Republicans are at odds over whether to claw back funding for an anti-HIV program as part of the GOP’s effort to pass legislation codifying DOGE cuts.
The White House sent Congress a bill Tuesday that the Office of Management and Budget said would cut at least $9 million from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The total could be much more: A special message sent to lawmakers outlines as much as $900 million in rescissions to global health.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said in an interview that he hadn’t seen the text yet, but “if PEPFAR is in there, that is a red line.” He added that “it’s a noble program; it’s President [George W.] Bush’s legacy.”
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, also told reporters Tuesday that “it appears that it is cutting PEPFAR, and I will not support cutting PEPFAR.” Like Bacon, she pointed out that it is a “legacy program of President George W. Bush.”
Their comments are teeing up a clash with fiscal hawks that GOP leaders can scarce afford. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., plans to introduce the bill in the House next week, a person familiar with the plan said, where it will need most Republicans’ support to pass it.
“If Congress can’t deal with NPR, PBS, and a list of crazy expenditures overseas, then they’re not going to rescind anything,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told reporters. “You can’t send anything to me that I’m not going to rescind.”