The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that allows Congress to back billions of dollars in pre-approved funds for public broadcasting and foreign aid.
The bill would cut the government a total of $9 billion (£6.7 billion) and passed by 216 to 213 hours after midnight on Friday. All Democrats and only two Republicans voted against the cuts.
The U.S. Senate passed the version of the bill in less than 24 hours.
The bill now goes to President Donald Trump’s desk to sign the law. “It’s big!!!” he wrote on social media after the vote.
Republicans say the withdrawal plan is a political tool to cut funding approved by Congress and may be the first of many.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said after the bill passed: “This is not the end, this is the beginning.”
The victory of Republicans and President Trump is the latest development in their ongoing cuts in government spending.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said: “Ninety-million dollars are a good start.”
Approved funding cuts include substantial reductions in the company’s public broadcast, including PBS and NPR.
It also includes cutting the U.S. International Development Agency (USAID), the largest global humanitarian program in the United States.
But the cuts are a little smaller than what Trump originally proposed. In the Senate version of the bill, Members vote to pass budget to retain $400 million For Pepfar, the proposed cuts have increased from $9.4 billion to $9 billion.
The bill faces a tough road across the House and Senate, with lawmakers on both sides of the island alerting to cuts in foreign aid and public broadcasts.
As the Senate prepares to vote on a version of the bill, people in Alaska were told to investigate its local radio stations, including NPR programming after an earthquake on the coast, which triggered a tsunami warning.
“Public broadcasting is a lifeline that connects rural communities to the rest of the country and provides life-saving emergency broadcasts and weather alerts. It’s not replaceable,” NPR president Katherine Maher said after the Senate’s passage.
According to reports from US media, this revocation plan is the first package to be successful in more than 30 years.
Health & Wellness Contributor
A wellness enthusiast and certified nutrition advisor, Meera covers everything from healthy living tips to medical breakthroughs. Her articles aim to inform and inspire readers to live better every day.
