Latest news with #ImpoundmentControlAct
E&E News
9 hours ago
- Business
- E&E News
White House directs DOT to ignore GAO ruling on EV funding pause
The White House's Office of Management and Budget told the Transportation Department on Tuesday to disregard a ruling by the Government Accountability Office that the Trump administration violated the law by freezing electric vehicle funding. Mark Paoletta, OMB's general counsel, in a letter to DOT called the congressional watchdog's ruling 'wrong and legally indefensible.' The letter responds to the GAO's report that found DOT broke the law by withholding money already approved by Congress for the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, which was funded by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. Advertisement Paoletta contends DOT's recording of obligations for the NEVI program complied with the statutory language that created the program and was aligned with DOT past practices regarding other highway formula programs. He also argues DOT didn't violate the Impoundment Control Act by rescinding the Biden administration's NEVI program guidance and 'temporarily pausing new obligations until new guidance could be issued.'
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
White House directs DOT to ignore GAO ruling on EV funding pause
The White House's Office of Management and Budget told the Transportation Department on Tuesday to disregard a ruling by the Government Accountability Office that the Trump administration violated the law by freezing electric vehicle funding. Mark Paoletta, OMB's general counsel, in a letter to DOT called the congressional watchdog's ruling 'wrong and legally indefensible.' The letter responds to the GAO's report that found DOT broke the law by withholding money already approved by Congress for the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, which was funded by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. Paoletta contends DOT's recording of obligations for the NEVI program complied with the statutory language that created the program and was aligned with DOT past practices regarding other highway formula programs. He also argues DOT didn't violate the Impoundment Control Act by rescinding the Biden administration's NEVI program guidance and 'temporarily pausing new obligations until new guidance could be issued.' Further, he notes DOT does not need to 'take any action to adjust the recording of its NEVI program obligations, nor change its practices with respect to obligating funds for any of its [Federal Highway Administration] programs in response to GAO's incorrect opinion.' The GAO in its report said the White House needs to send a recissions request to Congress to make changes to funding mandates already in law. The watchdog also said DOT incorrectly interpreted the way funds were obligated under the program. The Paoletta letter called the report "part of a troubling trend of partisan opinions" by the GAO. "Your agency, and all Executive Branch agencies, should not feel compelled to cooperate at all with GAO in its efforts to thwart President Trump's agenda, nor give any weight or deference to GAO's opinions," he wrote. Sarah Kaczmarek, a spokesperson for GAO, said the agency disagrees with OMB and stands by its ruling. 'We stand behind our analysis and conclusion for both the appropriations law issue for recording obligations in the NEVI program and the illegal impoundment of funds under the ICA,' Kaczmarek said in a statement. 'GAO's work in this area, as with all of GAO work, is non-partisan, independent, and consistently follows a process that allows agencies to provide their views.' Nathaniel Sizemore, a DOT spokesperson, said GAO's report 'conflicts with Congress' intent, and completely misunderstands the Federal-aid highway program and how Congress structured the NEVI program.' The GAO's assessment also is 'at odds with its own reports on how Federal-aid Highway programs similar to NEVI receive and use appropriated funds,' he said, adding the agency is updating the NEVI program guidance because its implementation failed. OMB Director Russell Vought is scheduled to testify before the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday on the Trump administration's budget.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump sends $9.4 billion DOGE cuts proposal to Congress, targeting NPR, PBS
The clock will soon start ticking away on Congress to consider President Donald Trump's $9.4 billion request for federal spending cuts. "Today, we have officially received the rescissions request from the White House to eliminate $9.4 billion in wasteful foreign aid spending at State and USAID and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS. The House will act quickly on this request," Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement Tuesday. "This rescissions package reflects many of DOGE's findings and is one of the many legislative tools Republicans are using to restore fiscal sanity. Congress will continue working closely with the White House to codify these recommendations, and the House will bring the package to the floor as quickly as possible." House and Senate Republicans now have 45 days to codify the funding reductions. House Gop Targets Another Dem Official Accused Of Blocking Ice Amid Delaney Hall Fallout Trump is asking lawmakers to claw back federal funding from NPR, PBS and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). It's the first of what could be several efforts by Congress to follow through on Elon Musk's work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Read On The Fox News App The proposal is called a rescissions package, a mechanism allowing the White House to weigh in on Congress' yearly government appropriations process. The process was created under the 1974 Impoundment Control Act as a way to stop the president from unilaterally acting on government funding while giving the executive some say over the spending – albeit with congressional approval. House and Senate GOP leaders have pledged to work swiftly once they receive the White House's request. But lawmakers are also working up against another deadline, with Republicans hoping to finish Trump's "big, beautiful" tax and immigration bill by July Fourth. The tax bill is being passed under a separate fiscal mechanism called budget reconciliation, which allows Congress to amend areas they normally could not touch via the annual appropriations process. But like reconciliation, rescissions allow the party in power to sidestep the minority by lowering the Senate's threshold for passage to 51 instead of 60 votes. Rescissions debates are also capped at two hours in the House and 10 in the Senate. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought told reporters after meeting with Johnson on Monday that more packages could be coming. "I want to see if it passes. I think we're very interested to make sure it passes both the House and the Senate, but we're very open to sending multiple bills," Vought said. Paul Winfree, founder of the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC), told Fox News Digital he believed the White House was using this first package as a test run to see how DOGE cuts could be achieved. "This first rescissions package from President Trump is a test as to whether Congress has the ability to deliver on his mandate by canceling wasteful spending through a filibuster-proof process," Winfree said. "If they can't, then it's a signal for the president to turn up the dial with other tools at his disposal." And while a wide swath of Republicans is likely to coalesce around cuts to NPR, PBS and USAID – areas long targeted by fiscal conservatives – multiple people told Fox News Digital they could foresee some issues with the GOP's razor-thin, three-seat House majority. Mccaul Touts Money In Trump Tax Bill To Pay Texas Back For Fighting Biden Border Policies "I get a sense that there will be some that don't want an ad written that they're defunding Big Bird," one House Republican told Fox News Digital. "They've earned cancellation, but I mean, there are some moderates in our conference." Meanwhile, conservative groups in the House are bearing down hard to get the bill passed. Both the House Freedom Caucus and Republican Study Committee released statements pushing for the spending cuts to be passed as soon as possible. The Freedom Caucus, whose position was first reported by Fox News Digital, called for the House to pass the bill as soon as this article source: Trump sends $9.4 billion DOGE cuts proposal to Congress, targeting NPR, PBS
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Here's the $9.4 billion in DOGE cuts that Trump is asking Congress to approve
The White House has formally asked Congress to cut $9.4 billion in federal spending. That includes foreign aid and funding for PBS and NPR. It could be the first of many "DOGE cut" bills that lawmakers vote on. For months, DOGE has been cutting federal spending without consulting Congress. Now, the White House is asking lawmakers to vote to make some of those cuts permanent. President Donald Trump's Office of Management and Budget sent a $9.4 billion "rescission package" to Congress on Tuesday that would claw back federal funding that lawmakers have previously approved. The package includes $8.3 billion in foreign aid cuts and nearly $1.1 billion in cuts to public broadcasting. That's less than half of one percent of the $2 trillion in federal spending cuts once floated by Elon Musk, who until recently was the de facto DOGE leader. And these cuts are seen as low-hanging fruit. This could be the first of several bills sent to Congress to codify DOGE cuts into law. "We look forward to working with the Congress to identify additional opportunities to put the Nation's fiscal house back in order," Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought wrote in a letter accompanying the request. The administration is asking Congress to cut a total of $9.4 billion. $1.07 billion of that is funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a government-backed entity that funds NPR and PBS. That's equivalent to two years of funding. The other $8.3 billion includes various forms of foreign aid: $6.3 billion of that funding is related to the US Agency for International Development, or USAID, the foreign aid agency that DOGE shuttered in the early months of the administration. That includes $2.5 billion in development assistance, $1.65 billion in economic support funds, and $900 billion for global health programs. The White House has also requested that Congress rescind $1.13 billion in contributions to various international organizations, including $800 billion for migration and refugee assistance, and a combined $64 million for organizations like the Inter-American Foundation, the African Development Foundation, at the United States Institute of Peace. Under the Impoundment Control Act, or ICA, the president is generally required to spend money that Congress has already approved. The law was passed in 1974, after President Richard Nixon refused to spend money on a variety of programs that he disagreed with. Trump and his allies have argued that this law is unconstitutional, and some Republicans in Congress have introduced a bill to eliminate it entirely. The administration has also withheld hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding already, and the Government Accountability Office has found that the administration is violating the ICA. But the ICA also provides for the president to make rescission requests to Congress, and the Trump administration is now using that tool. Under the law, Congress has 45 days of consecutive session to approve the cuts, or the money must be spent. That means lawmakers have until early September to get this done. Unlike other bills, rescission bills only require a simple majority in the Senate to pass. That means Democrats, who are expected to broadly oppose the legislation, have no way of blocking the cuts on their own. That doesn't mean GOP support will be unanimous. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, for example, recently wrote an op-ed in a local paper opposing cuts to public broadcasting funding. The last time a president tried to do this, it failed. In 2018, the Trump administration asked Congress to rescind $15 billion in federal spending, but the bill failed to pass the Senate. Here's the full text of the White House's rescission request: Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
a day ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Here's the $9.4 billion in DOGE cuts that Trump is asking Congress to approve
For months, DOGE has been cutting federal spending without consulting Congress. Now, the White House is asking lawmakers to vote to make some of those cuts permanent. President Donald Trump's Office of Management and Budget sent a $9.4 billion "rescission package" to Congress on Tuesday that would claw back federal funding that lawmakers have previously approved. The package includes $8.3 billion in foreign aid cuts and nearly $1.1 billion in cuts to public broadcasting. That's less than half of one percent of the $2 trillion in federal spending cuts once floated by Elon Musk, who until recently was the de facto DOGE leader. And these cuts are seen as low-hanging fruit. This could be the first of several bills sent to Congress to codify DOGE cuts into law. "We look forward to working with the Congress to identify additional opportunities to put the Nation's fiscal house back in order," Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought wrote in a letter accompanying the request. Here's what the Trump administration is trying to cut The administration is asking Congress to cut a total of $9.4 billion. $1.07 billion of that is funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a government-backed entity that funds NPR and PBS. That's equivalent to two years of funding. The other $8.3 billion includes various forms of foreign aid: $6.3 billion of that funding is related to the US Agency for International Development, or USAID, the foreign aid agency that DOGE shuttered in the early months of the administration. That includes $2.5 billion in development assistance, $1.65 billion in economic support funds, and $900 billion for global health programs. The White House has also requested that Congress rescind $1.13 billion in contributions to various international organizations, including $800 billion for migration and refugee assistance, and a combined $64 million for organizations like the Inter-American Foundation, the African Development Foundation, at the United States Institute of Peace. There's a limited amount of time to get this done Under the Impoundment Control Act, or ICA, the president is generally required to spend money that Congress has already approved. The law was passed in 1974, after President Richard Nixon refused to spend money on a variety of programs that he disagreed with. Trump and his allies have argued that this law is unconstitutional, and some Republicans in Congress have introduced a bill to eliminate it entirely. The administration has also withheld hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding already, and the Government Accountability Office has found that the administration is violating the ICA. But the ICA also provides for the president to make rescission requests to Congress, and the Trump administration is now using that tool. Under the law, Congress has 45 days of consecutive session to approve the cuts, or the money must be spent. That means lawmakers have until early September to get this done. Unlike other bills, rescission bills only require a simple majority in the Senate to pass. That means Democrats, who are expected to broadly oppose the legislation, have no way of blocking the cuts on their own. That doesn't mean GOP support will be unanimous. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, for example, recently wrote an op-ed in a local paper opposing cuts to public broadcasting funding. The last time a president tried to do this, it failed. In 2018, the Trump administration asked Congress to rescind $15 billion in federal spending, but the bill failed to pass the Senate.
