Rushmore State News

The Senate has passed President Trump's budget rescissions package, which aims to reduce federal spending by $9 billion. The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) expressed his support for the legislation but noted concerns about its initial impact on tribal radio stations. "This week, I voted to support President Trump’s rescissions package to claw back $9 billion of unnecessary federal spending for non-lifesaving foreign aid and taxpayer funded radio programs," said Rounds. "However, in the initial request, tribal radio stations were caught in the cross fire. This package eliminates federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) which funds portions of National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service. While most existing stations can continue operating, this cut would have eliminated up to 92% of the budgets for some tribal radio stations."

Rounds explained that continued support for tribal radio was a condition of his backing for the bill. "In order for me to support this legislation, we had to find a way to continue support for these radio stations which offer potentially life saving information in some of the most rural parts of our nation. These stations play a vital role in South Dakota, delivering critical emergency alerts and public safety information, and they needed to be protected. I worked with the Trump administration to find unused climate change money that will be reallocated to continue grants to tribal radio stations. I’m pleased we secured $9.4 million to make certain the dozens of tribal radio stations receiving CPB community service grants across 11 states can continue operating without interruption."

Rounds also emphasized fiscal responsibility while maintaining essential services: "With nearly $37 trillion in federal debt, we must preserve essential services but also take meaningful steps to reduce wasteful spending. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will continue working to both rescind unnecessary spending and preserve funding for tribal radio in future appropriations bills."