Senate takes up package with $9 billion spending cuts : NPR

Ailsa Chang, host:

The Senate occupies a set of $ 9 billion in expense discounts requested by the Trump administration. The cuts target foreign aid programs and public broadcasting. The head of the majority of the Senate John Thune says the Republicans use this bill to reduce government size.

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John Thune: Obviously, it is something that we all believe in a priority. When you have a debt of 36 billions of dollars, we need to do something to control expenses.

Chang: The correspondent of the NPR congress, Deirdre Walsh, has covered this and now joins us from the Capitol. And just a note – no NPR frame had the hand in this cover, no, Deirdre?

Deirdre walsh, byline: exactly right.

Chang: OK, so the house approved the White House request for these cuts last month. Have the Senate Republicans made changes to what the Chamber approved?

Walsh: Yes, they did. The initial demand from the Trump administration offered $ 9.4 billion in cuts. But a program that the senators of both parties oppose the reduction was the reduction of $ 400 million in the program called Pepfar. This is the World Public Health Program set up by President George W. Bush which provides resources to combat HIV and AIDS.

Chang: right.

Walsh: The program was very successful, saving millions of lives. Thus, the Senate Republicans worked with the administration, decided to withdraw it from the package, and they are now progressing with legislation that reduces 8 billion in total of other foreign aid programs and around 1 billion public media discounts.

Chang: Yes, and I saw that some Senate Republicans pushed to preserve federal funding for public dissemination in their states of origin. Have they obtained one of these changes?

Walsh: They did it. As you said, there was this group which raised concerns about the impact of the cuts, mainly in rural areas. The republican senator of southern Dakota, Mike Rounds, specifically argued that the radio stations which serve the Amerindian populations of his country of origin should be supported. He essentially negotiated a parallel agreement with the administration and said that they agreed to reprogram around $ 9 million in money from a program of the Interior Ministry and to use this money to go to 28 radio stations in nine states that serve the Amerindian communities.

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Mike Rounds: I had specifically concerns about the impact on these radio stations that are in rural areas, with people who essentially have very few other resources, and that, for me, they were taken in the fire of public broadcasting.

Walsh: But this bill still eliminates two years of federal funding that Congress has already approved earlier this year for the public dissemination company. It is not known whether this agreement that the rounds have obtained will satisfy other Republicans like Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski from Alaska. They always want federal money for public radio in their original states to be preserved. For their part, the Slash Democrats – you know, have energized Republicans for having cut funding for foreign aid and public dissemination. The Democratic Senator of New Mexico, Ben Ray Lujan, who has just returned to visit floods in his country of origin, argued that the reductions in this bill would have an impact on communities across the country that counts on public media to deal with natural disasters.

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Ben Ray Lujan: But it is local AM radio or public broadcasting that are still able to wear a signal to warn you to get out of your home. It is almost time for you to move. Prepare your things. You have to get out of there. Something happens.

Chang: ok, well, well, with these changes to the version of the room, do you think that this bill will really go to the Senate?

Walsh: You know, the Republicans I spoke to this afternoon seem quite confident that they will get there. They are still negotiating, but they plan to go ahead with a procedural vote later this evening to start debating the bill. Republicans can only lose three votes and still be able to adopt it – three republican votes. They use this process to circumvent a filibustier in the Senate. All Democrats should vote no. If the Senate approves it, the room will have to vote on it and the deadline is this Friday at midnight on Friday. If the congress cannot approve the bill, money must be released.

Chang: It’s DEIRDRE WALSH NPR. Thank you, Deirdre.

Walsh: Thank you, Ailsa.

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