Washington – The Senate hoped to have another long vote chain on Wednesday afternoon, as the Congress worked at the request of President Trump to cancel $ 9 billion in spending by Friday.
Senate Narrowly advanced Request late Tuesday. Three Republican opposed the package and Vice President JD Vance had to cast two tie-breaking votes to advance it.
The House approved the original $ 9.4 billion rescue request last month, but has faced pushbacks in the Senate, where some Republicans have opposed foreign aid and public broadcasting funding.
Both chambers need to approve the request before the end of the week ends, or the money must be spent in advance as MPs. The Senate decision to consider the amendments in the package means that the House will need to approve the final Senate version.
Rescishes request is a target of about $ 8 billion for foreign aid programs, including the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID. The package includes a $ 1 billion reduction for Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports public radio and television stations including NPR and PBS.
The Senate Republican met with Mr. Trump’s budget director, Russell Wout on Tuesday, as GOP leaders later worked to hold the board ahead of procedural votes later. Saying the meeting, there would be an alternative modification that would eliminate $ 400 million in the cut in the AIDS prevention program, one of the main concerns of Main’s Republican Sen Susan Susan Colins.
South Dakota Republican, lead leader of the Senate, John Theun, said he hopes that the House would accept “small amendments”.
When asked about a $ 400 million change, house speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told reporters, “We wanted them to pass it as we did.”
Johnson said, “We need to fund back, and the more we are capable, the more we will do.”
But change did not satisfy Colins, who voted against pursuing the package. Colins were involved by two other Republican Senators: Lisa Murkovski of Alaska and Mich McConel of Kentki.
Holdouts stated that there is a lack of details about how the cut in the administration’s request will be implemented.
“To fulfill our constitutional responsibility, we must know if the programs are affected and the results of rescue,” Colins said in a statement on Tuesday.
In a floor speech ahead of procedural votes, Murkowski also said that the Congress should not give up its budget monitoring.
“I don’t want us to go to a reconciliation package for a constant resolution for another rescue package for a rescue package from a reconciliation bill,” he said. “We are MPs. We should be an MLA. Now what we are receiving is a direction from the White House and is being said,” This is a priority, we want you to execute it, we will come back with you with another round. ” I do not accept it. ”
Local radio and television stations cutEspecially in rural areas where they are important for communicating emergency messages, there was another point of dispute in the Senate. Republican Sen Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who was concerned about the cut, said that funding would be rebuilt to re -make funding to maintain stations to operate “without any interruption” from climate funds.
Republican Sen Thom Tilis of Northern Carolina said that he would vote for the package, but it is expected that the Congress will have to try to fix some cuts after determining the effects later.
He said, “I suspect that we are going to find out that there are some things we are going to regret,” he said on Wednesday on the Senate floor. “I suspect that when we do we have to come back and fix it, similarly what I am trying to do with the bill that I voted a few weeks ago-the big, beautiful bill, which I think I think are going to go back and work.”
Contributed to this report.
