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The rescission request would codify some of the cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency if approved by Congress.
WASHINGTON—The White House will send Congress a request to claw back $9.4 billion in previously appropriated funds to public media and foreign aid.
A spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) confirmed in a statement to The Epoch Times that the long-expected rescissions package would be sent to Congress for consideration on June 3.
In Washington parlance, a “rescissions package” refers to a request by the president for Congress to withdraw funding previously delegated by the legislature for a specific purpose. Such packages are handled under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which limits the president’s ability to unilaterally cancel funding appropriated by Congress.
The majority of the forthcoming rescissions package has to do with foreign aid, with the remainder targeting federally funded media outlets. They are meant to codify many of the cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency.
A total of $8.3 billion would be cut from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the African Development Foundation. The remaining cuts, approximately $1.1 billion, would be rescinded from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which oversees state-funded media like NPR and PBS.
Since taking office, President Donald Trump’s administration has targeted both government agencies for downsizing, with some efforts aiming to end USAID entirely and absorb the agency into the U.S. State Department beginning in February.
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The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and its subsidiaries, meanwhile, have been accused of “biased and partisan news coverage” by the administration.
On May 1, Trump signed an executive order that would direct the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to end all direct funding for the news outlets and ensure that “licensees and permittees of public radio and television stations ... do not use federal funds for NPR and PBS.”
The OMB spokesperson raised concerns about the NPR and PBS leadership in their statement to The Epoch Times, citing NPR CEO Katherine Maher’s description of Trump as a “fascist” and “deranged racist.”
The spokesperson also referenced programming on PBS related to transgender issues, including “Real Boy,” a program about a trans teen, and “Our League,” a program about a trans woman returning to her hometown.
The 1974 impoundment law prohibits the president from ending funding without the approval of Congress. When the White House sends the package to the Capitol, lawmakers will have 45 days to approve or reject the cuts.
This process is handled by a simple majority vote of both chambers, as laid out in the Impoundment Control Act. That means that if Republicans broadly agree with the proposed cuts, they won’t need Democrats’ help to approve them.
Emel Akan contributed to this report.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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