During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) questioned OMB Director Russell Vought about the rescissions package requested by President Trump.
00:00Madam Chair and I want to associate myself with the comments just made by my
00:05colleague Senator Daines. I'm in fact going to start at the same place you
00:09started in your questioning. The rescission package before us today would
00:14hurt communities that all of us have the privilege of representing. There are 120
00:20rural public media stations that receive at least 25% of their revenue from the
00:26Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Members of this committee represent
00:31nearly two-thirds of these stations including WOJB serving Northwestern
00:38Wisconsin and beyond from the LeCouteret Reservation in Hayward, Wisconsin. My
00:45question for you, did you analyze the impact of this rescission proposal on
00:51local public radio and television stations, yes or no?
00:54We always analyze everything and we took... Can you provide my office in this
00:59committee with a copy of that analysis? I'm happy to answer any questions for the
01:03record that you might have. I'd like to see the copy of your analysis, that's what
01:08I'm asking. We conduct analysis all over the all over the place as it pertains to
01:12the questions that you might have for the record. I'm happy to respond to them.
01:14Very good. Congress spends months negotiating appropriations bills so that
01:22they can and almost always do garner overwhelming bipartisan support. I was so
01:29proud in on this committee to see our committee send most of our subcommittee
01:37bills out with near unanimous endorsement. And so the committee comes together in a
01:45bipartisan manner to invest in our nation's most valuable asset, our people. We put the
01:52people we represent ahead of partisan politics and invest in our nation's
01:57economic development, public health, and national security. Passing partisan
02:03rescission packages to undo bipartisan appropriation bills will fundamentally change
02:11the work of this committee and Congress. We write these bills to invest in programs
02:17that we, the elected representatives of our state, know are important for our
02:22communities. Like any bipartisan agreement there's always things that I don't like
02:28and things in it that my Republican colleagues don't like. But regardless of who
02:33is in the majority, we can't negotiate bipartisan deals if the majority
02:39walks back on those agreements months later. That is precisely why rescission proposals like
02:48this haven't been enacted in recent history. If there are changes to be made to appropriated
02:56funding, the levels of funding or what it is spent on, those should be made through the
03:03appropriation process. That is why this committee exists. So Director Vogt, you have said that OMB
03:14could send up multiple rescissions packages or just outright impound funds. Right now the
03:22Department of Labor is not committed to spending fiscal year 2024 funding for
03:32congressionally directed spending projects as a June 30th deadline quickly approaches. Would
03:38congressionally directed spending projects be eligible for a rescission proposal under
03:44the Impoundment Control Act? Senator, thanks for the question. We are aware of those funds. We are not
03:51there yet and they have a unique fiscal year, the end of June. We are under a programmatic review. We still
03:58have time to obligate those funds. There are 129. We are we are looking very carefully at those
04:05programs to make sure that they are consistent with the president's priorities. These are
04:09congressionally directed spending requests from members of this committee on a bipartisan basis that this
04:14committee approved. That money needs to be allocated. We are certainly aware of the funding at issue. So right now the Department of Education is not committed to spending
04:24appropriated funding for formula grant programs that should be allocated to states and school
04:32districts in the coming days. That is leaving schools completely in the dark about how much funding they
04:38will have for the school year that starts in two months. Would funding for the Department of Education
04:45formula grants for before and after school programs or funding directly supporting teachers and educators be
04:51eligible for the next rescissions proposal? We are considering multi-year funding and it is underway
05:00with a programmatic review. But again, it is multi-year funding and no decision has been made with regard
05:06to whether they will be a part of any particular rescissions package. We are aware of the extent to which we are
05:13reviewing those funds. Madam Chair, I have more questions, but I note that my time is expired. I will submit them for the record. Thank you.
