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The Hill
4 hours ago
- Business
- The Hill
Bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus requests meeting with Trump on immigration, debt
The Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan coalition of House lawmakers that frequently works across the aisle, is requesting a meeting with President Trump to discuss immigration, permitting reform and the national debt. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), the co-chairs of the caucus, sent a letter to Trump on Monday, focusing on the trio issues after the faction earlier this year set up working groups to address those and more. Almost 50 lawmakers signed the request. 'As the Co-Chairs of the Problem Solvers Caucus, we lead a bipartisan group of nearly 50 Members of the House of Representatives focused on finding common ground on the key issues facing our nation,' the pair wrote. 'We meet regularly to discuss opportunities for bipartisan compromise and to develop legislation that both parties can agree on and vote for.' 'In that spirit, we are writing to request a meeting with you to discuss three issues where we see both the opportunity and the need for comprehensive bipartisan solutions: immigration, permitting reform, and the national debt,' they added. The Hill reached out to the White House for comment. The request for a meeting comes after Republicans on Capitol Hill passed their 'big, beautiful bill,' which contained many of Trump's domestic priorities. It extended the 2017 Trump tax cuts, did away with some taxes on tips and social security, approved $150 billion for the border and rolled back some green-energy tax credits, among other priorities. To pay for the package, lawmakers made deep cuts to Medicaid. The measure is estimated to add $3.4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Fitzpatrick, who represents a purple district, was one of two Republicans — along with Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.) — to vote against the legislation. On the issue of the debt, the Problem Solvers Caucus is proposing creating a bipartisan, bicameral fiscal commission that would work 'to develop a plan to stabilize our nation's finances.' The co-chairs said 'cutting wasteful spending is a start,' but more has to be done. '[W]e will need to take a comprehensive look at both sides of the balance sheet — spending and revenue — in order to solve this problem,' they wrote. On immigration, the letter praised Trump for decreasing the number of illegal border crossings to an historic low — 'We thank you for restoring order to the border, and we believe you deserve credit for delivering on this campaign promise' — but the group is calling for bipartisan legislation to continue addressing the situation at the border. 'But there is still more work to do,' the co-chairs wrote. 'It will take bipartisan legislation to permanently secure the border, fix the overwhelmed asylum system, and ensure that essential workers in fields like agriculture, healthcare, and hospitality can continue to contribute to our economy. We all agree the immigration system is broken — let's work together to find a lasting solution.' Republicans last year blocked a bipartisan border security deal, after Trump, while on the campaign trail, urged GOP members to torpedo the effort. The package, which had been the product of months of painstaking negotiations, included $6.8 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, $7.6 billion for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and $4 billion for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. It also would have given the president, at the time Joe Biden, the ability to shut down the border if the daily crossing average exceeded 4,000. And on permitting reform, the group is pressing to land a bipartisan deal to accelerate infrastructure projects in the U.S. 'Permitting reform' refers to efforts to speed up the approval process for energy and other infrastructure projects — often at the expense of environmental reviews. Republicans have long sought to cut down environmental reviews and legal challenges on environmental grounds, and to speed up timelines for approving oil, gas and nuclear projects. In recent years, some Democrats have also embraced the idea as they seek to speed up timelines for getting more renewable power built and placed on the grid. The letter references an effort during the last Congress spearheaded by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and then-Sen. Joe Manchin ( which failed to reach the point of an agreement. The plan would have been expected to bolster both fossil fuels and renewable energy. Their legislation advanced through committee in a bipartisan 15-4 vote, but it was never taken up for a full vote by House or Senate leadership amid disagreements including GOP reticence to speed up approvals for new power lines, which would be expected to aid renewable energy. 'Our outdated permitting system delays crucial infrastructure and energy projects that we need to compete globally, slowing our country's growth and raising energy costs,' the letter reads. 'We need to cut red tape and make it easier and faster to build in America. Both parties acknowledge this problem and are ready to solve it.' 'We came close to a comprehensive permitting reform deal at the end of the 118th Congress, and we are confident we can find a way to get to yes this time around,' it adds.
The Hill
18-07-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Here are the Republicans who voted against Trump's funding claw backs
House Republicans greenlighted the first series of funding cuts recommended by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with the $9 billion batch of rescissions heading to President Trump's desk for signing. The lower chamber approved the cuts, which claw back the federal funding for both public broadcasting and foreign aid, in a 216-213 late Thursday night vote. Nearly all House Republicans voted for the package, with the exception of two. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) and Mike Turner (Ohio) joined with all Democrats to oppose the DOGE cuts. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) took a victory lap following its passage — after controversy around the Trump administration's handling of files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein held up the vote. 'The Republican Party and President Trump and everybody that works on our side have promised fiscal responsibility and fiscal discipline and we're delivering on those promises again tonight,' Johnson told reporters following the vote. 'I'm delighted to send that over to the president's desk for signature and he'll sign that quickly,' he added. The Senate passed the recissions package early Thursday morning in a 51-48 vote, handing another legislative victory to Trump, who has vowed the shrink the scope of the federal government. Two Republican senators also joined Democrats in opposing the measure: Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (Maine) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska). Collins, a moderate Republican, has previously expressed concerns on how the cuts would be implemented, worries she related to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought during a Tuesday lunch meeting. Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, prior to the House's final vote, called the Senate-passed package 'a small but important step toward fiscal sanity that we all should be able to agree is long overdue.' The first recissions package — as Vought indicated Thursday that more are in the works —contains cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which the Trump administration has heavily targeted. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the formal end of its operations earlier this month. The measure also features claw backs aimed at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds PBS and NPR — two news outlets that conservatives, including the president, have argued are biased in their coverage and should not be funded by the federal government.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Congress sends bill clawing back $9B in foreign aid, public media funds to Trump's desk
House Republicans late Thursday night approved the first batch of cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), sending the $9 billion package to President Trump's desk in a big victory for the GOP. The legislation — which claws back already-approved federal funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting — cleared the chamber in a mostly party-line 216-213 vote less than one day after the Senate passed the measure. Two Republicans, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) and Mike Turner (Ohio), voted with every Democrat against the measure. Trump is expected to sign the bill soon, as Republicans face a Friday deadline to enact the cuts or release the funds to the organizations they were appropriated for. 'The Republican Party and President Trump and everybody that works on our side has promised fiscal responsibility and fiscal discipline and we're delivering on those promises again tonight,' Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters after the vote, later adding: 'I'm delighted to send that over to the president's desk for signature and he'll sign that quickly.' 'We're gonna downsize the scope of government,' he said. 'Government is too large, it does too many things and it does almost nothing well. We believe in a limited government that's accountable and efficient and effective for the people and we're gonna continue to demonstrate that through our actions here on the floor.' The package takes aim at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS — two outlets that Republicans have labeled as biased — as well as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which DOGE targeted early in the Trump administration. Republicans see the bill as a critical 'test run' for the party, as Trump administration officials have already indicated they aim to send multiple special requests to Congress to claw back more funding if the first package makes it through. The request initially sent by the White House, known as a rescissions package, called for $9.4 billion in cuts to federal funding previously approved by Congress, including $8.3 billion for USAID and foreign aid, as well as more than $1 billion in public broadcasting funds. But the White House ended up agreeing to exempt the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which was established under former President George W. Bush in 2003 and totaled about $400 million, after those cuts became a critical point of contention for moderate GOP lawmakers. Republicans said they also reached a deal with the administration seeking to shield tribal stations from cuts to the Corporation For Public Broadcasting. Republicans in both chambers have voiced strong support for the overall package and say the cuts are overdue. Many in the party have long scrutinized the scope of funding for foreign aid and accused public radio and television of political bias. But the proposal also saw some resistance from Senate GOP appropriators earlier this week. The skeptics scolded the administration for trying to make an end run around the normal appropriations process and complained the request didn't have enough information, particularly when compared to the last rescissions request approved by Congress under former President George H. W. Bush. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) specifically singled out a proposed $2.5 billion in cuts to the Development Assistance account. She noted in a statement that the account 'covers everything from basic education, to water and sanitation, to food security,' but said lawmakers still lacked key details as to how those programs would be affected. White House budget chief Russell Vought told reporters on Thursday that the administration 'gave the same amount of detail and information that previous rescissions packages had.' 'This is the same level of detail that appropriators do when they provide a bill,' he argued. 'They say this is the amount that we're providing, or they have a rescission, and they put the amount of rescission, same thing that they do.' He added that he respected people 'who are making the argument,' but he disagreed, noting the Office of Budget and Management worked with House appropriators while crafting the request. Some Republicans have also warned the president's use of the rare tool to secure cuts to funding previously approved by Congress risks further eroding trust between both parties as lawmakers ramp up their annual funding work. Vought said Thursday that another rescissions package is 'likely to come soon,' though he stopped short of offering specifics as to what programs could be on the chopping block. Senate Democrats have warned the passage of this rescissions package and further efforts by the Trump administration to claw back funding with GOP-only votes threaten already fragile bipartisan negotiations to hash out full-year government funding bills. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) earlier this month said passage of the rescissions package 'would be an affront to the bipartisan appropriations process.' 'That's why a number of Senate Republicans know it is absurd for them to expect Democrats to act as business as usual and engage in a bipartisan appropriations process to fund the government, while they concurrently plot to pass a purely partisan rescissions bill to defund those same programs negotiated on a bipartisan basis behind the scenes,' he continued, later adding: 'This is beyond a bait and switch – it is a bait and poison-to-kill.' At the same time, Vought also told reporters Thursday that the annual appropriations process 'has to be less bipartisan.' He added that the power of the purse remains with Congress, but he continued: 'It's a ceiling. It is not a floor. It is not the notion that you have to spend every last dollar of that.' Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, told The Hill shortly after his comments that Vought was 'absolutely wrong.' 'We have the power of the purse here, and we are not going to stand back and let the administration erode that.' With less than 20 legislative days on the calendar ahead of a Sept. 30 government shutdown deadline, both chambers are running behind in marking up and pushing their annual funding bills across the floor — increasing the likelihood that Congress will have to resort to a stopgap measure to keep the lights on and buy time for lawmakers to finish their funding work. But it remains an open question as to what that stopgap could look like. Asked if House GOP leadership has begun discussing plans for a short-term funding patch, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) told The Hill on Wednesday: 'No, we haven't talked about that.' 'We want the appropriations process to work and ultimately to get an agreement in a negotiation with the Senate, as the Senate finally starts passing bills,' he said. Updated at 1:22 a.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. 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Time of India
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Big federal cuts: Congress passes Trump's proposal to slash $9B from public broadcasting; awaits presidential assent
AP image US President Donald Trump 's proposal to cut $9 billion in federal spending targeting public broadcasters was passed by Congress on Friday. The bill now awaits the president's signature. It includes major broadcasters like Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR). The House approved the bill by a narrow margin of 216–213, with two Republicans, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Michael Turner of Ohio, voting against it, reports New York Times. A huge part of the cuts will reduce funding for foreign aid programs, including peacekeeping missions and global health initiatives that were previously authorised by law. Around $8 billion will be withdrawn from such assistance efforts, while another $1.1 billion is being pulled from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS. Russell Vought, director of the office of management and Budget, described the spending being eliminated as 'wasteful and unnecessary' in the administration's request to Congress. Local public broadcasting stations, which rely more heavily on federal funding than national outlets, are expected to be hardest hit by the reductions, according to USA Today. Congress passed the bill just before the July 18 deadline. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Is it legal? How to get Internet without paying a subscription? Techno Mag Learn More Undo Without approval, existing funding levels would have remained in place. The Senate passed the bill earlier in the week with a 51–48 vote. However, two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voted against the measure, raising concerns about Congress surrendering its constitutional power over federal spending. Trump celebrated the vote on social media platform Truth Social, calling it a big victory and specifically highlighting cuts to 'atrocious NPR and public broadcasting.' He claimed billions had been wasted and praised Republicans for finally achieving what he said they had failed to do for 40 years. . For Republican leaders, the measure was a small but meaningful step toward controlling federal spending. It's a small but important step toward fiscal sanity that we all should be able to agree is long overdue," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota.
Fox News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Common Ground: Addressing the Lack of Bipartisan Solutions to Bipartisan Issues
While President Trump was successful in passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, he did so by only a narrow margin, an emerging pattern representative of a divided Congress. For Co-Chairs of the Problem Solvers Caucus, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-NY), the problem doesn't lie with President Trump's ideas, but rather with the lack of room for compromise. The Congressmen discuss what they do and don't support about President Trump's agenda, how the DOJ's handling of the Epstein case might affect midterms, and what message Zohran Mamdani's mayoral campaign sends to the rest of the Democratic party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
