The House took the first step to legalize the $9.4 billion in cuts proposed by DOGE
These cuts are within the rescissions package, which will now move to the Senate for final approval.
Johnson in the House/ Allison Robbert.
The House passed the $9.4 billion cuts proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This is the first step in codifying these cuts, which are within the rescissions package. The package will now go to the Senate for final approval.
Despite internal wrangling over some cuts, the legislation advanced with 214 votes in favor and 212 opposed. Four Republicans joined all Democrats in opposition: Mark Amodei (R-NV), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) and Michael Turner (R-OH).
"Today's passage of this initial rescissions package marks a critical step towards a more responsible and transparent government", Mike Johnson, speaker of the House, celebrated after the vote. "It is just one of the ways Republicans are codifying DOGE’s findings and putting taxpayer dollars to better use," he added.
Politics
Trump and Johnson's plan to codify DOGE cuts: here's how the Rescissions Package works
Joaquín Núñez
Now, the legislation will move to the Senate, which has a time limit to pass it. John Thune (R-SD), Republican majority leader in the chamber, anticipated that his caucus will focus first on passing President Donald Trump's mega bill. "We'll do the reconciliation first, so I expect the rescissions package is probably due in July," he stated.
The White House sent the package to Congress on June 3. Since that receipt, lawmakers have 45 days to approve it. Otherwise, the spending items objected to will be executed as scheduled. The 45 days are not consecutive, but during the time Congress is in active session.
Although some of these cuts have already been executed administratively by the White House, they now seek to legitimize them by law. The $9.4 billion is broken down into $8.3 billion in foreign aid through the Department of State or USAID, as well as another $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which funds the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR).
The Republican discord in the House was specifically over public media funding. Some members of Congress, such as Amodei, argued that they play a key role in rural communities.
How does the funding cancellation package work?
The legislation was passed at the time to prevent President Richard Nixon from unilaterally withholding previously authorized spending items.
However, it provides two exceptions to the rule: spending extensions and spending recissions. In the latter case, the White House can ask Congress to approve the proposed cuts through a funding cancellation package.
This has a 45-day window from submission and is governed by a simple majority in both chambers, sidestepping the 60-vote rule to break debate in the Senate. The White House can activate this process as often as it likes, with no annual limits.
In addition, it can only be used to cut discretionary and "on track" funds, but not mandatory spending such as Medicaid, Social Security or interest on debt.
As for "on track" items, they are those that Congress has already approved but not yet activated. For example, if a $500 million expenditure is approved for an international aid program and the Department of State signed a first contract for $200 million, the remaining $300 million is "on track" since it was authorized but not activated. In other words, they are like checks approved but not yet cashed. Therefore, they are subject to being cut.
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