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Floor Speech

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Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I rise today in strong opposition to President Trump's plan to claw back funding that Congress approved on a bipartisan basis. Not only does this so-called rescissions package defund critical programs that Wisconsinites rely on, it fundamentally undermines the ability of Congress to write and pass bipartisan appropriations bills.

To my colleagues who push for more bipartisanship in our work here, passing rescissions packages like this will only make that bipartisanship more difficult. It will mean more partisanship, more deadlock, and, ultimately, a greater risk of government shutdowns. That is why we have not passed a partisan rescissions bill like this package before.

Like any bipartisan agreement, there are always things in annual appropriations bills that we don't like or that we would write differently, and there are things that my Republican colleagues don't like or they would write differently. But how can one party negotiate and make concessions as a part of bipartisan annual appropriations bills if the majority party can just walk back those agreements months later?

I would like to start by calling out the harm this package will do for Wisconsinites in the short term--in particular, cuts to public broadcasting.

One in four Wisconsinites lives in a rural community, and many rely on public broadcasting for local news, emergency alerts, and free educational programming, especially for children. Wisconsin Public Radio is the primary broadcast relay for Wisconsin's Emergency Alert System, including AMBER Alerts and lifesaving weather alerts like tornado and flash flood warnings. We need to look no further than the absolutely devastating news out of Texas to see that access to high- quality and timely information can mean the difference between life and death.

Access to local news from reporters and sources that community members trust is more important than ever. Stripping this funding would endanger local news that is already disappearing in so many Wisconsin communities. In 2024, almost one in five newspapers in Wisconsin shut down, according to a recent study. That same study found that Wisconsin's northernmost county, Bayfield County, had no local news source while 22 counties across Wisconsin had just 1 local news source.

That is where public media plays a critical role in keeping Wisconsinites connected with their communities. Stations like WXPR in Rhinelander will be under threat if this package advances, one of the few news sources producing local reporting in Wisconsin's Northwoods and Michigan's Upper Peninsula or Radio Milwaukee, which, because of public funding, can broadcast local school board meetings for parents and families to stay in touch with what is happening in their schools. Without Federal support for public media, this critical information could disappear for Wisconsin families.

The President's effort to take this funding from local communities and endanger the vital information that Wisconsinites need to stay safe is all because he is trying to desperately pay for his deficit bomb of a bill that just got rammed through Congress. That bill gives huge tax breaks to the wealthy and big corporations. President Trump and the Republicans are paying for some of it by gutting Medicaid and kicking families off nutrition assistance, and now they are taking away access to public media.

Beyond the clawbacks included in this package, the second point I want to make is about what these proposed cuts will mean for Congress and our ability to write bipartisan appropriations bills going forward.

It is clear to me that President Trump does not respect the separation of powers, but I remain hopeful that my Republican colleagues will stand with Democrats to protect the powers given to Congress by our Constitution. With this rescissions package, House Republicans bent their knee to the ``king'' and, once again, green- lighted Trump's wishes. I am asking my Republican Senate colleagues not to follow suit because the future of bipartisan compromise depends upon it. The package that the White House proposed and the House approved claws back billions in funding that Republicans and Democrats approved on a bipartisan basis. If Republicans approve this package on a party- line vote, it will fundamentally undermine Congress's ability to set funding levels. If Senate Republicans allow this bill to pass, we know that the administration will keep sending us new rescissions packages.

The President has already put a target on the bipartisan investments he wants to claw back. We have seen his funding freezes from cuts to cancer and Alzheimer's research to withholding funding for afterschool programs and slashing workforce training programs. This White House froze funding that was approved by this very body, written and passed by both Republicans and Democrats.

If my Republican colleagues approve this reversal, then what is next? What is to stop every future majority party from throwing away months of bipartisan work? What incentive will minority parties have to come to the table to get a bipartisan funding bill over the finish line if the party in power can turn around and go back on its word?

I ask my Republican colleagues to consider what advancing this package will mean for the next round of negotiations that we are about to enter for fiscal year 2026. I believe the future of bipartisan compromise hangs in the balance here. I urge my colleagues to vote no on this rescissions package.

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