Committee hearing exposes partisan split over HR4 cuts to PEPFAR, USAID and public broadcasting

The transcript of the House Rules Committee hearing on HR 4 shows a sharp partisan debate over proposed rescissions that would remove roughly $9.4 billion in budget authority, with a concentrated focus on international health assistance and public broadcasting.

Republican witnesses and members repeatedly described the package as targeting wasteful spending in foreign assistance and domestic public broadcasting. Representative Aderholt told the committee the package "would rescind budget authority for 9,400,000,000.0, including funding for United Nations, climate change programs, refugee assistance, economic and development assistance, and corporation for public broadcasting." He characterized the plan as "an important step toward greater fiscal responsibility."

Democrats warned of immediate human costs if the rescissions are enacted. Ranking Member DeLauro said the package "cuts $400,000,000 from PEPFAR, a paragon of American leadership that has saved 26,000,000 lives," and she and other Democrats cited academic tracking they said attributes thousands of deaths to earlier funding suspensions, giving specific numbers in committee testimony: "over 106,000 adults and over 200,000 children have already died due to the illegal termination of these programs," and, regarding HIV specifically, "more than 50,000 adults and 6,000 infants"—figures the witness and…