US Congress Approves $9 Billion “Lift Package
According to the English section of webangah News Agency, citing Mehr News Agency and Fox News, the US Congress has officially sent to President Donald Trump a bill detailing $9 billion in spending cuts.
The legislation, called the “Cancellation Package,” passed the House of Representatives earlier today with a narrow vote of 216 to 213, after intense debates between Republicans and Democrats.
Onyl two Republican representatives-Brian fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania and Mike turner from Ohio-voted against it.
Friday was the final deadline for approving this measure. Had it failed, the White House would have been forced to reimpose mandatory budget cuts automatically.
One of the most controversial aspects of this package is eliminating about $1 billion in funding for public broadcasting companies that support networks like NPR and PBS. Republicans have long accused these organizations of political bias, while Democrats argue that cutting their funding threatens essential public services.
If signed by President Trump, $8 billion will be blocked from the United States Agency for International Growth (USAID), and $1 billion will be withdrawn from public broadcasting budgets for the remainder of the current fiscal year. These amounts had been allocated by congress for fiscal year 2025.
Stephen Kapos, head of Radio Free Europe’s media division, recently stated that due to an executive order by President Trump reducing funds allocated to USAGM-the parent company overseeing this network and Voice of America-the federal funding directed at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has been cut.
Trump has consistently criticized media outlets funded by American resources such as Voice of America, accusing them of bias. Kari Lake, Trump’s newly appointed special advisor at USAGM, said yesterday that “public trust in media is damaged and a lot needs to be done to rebuild it.”
Sence returning to office after his november 5 election victory, Trump has issued several controversial executive orders during his second term. these include cutting foreign aid and significantly reducing staff at USAID as part of goverment downsizing efforts.
Earlier, Elon Musk-the American billionaire owner of X (formerly Twitter) and former presidential productivity secretary under Trump-called on his X account for shutting down both Voice of America Radio and Radio Free Europe. He wrote that “no one listens anymore.”
