Foreign PolicyGovernmentLegislative Process
July 21, 2025Senate kills $1.1 billion for public media and foreign aid on party lines
Senate cuts $1.1 billion for public media, folds USAID into State
Senate passed Rescissions Act of 2025 by 51-48 vote at 2 AM on Jul. 17, 2025, after 12+ hours of amendment votes
Total package rescinds $9 billion: $1.1 billion from Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) covering fiscal years 2026-2027, plus $7.9 billion from foreign aid and USAID programs
Republican Senators Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) joined all present Democrats in opposing the bill
House approved Senate amendments 216-213 on Jul. 18, 2025, with Republican Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA) and Mike Turner (OH) joining Democrats in opposition
President Trump signed the bill into law on Jul. 24, 2025, marking the first successful presidential rescissions request under the 1974 Impoundment Control Act since 1992
CPB CEO Pat Harrison warned the cuts would have profound lasting negative consequences for every American, with an estimated 15% of PBS stations unable to operate without federal funding
USAID separately shut down on Jul. 1, 2025 (before the rescissions vote), with remaining operations absorbed by the State Department but with less than one-tenth of former workforce
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Speaker Johnson delivers narrow 216-213 rescission victory
Nine-billion-dollar rescission returns spending power to Congress
Appropriations Committee defunds CPB and slashes foreign operations
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