Trump’s Proposed $15B In Spending Cuts Passes Through House On Closer-Than-Expected Vote
Some lawmakers have been reluctant to pass the legislation as it targets unused funds for the popular CHIP program. But the measure, which passed 210-206, would take a mostly symbolic whack at government spending because it would basically eliminate leftover funding that wouldn't have been spent anyway.
The New York Times:
House Votes To Trim Unused Funding, A Gesture Of Fiscal Restraint
With annual budget deficits nearing $1 trillion, the House took a modest step on Thursday to broadcast fiscal responsibility, narrowly approving a White House plan to rescind nearly $15 billion in unspent funding that had been approved in past years. The bill would reduce actual spending by a total of $1.1 billion from 2018 to 2028, according to the Congressional Budget Office, a small act of penance after Congress approved a $1.5 trillion tax cut in December, then a $1.3 trillion spending plan in March whose heft exasperated conservatives. The new bill would have little practical effect, given that much of the funding was not expected to be spent anyway. (Kaplan, 6/7)
The Associated Press:
Trump Plan To Cut $15B In Spending Squeaks Through House
While Democrats blasted the cuts, the real objection to some of them, such as $7 billion from popular Children's Health Insurance Program funding, is that it would take that money off the table so it couldn't be used later as it was in the earlier spending bill. The CHIP cuts wouldn't affect enrollment in the program, which provides health care to children from low-income families that don't qualify for Medicaid. "Targeting CHIP for a rescission prevents Congress from reinvesting in other priorities like child and maternal health, early childhood education, biomedical research and our community health centers," said New York Rep. Nita Lowey, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. (Taylor, 6/7)
