Senate Republicans batted down Democratic attempts on Wednesday to shrink the $9 billion package of funding clawbacks the chamber is expected to pass after a “vote-a-rama” amendment spree.
Democrats are seeking to knock out pieces of President Donald Trump’s request to cancel $8.3 billion in foreign aid, along with $1.1 billion from public broadcasting. But they failed in their initial attempts Wednesday at protecting funding for international disaster relief and public broadcasting that supports public safety.
In a 50-49 vote, the chamber rejected an amendment from Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) that would retain $496 million in international disaster relief Trump wants Congress to slash in the rescissions package.
GOP Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine voted with Democrats in favor of the amendment. Those Republicans also voted earlier in the week against debating the package and knocked the White House for not providing lawmakers with account-by-account totals for what will be cut if Congress clears the bill before the Friday night deadline.
Global disaster aid doesn’t just “save lives in countries around the world,” Coons argued. “It strengthens our standing, brings us closer to our allies and helps us compete with China.”
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), who is leading the Senate GOP effort to pass the package, argued that “many foreign governments and U.N. agencies have become reliant on U.S. emergency funding, using it to avoid investing in their own disaster preparedness.”
The Senate also voted 51-48 to reject an attempt from Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) to send the bill back to committee and bar public broadcasting cuts that would affect public safety efforts, including the work of first responders and law enforcement.
Cassandra Dumay and Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
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