00:00President Trump is bypassing Congress to unilaterally cut $5 billion in foreign aid from the federal budget.
00:06The president's use of what's called a pocket rescission is being described as illegal from both Republican and Democratic members of Congress.
00:16President Trump informed Congress last week that he's cutting $3.2 billion from the United States Agency for International Development,
00:24approximately $1 billion from the State Department, and $445 million from the Peace Corps.
00:30That money went to numerous programs, including $400 million per year for global climate projects,
00:37$322 million to the USAID Democracy Fund, $393 million for international peacekeeping activities,
00:45which the administration said had failed their mission, and $521 million in contributions to international organizations.
00:52Senator Susan Collins, the Republican chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, stated,
00:56Any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law.
01:02Senator Patty Murray, the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, said,
01:06No lawmaker should accept this absurd illegal ploy to steal their constitutional power to determine how taxpayer dollars get spent.
01:14So what exactly is a pocket rescission?
01:16The Impoundment Control Act allows the President to send requests to Congress to cut specific items from the federal budget.
01:23The President must say how much money he wants to rescind, the accounts it will be taken from, the reason, and the projected budgetary and economic impact.
01:32Congress has 45 days to approve the request, during which time the money is frozen.
01:37That's where pocket rescissions come in.
01:39The fiscal year ends September 30th.
01:42If the President sends a rescissions request to Congress within 45 days of that date,
01:47the funds are frozen for the remainder of the year and, for all intents and purposes, are cut from the budget.
01:53There are arguments for and against this practice.
01:56Congress is the appropriator under the Constitution.
01:58I don't think the White House can use tricks to change the meaning of the Constitution.
02:02I'm an individual that liked lying on a veto when I was governor, so I think allowing the President to come forward with ideas to reduce spending, I'm all for.
02:12There's little that could be done to force the White House to spend the money.
02:16An organization that is set to lose funding could sue, but it's unlikely the courts could process the case before the fiscal year ends on the last day of September.
02:24I'm Ray Bogan for Straight Arrow News.
02:26For more unbiased reporting straight from our nation's capital, download the SAN app.
02:32For more unbiased reporting, visit www.fema.gov.au
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