Washington -Chet passed the request of President Trump to cancel $ 9 billion in foreign aid and public broadcasting funding in the early hours of Thursday, concluded an hour-long “Vote-e-Ram” and sent it back to the House before Friday’s deadline.
In 51–48 votes, Republican Susan Susan Colins and Lisa Murkovsky of Alaska joined Democrats in opposing the package.
Vice President JD Vance, who cast Two tie-breaking votes It was not necessary for the last route on Tuesday to measure procedural obstacles. Democratic Sen Tina Smith of Minnesota was admitted to the hospital and missed the vote.
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 House last month approved the original $ 9.4 billion rescue request, but faced pushbacks in the Senate, where some Republicans opposed global health assistance and funding for local radio and television stations.
The Senate launched a long vote chain on Wednesday afternoon, maintaining international aid and cutting public broadcasting dozens of amendments.
The Senate version targets 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 this, the meeting left that there would be an option amendment that would eliminate $ 400 million in cuts in the AIDS prevention program, one of the main concerns of Collins.
South Dakota Republican, lead leader of the Senate, John Theun, said he hopes that the House would accept “small amendments”.
Alex Vrollvsky / AFP via Getty Image 
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 and Murkovsky.
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 were another point of dispute in the Senate. Republican Sen Mike Rounds of South Dakota, which was concerned about the cut, said that funding would be really established to maintain stations for operations “without any interruption” from climate funds.
Republican Sen Thom Tilis of Northern Carolina, who voted for the package, said he hoped that the Congress would later try to fix some cuts when their effects are determined.
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.”
