July 21, 2025
Senate 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
🌍Foreign Policy🏛️Government🏢Legislative Process
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
🌍Foreign Policy🏛️Government🏢Legislative Process
Test Your Knowledge
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Q1
What was the final Senate vote on the rescissions package?
Q2
This was the first successful presidential rescissions request in over 25 years.
Q3
How much money was cut from foreign aid programs in the rescissions package?
Q4
How much funding was eliminated from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting?
Q5
What happened to USAID as a result of the funding cuts?
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Start QuizPeople, bills, and sources
Susan Collins
Republican Senator (Maine)
Lisa Murkowski
Republican Senator (Alaska)
Donald Trump
President of the United States
Mike Johnson
Speaker of the House
Russell Vought
OMB Director
Pat Harrison
CEO, Corporation for Public Broadcasting