President Donald Trump signed into law Thursday the bill Congress passed earlier this month to revoke $9 billion in previously approved spending for public broadcasting and foreign aid.
Trump’s signature was expected after his Office of Management and Budget compiled the list of requested rescissions.
Congressional Republicans approved a small slice of what the White House initially wanted, but the effort still represents a win for Trump, who used small majorities in both chambers of Congress to claw back money approved in bipartisan spending laws.
The law rescinds $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a congressionally chartered nonprofit that provides a small share of funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service but accounts for much larger portions of local public broadcasters’ revenue. The funding had been approved to cover the next two fiscal years.
The law also cancels about $8 billion in foreign aid accounts, including global health initiatives.
Republicans have long criticized NPR and PBS news programs as biased toward politically liberal points of view, while Trump’s America First movement has consistently called for reducing foreign aid.
The law does not touch the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, after Senate Republicans removed a provision to defund the program created during Republican George W. Bush’s presidency.
No Democrats voted for the law. Two Republicans in each chamber — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Mike Turner of Ohio — voted against it.
It passed 51-48 in the Senate and 216-213 in the House. Each chamber took votes in the wee hours as Republicans raced to meet a July 18 deadline.
Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, warned the move undermined the annual appropriations process, which typically involves consideration of rescissions requests during bipartisan negotiations over government spending.
Congress last approved a stand-alone rescissions bill in 1992, following a series of requests from President George H.W. Bush, according to a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.
Jacob Fischler covers federal policy and helps direct national coverage as deputy Washington bureau chief for States Newsroom. Based in Oregon, he focuses on Western issues. His coverage areas include climate, energy development, public lands and infrastructure. This article originally appeared on the alaskabeacon.com. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
