'I'm Puzzled Why You'd Be Cutting Funds That The President Signed In March': Susan Collins Grills Vought

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During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) questioned OMB Director Russell Vought about cuts to global health programs, and President Trump's rescissions request.

Transcript

00:00Thank you, Director. First of all, you just gave us a list that is very similar to ones that all of us have read

00:10and that I addressed in my opening statement.

00:15These are programs that were funded in the Biden administration.

00:20There's no way that President Trump's administration would allow such wasteful and questionable spending.

00:30So I am puzzled why you would be cutting funds that the president signed in March as part of the continuing resolution

00:42when now your appointees are there to prevent the kind of spending that most of us would find to be reprehensible

00:55and a waste of taxpayer dollars.

00:57Thank you for the question, Senator.

00:59And I was, in listening to the opening statements, I was encouraged to hear the bipartisan outrage for some of these programs.

01:07I would add a couple points in direct response to your question, Senator.

01:10These are largely multi-year funding.

01:14There are some expiring funds with regard to fiscal year 25.

01:18But the way that this was structured was to find the waste, the abuse, the average on an annual basis

01:25for grants that get re-upped each and every year.

01:28And so we are in $37 trillion in national debt.

01:33Our view is to see, when we look at these programs,

01:36can we do it cheaper as evidence about what we find and then to reflect that with some savings to the taxpayer?

01:44We think that we're doing that here, and that is the extent to which we don't want to just plow it into additional spending.

01:51We actually want to have it lead to a more efficient federal program in the area of PEPFAR

01:58or whatever economic development assistance that we might find.

02:02The other thing I would say is the extent to which the normal pipeline for these funds

02:08is something we're taking a close look at.

02:11I mean, we don't want to re-up the same spending to the same NGO with a different grant title.

02:17That's not success here.

02:19And so it will take some time for us to be able to find the types of groups that can dispense these funds

02:27in ways that are consistent with this administration's priorities.

02:31Well, let me also take issue with your statement that, quote,

02:36no life-saving treatments will be impacted.

02:40When you look at PEPFAR, you are eliminating a lot of the prevention programs.

02:49And just this past week, the FDA approved a twice-yearly injection

02:55that provided significant protection against HIV infection in clinical trials.

03:03We've seen literally 26 million lives saved through a combination of prevention and treatment.

03:14We can't tell in looking at the information that you've given us because it's not specific

03:22whether the rescission would harm our efforts to prevent the spread of tuberculosis or polio or malaria.

03:31Those are all programs that have been proven effective.

03:36I'm particularly concerned also about what the impact would be on the maternal and child health programs.

03:47We can't tell.

03:49But we do know that important food supplements, the ready-to-use therapeutic food that I'm showing you right here,

04:00which is peanut butter-based but greatly enriched,

04:03have saved the lives of premature babies and malnourished children.

04:09We know that these prenatal vitamins have allowed impoverished mothers in Africa

04:19to safely deliver healthy children.

04:22These are not only the right thing to do for humanitarian reasons,

04:30but they're incredible instruments of soft power.

04:34So let me ask a specific question.

04:38Does your rescissions package cut the life-saving multivitamins for pregnant mothers

04:46and the food supplement that's used for malnourished children?

04:53No, we apportion that funding consistent with this administration's priorities,

04:58and that funding is flowing.

05:00What we are getting at is preventative, and I do put it in air quotes.

05:04I'm not saying there's not good preventative care.

05:06And the example that you gave with regard to drugs that are being approved just this week in FDA

05:12are in another category of drugs that will largely be protected,

05:16certainly will under this rescissions bill.

05:18And, again, there's $10 billion left for PEPFAR, even if this rescissions bill were to pass.

05:24What we're getting at is the extent to which we have identified in literally every program.

05:30Part of the exercise here is that all of these programs are in some respects in the dock

05:37because we have identified the extent to which all of them are funding liberal NGOs

05:43doing activities that the American people wouldn't support.

05:46And just because they're in the PEPFAR account shouldn't make them immune for a rescission.

05:52And so when we look at preventative and we're saying $9.3 million to advise Russian doctors

05:59on how to perform abortions and gender analysis, $4.4 million in funding to recruit gender

06:05and inclusive development experts, $45 million to International Planned Parenthood Federation.

06:10This isn't, the American people, if we went to a diner and we said,

06:14what is preventative care?

06:15And we included all manner of doctors in that diner conversation.

06:18They said, what's the kind of preventative care that you would support

06:22and you think would make sense?

06:24My guesses would be in the area of the drugs that you mentioned.

06:27My guess is it would also not include this kind of waste and abuse.

06:31This is actual savings to the taxpayer that we could recoup.

06:35And at the end of this rescissions package, still have $38 billion in unobligated balances,

06:41$10 billion in unobligated balances for PEPFAR.

06:44But, Director, those kinds of wasteful expenditures are not going to occur in this administration.

06:53That's my whole point.

06:55And I know for a fact that both of these products, which are made entirely in America, are being held up.

07:05One, this is, this peanut butter-based supplement is in a warehouse.

07:12And there's worried by the private foundations that are contributing to the undertaking of this program that they're going to expire

07:23because they can't get the federal funding to distribute them.

07:28So the funds were apportioned.

07:30We're happy to look into.

07:31There has been a lot of news out there with regard to what is occurring.

07:36I just read this morning with regard to one of the drugs that you just mentioned.

07:40And, again, we have it protected with regard to this rescissions package.

07:45And so I understand we haven't been in the business of doing rescissions packages for quite some time.

07:50We're getting those muscle memories going again.

07:53But we can work with Congress to make sure these types of things are protected on an ongoing basis.

08:00But I do believe it's important to have a reflection on the fact that if you find savings

08:06and you know that that generally occurs on an annual grant-by-grant process annually,

08:10can you rescind that money in such a way that we actually get something for it?

08:15And I am worried, Senator, about the extent to which if we just have the same amount of money that's there annually

08:22and you just say it's got to go,

08:23that you are putting massive pressure on the bureaucracy to get it out the door to the same NGOs

08:29that we are now here to deal with the extent to which they have been wasting the American people's hard-earned tax dollars.

08:35And I am concerned about that.

08:37Senator Martin.

08:38If you don't mind, just one more clarification.

08:42The stuff you read, did that come from PETFOR?

08:45Yes.

08:45Okay.

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