House Passes Trump Administration’s $15 Billion Rescissions Proposal

According to Government Executive:

“The House on Thursday approved 210-206 President Trump’s proposal to revoke $15 billion in appropriated funds from federal agencies, the first such rescission package since the Clinton administration.

Most of the clawbacks would not affect agencies directly, as they deal with money that Congress appropriated that went unspent or that is no longer necessary. In some cases, Republicans have said, agencies could not spend the would-be rescinded money even if they wanted to. A Congressional Budget Office report on the package found the measure would save just $1 billion in actual outlays over the next 10 years.

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The White House earlier this week tweaked its rescission proposal, but the changes were mostly minor and involved rounding errors or updates to funds remaining in various accounts. The White House in its update dropped its proposal to cut $252 million in remaining Ebola response funding.

The bill is part of a larger effort the White House is taking to cut federal appropriations, despite the president earlier this year signing a budget deal setting top-line funding levels for fiscal years 2018 and 2019.”