Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Senate Blocks Trump's Plan To Trim $15 Billion In Government Spending
The Washington Post: Senate Rejects Billions In Trump Spending Cuts As Two Republicans Vote ‘No’
The Senate on Wednesday rejected billions in spending cuts proposed by the Trump administration as two Republicans joined all Democrats in voting no. The 48-50 vote rebuffed a White House plan to claw back some $15 billion in spending previously approved by Congress — a show of fiscal responsibility that was encouraged by conservative lawmakers outraged over a $1.3 trillion spending bill in March. The House had approved the so-called rescissions package earlier this month. But passage had never been assured in the Senate, where a number of Republicans had been cool to the idea from the start. (Werner, 6/20)
CNN: Senate Rejects Spending Cuts Package, A White House Priority
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell firmly endorsed the proposal in a floor speech Wednesday. He said the unspent funds from various agencies were ripe to be returned to taxpayers. He also said the money being rescinded was not related to the recent hard-fought budget agreement reached by Republicans and Democrats. "This modest belt-tightening would in no way infringe on the bipartisan spending deal that senators on both sides agreed to earlier this year. This savings package is 100% unrelated to that agreement. Totally separate," McConnell said. "It simply pulls back a small amount of unspent funds from a variety of government accounts." (Barrett, 6/20)
