Vice President JD Vance made two tie-breaking votes in the Senate on Tuesday to advance a $9.4 billion rescissions plan that will eliminate government funding for PBS and NPR.
The Senate tied 50-50 on two procedural votes to begin discussion of the multibillion-dollar expenditure clawback plan until Vance’s votes advanced the White House-requested proposal.
Three Republicans, Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Susan Collins (R-Maine), joined the Democrats in opposing the plan.
The package, passed by the House of Representatives last month, eliminates approximately $8.3 billion previously allocated to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and $1.1 billion to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which partially funds National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
A projected $400 million decrease to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program is anticipated to be removed through an amendment before the measure is voted on.
“There was a lot of interest from our members on doing something on PEPFAR,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told reporters after a meeting with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought. “That’s reflected in the substitute.”
