8 billion expenditure on foreign assistance, which Congress has allocated dozens of programs, including global health initiatives.
The Republicans of the Senate decided to keep full funds for the president’s emergency plan to aid AIDS or Pepfar.
Republican Senator Mike Runchs from southern Dakota assured a hand embrace agreement with the Director of the White House of Russ to transfer $ 9.4 million from an undisclosed account in the internal affairs department to Indian radio stations. But this was not included in the actual account.
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Nowy Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Southern Dakota and Wisconsin are organizing public broadcasting stations that will receive a piece of this fund, according to the Runks office.
No details
The Republican Senator of North Carolina, Thom Tillis, used the floor debate to warn the White House budget office before promoting the resignations contained in the Act and complained to the administration for not providing the Congress to the Congress in more detail about what he wants to cut.
“The only moment when we had a successful department of the department in contemporary history was 1992,” Tillis said, adding that the request was approved partially because it was sent to Congress with “very detailed lists of specific programs that were to be cut off.”
Tillis said that the request this year does not contain this level of information. But he said that he was ready to vote for it anyway, giving the president and the management office and the budget “Benefits of doubts that they would be responsible cuts.”
Tillis said that it was assured that resignations would not affect the account of $ 200 million, which provides non -objective assistance to Ukraine’s accounts or foreign AID, such as they are financing health programs of mothers and children in the Sudan refugee camp, which he visited at the beginning of this year.
“However, if we find out that some of the programs that we have told should be out of reach, the president’s advisers decide that they intend to cut out anyway, there will be slight for it,” said Tillis.
“It didn’t have to be this way”
Senator of Washington Patty Murray, the highest democrat in the Committee of Men, warned the Republicans that a unilateral limitation of funds approved as part of bilateral accounts could boost the annual government financing process.
“It didn’t have to be like that and still doesn’t have to be like that,” said Murray. “In fact, if the Republicans come to our senses and vote for it, we can still go a different path. We can do what we have always done and consider bilateral deficiencies within our annual appropriating process.”
Congress must adopt a bilateral law on financing before the start of the up-to-date tax year on October 1, otherwise the government will be partially closed.
Murray also said that “limiting these investments is simply wrong.”
“We should not vote for children to die or die because of diseases that can be avoided. We should not vote to return to the word,” said Murray. “Saving a few pennies is not worth losing our credibility or causing millions of unnecessary deaths around the world. It is not even close.”
Democrats have introduced a series of changes to change the part of the account related to the financing of public broadcasting and foreign assistance, but did not succeed.
House Republicans next
The converted bill is now returning to the house where GOP leaders in this chamber need almost all their members to support the changes in the Senate.
If the house could not meet the Friday date, the White House budget office would be required to issue a financing in which it was included His original demand of the residencewhich he published at the beginning of June.
House voted 214-212 At the beginning of this year, sending the original bill to the Senate, in which GOP legislators raised concerns about various elements, including how to reduce expenditure on foreign aid would affect America’s leadership among opposing countries such as China and global health initiatives.
The Senate did not make many changes in the regulations, but removed the proposed resignation of Pepfar. The initiative, launched by former President George W. Bush, saved Over 26 million is alive.
The change reduced the total financing amount, which will be canceled from $ 9.4 billion to around $ 9 billion.
Both numbers are petite compared to USD 6.8 trillion The federal government spends every year, although this law is to be the first of many Trump administrations that the Republicans approved in the coming months and years.
