Durbin Statement On President Trump's Unlawful 'Pocket Rescission' Request

Durbin Statement On President Trump's Unlawful "Pocket Rescission" Request

The Trump Administration announced an illegal attempt to cut an additional $4.9 billion in foreign aid funding already allocated by Congress

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after President Trump announced a new request to rescind nearly $5 billion in foreign aid funds that Congress has approved:

"As if the first rescissions package which slashed public broadcasting and global health initiatives wasn't bad enough, now President Trump announced a new illegal 'pocket rescission,' which will cancel nearly $5 billion in foreign aid funds. These funds, already approved and allocated by Congress, provide funds for programs that counter China, provide lifesaving clean water to people in need around the world, and support global agriculture research for universities-including universities in red states. This is nothing more than a power grab by the President and I implore my Republican colleagues to finally stand up for their constitutional authority and reject this rescissions package.

"We cannot allow this proposal, championed by President Trump, to erode the federal government."

President Trump's rescissions requests are made under a fast-tracked process, established in the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, in which a president can request that Congress rescind federal funding with a simple majority vote in each chamber. The law requires that, if Congress does not pass a bill rescinding the funding within 45 days, the president must release it.

However, President Trump and his Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought are attempting an unlawful maneuver called "pocket rescissions," in which they seek to rescind funding less than 45 days before the end of the fiscal year, believing this provides them with the power to cancel the funding with or without the approval of Congress. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has statedpocket rescissions are illegal.

-30-