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Sen. Collins Signals Opposition to Trump Administration Plan for Cuts

Sen. Collins Signals Opposition to Trump Administration Plan for Cuts

Photo: 560 WGAN Newsradio


Maine Senator Susan Collins is signaling she’ll fight against a proposal by the Trump administration to cut $9.4 billion in a wide range of foreign aid programs and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (PBS and NPR).

Collins has said she will not support a $400 million cut to a global AIDS relief program in the plan.

The program known as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief was started by George W. Bush and is credited with saving more than 25 million lives worldwide.

“It appears that it is cutting PEPFAR, and I will not support a cut to PEPFAR, which is a program that has saved literally millions of lives and has been extremely effective and well-run,” Collins told reporters on Capitol Hill.

Collins chairs the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, and said on Tuesday they’ll carefully review the proposal, technically called a “rescission bill”, for any potential consequences.

“Despite this fast track, the Senate Appropriations Committee will carefully review the rescissions package and examine the potential consequences of these rescissions on global health, national security, emergency communications in rural communities, and public radio and television stations,” said Collins in a statement.

The White House’s Office of Management and Budget’s rescission request kickstarts a process that gives Congress 45 days to act.

The package request includes $1.1 billion in cuts to PBS and NPR as well as $8.3 billion in cuts to the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, which has become a target from the DOGE team formerly headed by Elon Musk.

House speaker Mike Johnson is expressing support for the plan.

“This rescissions package reflects many of DOGE’s findings and is one of the many legislative tools Republicans are using to restore fiscal sanity,” Johnson said on Tuesday. “Congress will continue working closely with the White House to codify these recommendations, and the House will bring the package to the floor as quickly as possible.”

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