After meeting with Senate Republicans on Tuesday, White House Budget Director Russ Vought told reporters that the Trump administration has agreed to exempt a global anti-AIDS initiative from the rescissions package.
According to The Hill, Vought said President Donald Trump was on board with a substitute amendment to spare the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) from the funding clawback currently making its way through Congress.
PEPFAR was launched in 2003 by former President George W. Bush.
"It's substantially the same package, and the Senate has to work its will, and we've appreciated the work along the way to get to a place where they've got the votes," Vought said, according to the outlet. "There is a substitute amendment that does not include the PEPFAR rescission, and we're fine with that."
If the Senate substitute amendment is adopted, Vought said the rescissions package would total $9 billion.
In an effort to avoid a last-minute scramble in the lower chamber, House Republicans had pressed for the Senate to not make changes to the bill. The amendment means that the House will have to vote again on the rescissions package, which must make it to Trump's desk by Friday.
Otherwise, the administration must spend the money as originally earmarked by Congress.
The Hill reported that Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, a senior member of the panel, had voiced concern over the proposed PEPFAR cut, which will likely now be exempted from the legislation.
Vought added that he's working with senators "who have tribes in their states" who are concerned about the impact that the funding clawback from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting could have on radio stations broadcasting to tribal communities.
The White House budget director and Senate GOP leadership have reportedly reached a deal with Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., to redirect other unallocated money to these stations that reach tribal lands.
"It's not the Green New Deal," Vought said. "There's money that's been around for a long time that we can purpose for what is needed."
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.