House passes Trump's cuts to public broadcasting, foreign aid; next stop president's desk
WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump's push for $9 billion in spending cuts − slicing into public broadcasting stations PBS and NPR, as well as the United States' foreign aid efforts − crossed the Congressional finish line just after midnight on July 18 and soon will hit the Republican's desk for signature into law.
The House approved the measure, in response to Trump's official request, in a 216-213 party line vote. Two Republicans voted no on the second-term president's plan, which represents just a fraction of the almost $200 billion that Trump's Department of Government Efficiency claims to have saved the federal government.
A bulk of the cuts in the legislation strips away funding authorized by a previous law for foreign aid, including peacekeeping efforts and global health initiatives.
More: Elmo and AIDS prevention: What is Congress targeting in their spending cuts?
Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said the amounts being slashed represent "wasteful and unnecessary spending," in the White House's formal request to Congress.
Around $1 million will be taken from public broadcasting, including PBS and NPR. Local stations, which are much more reliant on federal grants than their national counterparts, are expected to bear the brunt of that lost funding.
Congress barely met their July 18 midnight deadline to get the bill approved, otherwise the current funding would remains in place. The Senate passed its version of the spending cut bill earlier in the week after Republicans including Sen. Susan Collins successfully saved funding grants for AIDS prevention .
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