White House Asks Congress to Claw Back $9.4 Billion in Approved Funding

The White House has officially asked Congress to claw back $9.4 billion in already approved spending.

The process, known as rescission, would take funding away from programs targeted by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). It requires approval from Congress to return money that had previously been appropriated.

The request was submitted on Tuesday. Congress needs to act on the request within 45 days of receiving it.

Included in the money it looks to take back is $1.1 billion for public broadcasting over the next two years beginning in October. That funding was approved by Congress with bipartisan support this spring and was signed into law by the president then.

It would also cut nearly $9 million for the United States President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS relief, also known as PEPFAR, which began with President George W. Bush in 2003 and is considered by many to be his greatest accomplishment as president. PEPFAR distributes HIV/AIDS drugs to people in poor countries who wouldn’t otherwise have access to them.

According to government estimates, as of 2023, PEPFAR had saved 25 million lives.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the government is on track to spend roughly $7 trillion as of this year, with the rescission request equaling just 0.1% of that total.