Government affairs

Following the June 7 House passage, in a 48-50 vote today, the Senate blocked the $15 billion rescission package titled “Spending Cuts to Expired and Unnecessary Programs Act” (H.R. 3) from advancing. Republicans Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Richard Burr (R-NC) joined all the Democrats and Independents in voting against the measure.

The rescissions package stems from an April White House request from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that initially asked for Congress to return as much as $60 billion in cuts from already appropriated fiscal year 2018 funds. The measure would have rescinded around $8 billion form the Health and Human Services Department and about $5 billion from the Energy Department, among others.

“That a bipartisan group of Senators rejected the president’s rescission proposal is a testament to how backwards and out of touch it was in the first place,” said Sen. Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). “For President Trump and Republicans to blow up the deficit to give tax cuts to the rich, and then turn around and cite the out of control deficit to propose cuts to vital health care funds for middle-class families and children is a betrayal to his own supporters and the middle-class families he promised to stand up for.”

It is unclear whether another vote can be expected, but NALC will continue to monitor any progression of the bill.