White House Revokes Attempt To Cut $252M In Ebola Funding As Part Of Rescissions Package
President Donald Trump is trying to build momentum behind the package, but lawmakers are also uneasy with some of the other suggested cuts to popular programs like the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
The Associated Press:
White House Drops Plan To Cut Ebola Funding
Seeking to revive a $15 billion plan to pare back spending that has languished on Capitol Hill, the White House on Tuesday dropped a proposal to cut $252 million in leftover funding to fight the Ebola virus in Africa. The move came as President Donald Trump took to Twitter to pitch the package of spending cuts, which still faces an uphill struggle in Congress. "The HISTORIC Rescissions Package we've proposed would cut $15,000,000,000 in Wasteful Spending! We are getting our government back on track," Trump tweeted. (Taylor, 6/5)
The Hill:
White House Walks Back Proposal To Cut Ebola Funds
The proposal was part of a broader package the Trump administration sent to Congress last month aimed at rescinding $15 billion in unspent funding Congress appropriated years ago. But public health groups and Democrats raised an uproar, pointing at the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that has killed 27 people. The $252 million is all that's left from the $5.4 billion in emergency funding appropriated in 2015. (Hellmann, 6/5)
In other news —
Reuters:
U.S. Sets Up Task Force Over Unexplained Diplomatic Health Incidents
The United States has set up a task force to help coordinate a response to unexplained health problems affecting a number of U.S. diplomats and their relatives in Cuba and China, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on Tuesday. The group, set up on May 23, will handle "identification and treatment of affected personnel and family members, investigation and risk mitigation, messaging, and diplomatic outreach" for the 25 U.S. government workers and family members confirmed to have been affected so far, the statement said. (Heavey and Landay, 6/5)
