Overview

• Senate Majority Leader John Thune has scheduled next-week floor debate and an open amendment process for the rescissions package ahead of a July 18 deadline to send it to the president
• The measure, approved by the House 214-212, would claw back $9.4 billion in prior spending, including $8.3 billion in foreign aid and $1.1 billion from public broadcasting
• Senate Democrats led by Chuck Schumer have warned they will block any comprehensive funding deal if the simple-majority cuts move forward, raising the prospect of a government shutdown by September 30
• Senators Mike Rounds and Susan Collins are pressing amendments to safeguard rural public broadcasters and AIDS relief funding, underscoring divisions within the Republican caucus
• With Republicans holding 53 seats in the Senate, GOP leaders remain uncertain they can secure enough votes to pass the rescissions package without Democratic defections