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E&E News
13-06-2025
- Business
- E&E News
House approves cuts package
The House approved a $9.4 billion rescissions package Thursday, a White House priority that would claw back more than half a billion dollars for international disaster aid and clean energy programs. The 'Rescissions Act of 2025,' H.R. 4, now heads across the Capitol, where senators say they want to amend it before voting on it later this summer. The upper chamber must act on the bill by July 18, or the funds in question will have to be spent. House leaders were able to pass the package Thursday despite reluctance from some moderate Republicans, who had expressed concerns about proposed cuts to the public broadcasting budget and a popular AIDS prevention program. The bill passed 214-212. Advertisement 'Today's House passage of this initial rescissions package marks a critical step toward a more responsible and transparent government that puts the interests of the American taxpayers first,' said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). The rescissions, requested by White House budget chief Russ Vought, are based on recommendations from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. They target $8.3 billion in current funding for the State Department and $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which would mainly impact local PBS and NPR stations. 'Every dollar spent on woke foreign policy is not only a dollar wasted but is a dollar devoted to tarnish our own nation's image,' said Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), a senior appropriator, during a hearing on the bill earlier this week. Among the State Department cuts is a $496 million clawback for various international disaster assistance initiatives. The White House has said it would leave intact programs that the administration believes are 'life-saving or have a clear, direct nexus to U.S. national interests.' Officials have not specified which programs would be cut or spared. Additionally, the bill would repeal the United States' entire $125 million contribution to the international Clean Technology Fund for fiscal 2025. The White House Office of Management and Budget has said that the rescissions would cancel $6 million for 'net zero cities' in Mexico, $5 million for 'green transportation and logistics in Eurasia,' $2.1 million for 'climate resilience in Southeast Asia, Latin America [and] East Africa' and $500,000 for 'electric buses in Rwanda.' It's not clear how the rescissions request would target those specific initiatives. They are not explicitly named in Congress' explanatory statement for the fiscal 2024 State-Foreign Operations funding law, which was extended through fiscal 2025. And investments that countries receive for projects under the Clean Technology Fund are not directly tied to donor countries' contributions. A spokesperson for OMB did not respond to emailed questions before publication. OMB said in its rescission request to Congress that the repeal would be in line with President Donald Trump's executive order pulling the U.S. out of international climate agreements. It said the Clean Technology Fund 'invests in Green New Deal projects in developing countries that do not reflect America's values or put the American people first.' Other cuts would go after funding for programs meant to support democracy, global nutrition, LGBTQ people, AIDS prevention and contraception access, as well as the World Health Organization, the U.S. Institute of Peace and public radio broadcasters. More to come The package of cuts could be the first of multiple efforts by the White House and congressional Republicans to rescind funding that was already appropriated with bipartisan support in order to save taxpayer dollars and target Democratic priorities. Democrats say the effort could harm or kill people across the country and around the world. They have blasted it as a dangerous precedent and part of a broader effort to illegally impound, or withhold, funding approved by Congress. OMB said in a statement of administration policy this week that Trump has 'exercised his authority' under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to request the rescissions in the bill. The White House is claiming those same authorities to unilaterally freeze appropriated funds and may send Congress a spending deferral notice before the end of this Congress. 'These rescissions would eliminate programs that are antithetical to American interests and values, such as funding radical gender ideology, 'equity' programs, and policies that threaten our energy security,' the White House said in the statement. The public broadcasting cuts would mostly impact locally owned radio and television stations, which many Americans rely on for emergency alerts during and after natural disasters. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.) noted during the bill's Rules Committee hearing this week that when Hurricane Helene hit the Southeast last year, 'people were relying on public radio because that's all that existed.' House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said the cuts to international disaster aid would hurt farmers in Republican-led states whose crops help feed people around the world following extreme weather events.
SBS Australia
09-06-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
SBS News in Easy English 9 June 2025
Welcome to SBS News in Easy English, I'm Camille Bianchi. +++ 830 Australians have been recognised as part of the King's Birthday Honours. Former Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, is one of 14 people named as a Companion of the Order of Australia. The title has been offered to every Prime Minister since 1975. Mr Morrison says he is proud. "I am very humbled by the recognition and thankful to the Australian people who gave me the opportunity to serve as Prime Minister during one of the most difficult periods in Australia's history. Everything from natural disasters to the COVID-19 pandemic, the recession it caused. The threats we faced in the Indo-Pacific and the assertions and coercions of China - and our response to that. But through all of that, the Australian people were absolutely amazing." A former federal politician who lost her seat at the recent election, says she wants to move into Tasmanian state parliament. Last week, Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff lost his job, when other politicians voted against his leadership - and now there will be a sudden election. Former Liberal M-P Bridget Archer wants to be chosen to represent a seat in the Bass electorate. "I'm not going to be anybody's stooge or anybody's puppet." "Bridget is a fighter. Bridget, understands the importance of being part of Team Tasmania." Today is SBS 50th birthday. The national public broadcaster started in 1975 as an experiment to share information about a national health care program, to Australians from non-English speaking backgrounds. Today, SBS broadcasts in 63 languages. NITV began in 2012 - a channel made by, for and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Managing Director of SBS, James Taylor, says there is a lot to celebrate. "We've got the highest volumes of multilingual content than ever before in our history. And in 60 languages. We're also being acknowledged across a number of other fronts. We've got the Australian streaming platform through SBS On Demand, and we are the podcaster of the year, three years in a row. These are all things to really be celebrated. We're a public good, we are in part funded by the public, and it's really important for us to be delivering more and more value each year to Australians." In Tennis, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz has defeated Jannik Sinner in the French Open final. This is his fifth Grand Slam trophy. Alcaraz said kind words about his rival, Sinner, who had wanted to win his third major tennis trophy. "Honestly, I know how hard you're chasing this tournament or every tournament. I'm pretty sure you're going to be champion not once but many, many times. It's a privilege to share the court with you in every tournament, making history with you." That's the latest SBS News in Easy English.
Daily Mail
04-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Trump moves to officially strip $1BN from NPR and PBS
President Donald Trump 's demand to strip $1.1 billion in federal funding from National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service came one step closer to reality. Tuesday night House Speaker Mike Johnson said that he had officially received the rescissions request from the White House to extinguish a total of $9.4 billion in funding from NPR, PBS, the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development, the latter of which the administration has disassembled. The $1.1 billion was Congressional funding for the public broadcasters for the next two years. Only about 1 percent of NPR's budget comes from the federal government, but the heads of NPR and PBS have both warned that local TV and radio stations could be impacted by this move. Johnson said he would put the rescission bill on the floor next week. 'Now that this wasteful spending by the federal government has been identified by DOGE, quantified by the Administration, and sent to Congress , House Republicans will fulfill our mandate and continue codifying into law a more efficient federal government,' Johnson said. 'This is exactly what the American people deserve.' For months Trump has demanded that NPR and PBS lose their federal dollars. 'REPUBLICANS MUST DEFUND AND TOTALLY DISASSOCIATE THEMSELVES FROM NPR & PBS, THE RADICAL LEFT "MONSTERS" THAT SO BADLY HURT OUR COUNTRY!' the president wrote in an April Fool's Day Truth Social post. But he wasn't joking. On May 1, Trump signed an executive order to strip the two taxpayer subsidized entities of their federal dollars. PBS should be defunded, the White House argued, because it produced a documentary that argued the case for reparations - payments made to descendents of enslaved Americans. The White House also expressed dissatisfaction that PBS had aired a documentary of a transgender teenage boy and that Sesame Street had partnered with CNN and held a town hall amid the 'Black Lives Matter' protests in June 2020 to address racism. The administration complained that the program showcased a 'one-sided narrative.' The White House also blasted NPR and PBS for liberal bias and for having 'zero tolerance for non-leftist viewpoints.' In late May, NPR and three Colorado NPR stations sued the administration over Trump's executive order claiming that it 'violates the expressed will of Congress.' That could change, however, if the rescission request goes through. It only needs a simple majority in the House and Senate to pass - and Republicans have a narrow majority in both chambers. There has been some GOP resistance on this vote because the broader package also includes funding for PEPFAR, the successful HIV/AIDs prevention started under the White House of Republican President George W. Bush. 'I will not support a cut in PEPFAR, which is a program that has saved literally millions of lives and has been extremely effective and well run,' Republican Sen. Susan Collins told reporters, according to NPR . Collins then sidestepped a question about cutting NPR and PBS' funding. Spokespeople for NPR and PBS did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's requests for comment.
Daily Mail
04-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Trump moves to officially strip $1 BILLION from 'radical left monsters' NPR and PBS
President Donald Trump 's demand to strip $1.1 billion in federal funding from National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service came one step closer to reality. Tuesday night House Speaker Mike Johnson said that he had officially received the rescissions request from the White House to extinguish a total of $9.4 billion in funding from NPR, PBS, the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development, the latter of which the administration has disassembled. The $1.1 billion was Congressional funding for the public broadcasters for the next two years. Only about 1 percent of NPR's budget comes from the federal government, but the heads of NPR and PBS have both warned that local TV and radio stations could be impacted by this move. Johnson said he would put the rescission bill on the floor next week. 'Now that this wasteful spending by the federal government has been identified by DOGE, quantified by the Administration, and sent to Congress, House Republicans will fulfill our mandate and continue codifying into law a more efficient federal government,' Johnson said. 'This is exactly what the American people deserve.' For months Trump has demanded that NPR and PBS lose their federal funding. 'REPUBLICANS MUST DEFUND AND TOTALLY DISASSOCIATE THEMSELVES FROM NPR & PBS, THE RADICAL LEFT "MONSTERS" THAT SO BADLY HURT OUR COUNTRY!' the president wrote in an April Fool's Day Truth Social post. But he wasn't joking. For months Trump has demanded that NPR and PBS lose their federal funding. He sent out this Truth Social post on April Fool's Day but the president wasn't joking On May 1, Trump signed an executive order to strip the two taxpayer subsidized entities of their federal dollars. The White House claimed that NPR and PBS 'spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as "news."' A press release listed a number of stories the administration found objectionable. Among them - a 2015 report on the annual 'furry' festival in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; a 2017 report on a book about cannibalism, and a 2024 Valentine's Day report on ' queer animals.' PBS should be defunded, the White House argued, because it produced a documentary that argued the case for reparations - payments made to descendents of enslaved Americans. The White House also expressed dissatisfaction that PBS had aired a documentary of a transgender teenage boy and that Sesame Street had partnered with CNN and held a town hall amid the 'Black Lives Matter' protests in June 2020 to address racism. The administration complained that the program showcased a 'one-sided narrative.' The White House also blasted NPR and PBS for liberal bias and for having 'zero tolerance for non-leftist viewpoints.' In late May, NPR and three Colorado NPR stations sued the administration over Trump's executive order claiming that it 'violates the expressed will of Congress.' That could change, however, if the rescission request goes through. It only needs a simple majority in the House and Senate to pass - and Republicans have a narrow majority in both chambers. There has been some GOP resistance on this vote because the broader package also includes funding for PEPFAR, the successful HIV/AIDs prevention started under the White House of Republican President George W. Bush. 'I will not support a cut in PEPFAR, which is a program that has saved literally millions of lives and has been extremely effective and well run,' Republican Sen. Susan Collins told reporters, according to NPR. Collins then sidestepped a question about cutting NPR and PBS' funding.
Washington Post
03-06-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Trump asks Congress to defund PBS and NPR
The Trump administration formally requested Tuesday that Congress claw back money for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds PBS and NPR. CPB received $525 million in federal funding in 2024 and $535 million in 2025. But under the new plan, if passed into law, it would see its federal budget completely slashed for 2026 and 2027.
