He's a Coward You Push Back He Stands:He Backs Down in Imposing $400 Mi Cut for AMFar
 |
| Shutterstock |
Senate Republicans say they will remove $400 million in cuts to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) from a rescissions package requested by the president, clawing back billions of dollars in previously approved federal funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid.
Prior to a procedural vote Tuesday to begin debate on the $9.4 billion package, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought said that the White House had agreed to an amendment to the bill that would exempt the HIV/AIDS relief program.
Trump’s PEPFAR cuts are crippling LGBTQ+ rights & worsening the HIV crisis in Africa
“There is a substitute amendment that does not include the PEPFAR rescission, and we’re fine with that,” Vought said following a closed-door lunch with Senate Republicans, according to The Hill.
Insights for the LGBTQ+ community
Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), the bill’s lead sponsor, also confirmed Senate Republicans’ intention to remove the PEPFAR cuts, according to Politico.
Launched in 2003 by President George W. Bush to fund HIV prevention, treatment, and care, the program has been one of the most successful global health initiatives, saving tens of millions of lives and helping to combat HIV/AIDS in low-income countries, especially in Africa and the Caribbean. Despite its success, however, the president and congressional Republicans have repeatedly targeted the program, with some social conservatives claiming that PEPFAR funds are used to promote LGBTQ+ rights.
But as Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told Politico, there was a “lot of interest” among Senate Republicans in addressing the rescission package’s PEPFAR cuts. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) in particular had expressed concerns about the cuts, according to The Hill.
While the PEPFAR exception would bring the bill’s total down to $9 billion, Vought told reporters Tuesday that it was “substantially the same package” and that he believed Senate Republicans had enough votes to move it forward.
In a statement, Collins said she was “pleased that the Administration has abandoned its original request to impose a $400 million cut to PEPFAR, the successful global AIDS prevention program that has saved 26 million lives and allowed nearly 8 million babies to be born HIV-free to mothers living with HIV.” But she remained critical of the fact that the OMB has provided few details about the specific program cuts in the bill.
Ultimately, Collins joined with Murkowski and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to vote with Senate Democrats against advancing the bill, the Washington Post reports. But Vice President JD Vance provided the tie-breaking vote to allow debate to begin on the package.
As the Post notes, Congress is using the rescission process to pass the package with a simple majority and avoid a likely filibuster from Democrats. But that means they only have until Friday at midnight to get the package to the president’s desk. Any amendments to the bill in the Senate will have to be approved by the House.
LGBTQ Nation newsletter
Comments