Jayapal Statement on GOP Rescissions Package
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) released the following statement regarding the Republican rescissions package, which passed the House of Representatives 216-213 after being sent back to the House by the Senate.
“The U.S. Constitution gives Congress, and Congress alone, the power of the purse. This rescissions package that Republicans forced through claws back more than $9 billion of funding that Congress negotiated and appropriated just four months ago. This is the first time that a rescissions package has been used in this way and passed on a party-line vote — yet another step in a long list of efforts to erode the system of checks and balances in this country. It is stunning that Republicans in Congress would so willingly hand away all their Article 1 powers to Donald Trump’s White House and undermine their own authority and responsibility. Passing this rescissions package also calls into question the future of the broader appropriations process, if the President simply rescinds and Republican members go back on the agreements they made.
“This package retroactively legitimizes the illegal cuts Trump has made to USAID that have already killed an estimated 300,000 people globally and are expected to lead to another 14 million deaths over the next 10 years. These cuts are taking food from hungry children, shutting down essential disease prevention efforts that save lives everywhere, including American lives, and ceding our leadership on the global stage.
“In addition, the cuts to public broadcasting will devastate many rural communities by stripping away their local news source that delivers critical weather alerts — warning of floods, hurricanes, or tsunamis — as well as important educational programming for kids. This is both a direct attack on the free press in this country and a major blow to rural America.
“Simply put, Republicans are stealing from the American people. And yet once again, Republicans are pathetically lining up behind Trump to do whatever he says rather than acting in the best interests of the people they represent.”
The rescissions package originally passed the House of Representatives in June, and Jayapal also voted no.
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Issues: Foreign Affairs & National Security, Government Reform & Ethics, Jobs, Labor, & the Economy