With time running out before the Friday deadline, Senate Republicans are modifying a $9 billion rescissions package to make sure they have the votes needed to deliver one of President Donald Trump’s top demands since taking office: defunding NPR and PBS.
Trump has been vocal in recent weeks, using social media to pressure GOP lawmakers into eliminating federal support for public broadcasters. While pushback from moderate Republicans initially put that goal in jeopardy, new behind-the-scenes deals appear aimed at preserving Trump’s proposed cuts without losing key votes.
South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds, one of the most outspoken Republican critics of the plan to eliminate all funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, reversed his position after reaching an agreement with the White House Office of Management and Budget. Under the deal, $10 million from previously allocated Green New Deal funds will be redirected to preserve grant funding for 14 tribal radio stations through the Department of the Interior, per NOTUS.
“They wouldn’t have survived without this,” Rounds said. “They provide emergency services information for some of the most rural parts of our country and some of the poorest counties in the United States.”
Crucially, Rounds said the workaround doesn’t require altering the rescissions bill text or allocating new funds, meaning the $1 billion cut to CPB funding remains intact, as Trump had demanded.
The tactic may serve to placate others who expressed concern about rural access to emergency communications without diluting the legislation’s core intent. Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine have both advocated for preserving some form of public broadcasting support, though it’s unclear if the tribal radio compromise will be enough to bring them on board.
In a separate adjustment meant to shore up additional Republican support, Senate leaders agreed to roll back $400 million in proposed cuts to the global AIDS relief program PEPFAR. That brings the overall size of the rescissions package down to $9 billion.
A new Harris poll conducted for NPR finds 66% of Americans support federal funding for public radio and view it as a good use of taxpayer dollars. That support includes 58% of Republicans and 77% of Democrats. Nearly three-quarters of Americans say they rely on public radio for emergency alerts and public safety information, with bipartisan agreement – 77% of Republicans and 78% of Democrats.
The revised package is expected to be finalized during a marathon Wednesday session. If the Senate approves a version different from the House-passed bill, lawmakers will need to reconcile the two before the July 19 deadline.
