PNN – The US Congress passed a spending reduction bill called the “cancellation package” worth $9 billion.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, citing Fox News, the US Congress is officially sending a package detailing $9 billion in spending cuts to President Donald Trump.
The bill, called the “repeal package,” was passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 216 to 213 hours ago local time after heated debates between Republicans and Democrats.
Only two Republicans, Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, Republican of Pennsylvania, and Representative Mike Turner, Republican of Ohio, voted against it.
Friday was the deadline for passing the bill; otherwise the White House would be forced to reinstate these budget cuts as planned.
One of the most controversial parts of the package was the elimination of about $1 billion in funding for the Public Broadcasting Corporation, which funds networks like NPR and PBS. Republicans have long accused the institutions of political bias, while Democrats see the move as a threat to essential public services.
If Trump signs the plan, it would freeze $8 billion in funding for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and $1 billion in funding for the Public Broadcasting Corporation for the remainder of the current fiscal year. These funds were appropriated by Congress in fiscal year 2025.
Stephen Kapus, the media director of Radio Free Europe, announced in recent months that federal funding allocated to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty had been cut following US President Donald Trump’s executive order to cut the budget of the US Global Media Corporation (USAGM), the network’s parent company, as well as Voice of America.
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Trump has repeatedly criticized US-funded media outlets, including Voice of America, accusing them of bias. Kari Lake, Trump’s newly appointed special adviser on USAGM, said yesterday that “the public’s trust in the media has been damaged and a lot of work needs to be done to rebuild it.”
After returning to the White House following his victory in the November 5 US election, Trump has issued controversial executive orders at the start of his second administration, including cutting foreign aid and mass layoffs of employees at the US Agency for International Development with the aim of shrinking the government.
Previously, Elon Musk, the famous American billionaire, owner of the social network “X” and former Secretary of “Productivity” in the Trump administration, called for the closure of Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in a message on his X account, writing that “no one listens to them anymore.”