Posted on 06/12/2025 10:11:12 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
On Thursday, the United States House of Representatives narrowly passed the first rescissions package, which will eliminate billions in unnecessary spending by the federal government. The bill will now go to the Senate, where it requires only a simple majority to pass.
This first rescissions package is said to cut $9.4 billion in spending.
The House of Representatives passed President Donald Trump's $9.4 billion plan to claw back federal funds for foreign aid, PBS and NPR.
The 214 to 212 vote was mostly along party lines, with no Democrats voting for the bill. Four Republicans voted against the measure, however – Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Mike Turner, R-Ohio, Mark Amodei, R-Nev., and Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y.
A dramatic scene played out on the House floor on Thursday afternoon as the bill appeared poised to fail, with six Republican lawmakers having voted "no."
Fox News Digital observed Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., huddled with several moderate Republicans who either voted "no" or had not yet voted.
Some of the cuts in the bill include:
...a $8.3 billion rollback of funding to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and just over $1 billion in cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funnels federal dollars to NPR and PBS.
This is, as someone once said, a big freaking deal. Now, passage in the Senate is not assured; while only a simple majority is required, the GOP's Senate majority is slim indeed. And if the Senate makes changes to the package, a second, final House vote would be required before this heads to the president's desk.
Republicans have a lot riding on this, as does President Trump.
See Also: New: OMB Sends Rescission Package to Congress, Billions Cut
What's the Deal With the Reconciliation Bill, Codifying DOGE Cuts, and the Deficit?
This package should not be confused with the reconciliation bill; RedState's own Jennifer Van Laar, in a story last week, has explained that distinction:
The DOGE cuts are overwhelmingly discretionary spending, and therefore cannot be accomplished through a reconciliation bill. Instead, they'll be codified via a $9.4 billion rescissions package the White House sent to Congress on Tuesday. House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) promised to bring that package to the House Floor next week.
And:
After the Big, Beautiful Bill and the rescissions package pass, Congress will turn its attention to the annual appropriations bill, which is where huge spending cuts can occur. And since the debt ceiling and a number of other contentious issues (like the tax cuts and funding for deportations and the border wall) will be off the table, it'll be harder for Senate Democrats to hold anything hostage, and more spending cuts can occur.
There are a lot of moving parts here, and we should note that a big part of President Trump's second-term agenda is tied to these two items - the rescissions package and the reconciliation bill. And there's a deadline; once the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) transmits a rescissions package to Congress, then Congress has a 45-day window to pass it, or it is considered rejected. So watch carefully, as Democrats will do anything and everything they can to throw sand in the gears.
One hurdle, at least, has been surmounted. Stay tuned; we will bring you updates as they develop.
9.4 billion out of how many trillions?
… and just over $1 billion in cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting,
which funnels federal dollars to NPR and PBS.
It is a start. A slow one but a start.
Yeah, I dont get why 9.4 billion in cuts translates into “massive spending cuts”.
It is compared to Continuing Resolution.
Agreed. But it doesn’t amount to “massive” cuts. Besides, the Senate can and probably will restore said cuts.
Yeah thats not how I view the definition of massive spending cuts. Guess I am still old school. Personally I can only see it as a pyrrhic victory at best.
BTTT
“Yeah, I dont get why 9.4 billion in cuts translates into “massive spending cuts”.”
Because the LEFTISTS own the media.
Note that the spending increases that got us from $2T to $4T in less than 20 years (over $100B per year, year after year) were NEVER considered ‘massive’ by them.
Ny 11th District is Staten Island/Brooklyn. Nicole Malliotakis is in her third term. While I am glad the seat is not in Democrat hands, I want to know why she did not want to cut spending even this small. Maybe someone in her office will give me a good reason when I call there today. I will post later what is relayed to me. Maybe someone else can politely ask her as well and we can compare notes.
This is a start. And it includes getting rid of that stupid 1099-k, $600 limit.
I think Murkowski said PBS and NPR is needed in Alaska...as that's all they have....baloney.
Spending cuts, not MASSIVE spending cuts. They are pretty small. Good start, but we need 100x more.
I agree but...
it hasn’t happened before in recent memory.
Tiny steps, I suppose...
Agreed. We got here because of demoncrap incrementalism. As much as I'd love to see a Gideon Knot style cut, we may need to use take a page out of the dem playbook and keep nibbling away at spending.
Exactly while any cutting of a bloated budget is good this is so little compared to what the crazed money for nothing spenders have done it’s hardly worth mentioning.
ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!!
“MASSIVE” spending cuts? So like $900 billion? Wait, NINE billion?
The real test for Republicans comes with the appropriations bill for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2025. If they can’t pass a budget with a meaningful spending reduction from the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, they have failed miserably. Meaningful is in the range of between $500 billion and $1 trillion in real spending reduction.
It’s a start - when you have Niagara Falls flowing into your back yard, it ain’t gonna be stemmed all in one swoop...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.