.svg) | |
| Long title | To rescind certain budget authority proposed to be rescinded in special messages transmitted to the Congress by the President on June 3, 2025, in accordance with section 1012(a) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. |
|---|---|
| Announced in | the119th United States Congress |
| Citations | |
| Public law | Pub. L. 119–28 (text)(PDF) |
| Legislative history | |
TheRescissions Act of 2025 is a law passed by the119th United States Congress. It rescinds $7.9 billion in funding from international assistance programs and $1.1 billion in funding from theCorporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). After failing to advance budget measures to eliminate federal funding forpublic broadcasting during thefirst Trump administration, amid increasedTrump's conflict with the media since his second term, President Trump requested arescission bill to eliminate federal funding for the CPB,[1][2][3] which passed in both chambers of theRepublican-controlledCongress largely along party lines in July 2025.[4]
Despite opposition frommoderate Republicans, the act passed the Republican-ledHouse on June 12, 2025. An amended version passed the Republican-ledSenate on July 17, 2025, and was agreed to in the House on the next day. President Trump signed the bill into law on July 24, 2025.[5]
A rescission bill rescinds funding that was previously passed in anappropriations bill. As is procedure, President Trump submitted the bill to Congress. Pursuant to theImpoundment Control Act of 1974, rescission bills cannot befillibustered in the Senate. The original House version of the bill included $9.4 billion in funding cuts. Specifically, $8.3 billion was to be cut from international assistance programs, mostly from theUnited States Agency for International Development. ThePresident's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was also set to see funding cuts. Additionally, $1.1 billion was to be cut from theCorporation for Public Broadcasting. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting provided funding for local noncommercial broadcasters, many of whom aired programming fromNational Public Radio (NPR) and thePublic Broadcasting Service (PBS).[6]
The Senate amended the bill to remove $400 million in cuts to PEPFAR, place exemptions on funding cuts for programs that treat and prevent major diseases (HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis) and programs that support nutrition or maternal and child health, protect foreign aid for Jordan and Egypt, protect foreign aid for a fund that works to counter influence from China, and exempt funding cuts for programs that pay U.S. farmers to produce food that is distributed in poor countries.[7]
The bill passed the House on June 12, 2025 in a 214–212 vote. All present Republicans exceptMark Amodei ofNevada,Brian Fitzpatrick ofPennsylvania,Nicole Malliotakis ofNew York, andMike Turner ofOhio, all moderate Republicans, voted for the bill.[8] Two other moderate Republicans,Nick LaLota of New York andDon Bacon ofNebraska, initially voted no but changed their votes. Bacon said he changed his vote after receiving assurances from House Republican leadership that PBS would be fully funded for the2026 U.S. federal budget and that global aid cuts would not affect funding for thePresident's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.[9] All present Democrats voted against the bill. Two Republicans and four Democrats did not vote. If all absent members had voted with the majority of their party, the bill would have failed.[10]
In the early morning of July 17, 2025, the Senate passed an amended version of the act in a 51–48 vote. Moderate RepublicansSusan Collins ofMaine andLisa Murkowski ofAlaska voted against the bill with all present Democrats. Democratic SenatorTina Smith ofMinnesota missed the vote after being hospitalized.[11]
The House had to vote to pass the amended act by July 18, or the bill would have become invalid.[11] Just after midnight on July 18, the House passed the act through a procedural rule, which also teed up an unrelated vote onU.S. Department of Defense funding. Moderate RepublicansBrian Fitzpatrick ofPennsylvania andMike Turner ofOhio joined all present Democrats in voting against the rule.[12]
On August 1, 2025, the CPB announced it would shut down in January 2026.[13] Public media advocates argued that it would result in the closure of some stations and hamper access to emergency alerts in rural communities; the CPB's defunding and resulting closure would result in some public television and radio stations imposing staffing and programming cuts (with some electing to drop PBS and/or NPR programming altogether).[14][15][16]
