Have you ever looked at your paycheck, saw how much was taken out for taxes, and wondered, “Where is all that money going?”
Well, thanks to a new plan from the Trump administration – and support from House Republicans – we’re finally getting some answers. And they’re not pretty.
This month, the White House officially sent Congress a “rescissions package,” asking lawmakers to cancel $9.4 billion in government spending that many Americans would likely call wasteful or just plain ridiculous.
Speaker Mike Johnson says the House is ready to move fast to get it done.
What Is a Rescissions Package?
Think of it like this: Imagine you gave your teenager $100 to buy school supplies. Later, you find out they spent half of it on video games and candy. You’d probably take back the rest, right?
That’s what a rescissions package does.
It’s a way for the President to ask Congress to take back money it already approved – but hasn’t spent yet.
And under a law called the Impoundment Control Act, this kind of request only needs a simple majority to pass the Senate.
Where Is the Money Going?
The $9.4 billion in cuts comes from two main places:
- $8.3 billion from the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which gives foreign aid.
- $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps fund NPR and PBS.
And just wait until you hear what some of that money was being used for.
Some Head-Scratchers from USAID Spending
Here are a few real examples of what your tax dollars were going toward overseas:
- $6 million for “Net Zero Cities” in Mexico
- $4 million to help sedentary migrants in Colombia
- $3 million for Iraqi Sesame Street
- Over $2 million to teach young kids about eco-friendly reproductive health
- $1 million to help LGBTQ+ activist groups around the world
- $500,000 for electric buses in Rwanda
- $33,000 to promote being “LGBTI in the Caribbean”
That’s not all. There was even $1 million to help Haiti implement voter ID – while many Democrats oppose voter ID here at home.
Speaker Johnson summed it up clearly:
“Under President Trump, every federal taxpayer dollar is actually being used to serve the American people – not to fund a bloated bureaucracy or purely partisan pet projects.”
NPR and PBS in the Crosshairs
The rescissions plan also targets the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. That’s the group that funds NPR and PBS.
According to Speaker Johnson’s office, this funding has gone toward programs that push far-left ideology.
NPR, for example, faced major backlash when its CEO, Katherine Maher, publicly called President Trump a “fascist” and claimed “truth” is a distraction from their goals.
PBS has aired programming like Real Boy, a documentary about a transgender teen, and Our League, about a transgender athlete.
And don’t forget – NPR helped bury the Hunter Biden laptop story before the 2020 election, calling it a “distraction.” Then they spent months defending violent protests during the summer of 2020.
Why should taxpayers be forced to fund that?
What’s the Bigger Picture?
This $9.4 billion cut is just one piece of a much larger puzzle.
The Trump administration’s bigger effort – called the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” – aims to save $1.6 trillion over 10 years. That includes other tools like:
- Spending rescissions, like this one
- Tariff revenues, expected to reduce the deficit by $2.8 trillion
- Annual appropriations, where Republicans are working to cut even more waste
Much of the inspiration behind this push comes from the DOGE team (yes, like the meme dog), which stands for “Detecting Outrageous Government Excess.” It’s a group put together by entrepreneur Elon Musk and others to sniff out wasteful programs.
Of Course, Not Everyone’s Happy
Democrats are already complaining, saying these cuts hurt “important global causes” or threaten “public media.”
Some argue that the programs being cut help with diplomacy or promote equality.
But here’s the thing: Americans are struggling to afford gas, groceries, and rent. Most folks aren’t worried about electric buses in Rwanda or voter ID in Haiti.
Speaker Johnson hit the nail on the head: “Democrats continue to wail and complain – not at the fraud, waste, and abuse – but at the Trump administration simply for exposing it.”
If this rescissions package passes, it will be a win for every taxpayer who’s tired of footing the bill for programs that have nothing to do with helping Americans.
It’s a step toward fiscal sanity and government accountability.
Finally, Washington is starting to hear what many of us have been saying for years: Stop wasting our money.
Let’s hope they follow through.
