Senate sends bill axing foreign aid, public broadcast funds to House
July 17 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate early Thursday voted to rescind some $9 billion in federal funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting, two areas of the government that the Trump administration has long targeted for cuts.
The senators voted 51-48 mostly along party lines to approve House Bill 4 with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining the Democrats in voting against it.
The bill, which now goes to the House of Representatives, will cut about $8 billion from international aid programs and about $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The bill passed at about 2:20 a.m. EDT Thursday.
"President Trump promised to cut wasteful spending and root out misuse of taxpayer dollars," Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said on X prior to the vote. "Now, @SenateGOP and I are voting to make these cuts permanent. Promises made, promises kept."
The vote comes as the Trump administration faces criticism from Democrats, and some Republicans, for having promised to reduce government spending but then last month passed a massive tax and spending cuts bill that is expected to add $3.3 trillion to the U.S. deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Meanwhile, the Cato Institute states it could add nearly double that, as much as $6 trillion.
The Corporation of Public Broadcasting, which funds local news and radio infrastructure, has been a target of the Trump administration for funding a small portion of the budgets of PBS and NPR, which he accuses of being biased.
Murkowski chastised her fellow Republicans for attacking a service that informed Alaskans that same day that there was a magnitude 7.3 earthquake and a tsunami warning.
"Some colleagues claim they are targeting 'radical leftist organizations' with these cuts, but in Alaska, these are simply organizations dedicated to their communities," she said on social media. "Their response to today's earthquake is a perfect example of the incredible public service these stations provide. They deliver local news, weather updates and, yes, emergency alerts that save human lives."
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