Padilla Condemns Republicans’ Rescission of Billions in Public Broadcast and Foreign Aid Funding
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) issued the following statement slamming Republicans’ narrow passage of President Trump’s $9 billion rescissions package to revoke Congressionally appropriated funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid:
“On the heels of giving away $4.5 trillion in tax breaks to corporations and billionaires, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are now claiming we can’t afford essential public broadcasting services and important foreign aid programs.
“Republicans’ cuts to public broadcasting will put lives at risk by undermining the last line for lifesaving emergency alerts in so many communities across the country, just days after the devastating floods in Texas. At the same time, their cuts to foreign aid will end low-cost, high-impact programs while undermining U.S. national security, creating a vacuum in global leadership that China and Russia are more than happy to fill.
“All these funds were negotiated and approved in a good-faith and bipartisan manner. By breaking those commitments, Republicans have made it exponentially harder for themselves to seek and secure the support they’ll need from Democrats to fund the government later this year.”
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