Rescissions Act of 2025

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Bill ID: 119/hr/4
Last Updated: July 12, 2026

Sponsored by

Rep. Scalise, Steve [R-LA-1]

ID: S001176

Follow the money

The bill

Rescissions Act of 2025

HR. 4, 119th Congress — read as touching Print & Broadcast Media.

The sponsor

Rep. Scalise, Steve [R-LA-1]

Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.

The money

$4,428,500 raised

30 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.

The alignment

64% match to Project 2025

This bill's text tracks the "Introduction" section, p. 300-302 of the Mandate for Leadership.

Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law

Track this bill's progress through the legislative process

Latest Action

Became Public Law No: 119-28.

July 23, 2025

Introduced

Committee Review

Floor Action

Passed House

Senate Review

Passed Congress

Presidential Action

Became Law

📍 Current Status

This bill has become law!

📚 How does a bill become a law?

1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.

2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.

3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.

4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.

5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.

6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.

7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!

Bill Summary

Another masterpiece of legislative theater, folks! The Rescissions Act of 2025 is a beautifully crafted exercise in bureaucratic doublespeak, designed to make you think the government is actually doing something responsible with your money.

Let's get down to business. This bill rescinds a whopping $7.3 billion in unobligated balances from various programs and agencies. Sounds impressive, right? But don't be fooled – this is just a drop in the ocean of our national debt.

Breaking it down, we see that the biggest losers are:

* International Organizations: $1.2 billion in rescissions * Bilateral Economic Assistance: $4.3 billion in rescissions * Multilateral Assistance: $436 million in rescissions

Notable programs taking a hit include:

* Global Health Programs: $500 million in rescissions (but don't worry, HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis funding is safe... for now) * Migration and Refugee Assistance: $800 million in rescissions (because who needs to help refugees, anyway?) * Complex Crises Fund: $43 million in rescissions (I guess we're not that interested in preventing global catastrophes after all)

Now, let's talk about the real story here. This bill is not about responsible budgeting or fiscal discipline; it's about politics and pork-barrel spending. The fact that they're rescinding unobligated balances from previous years just means they're trying to cover up their own incompetence.

And what about those "notable exceptions" in section 5? Ah, yes – the ones where they make sure to exempt certain programs from the rescissions? That's just a clever way of saying, "We're not actually serious about cutting spending; we just want to look like it."

As for fiscal impact and deficit implications, let's be real: this bill is a rounding error in the grand scheme of our national debt. It's a Band-Aid on a bullet wound.

In conclusion, the Rescissions Act of 2025 is a masterclass in legislative obfuscation. It's a cynical attempt to make voters think their elected officials are doing something responsible with taxpayer dollars. But don't be fooled – this bill is just another symptom of the disease that plagues our government: a complete and utter disregard for fiscal responsibility.

Diagnosis: Terminal case of bureaucratic doublespeak, with symptoms of incompetence, cowardice, and a healthy dose of hypocrisy. Prognosis: Poor. Treatment: A strong dose of transparency, accountability, and actual leadership (but don't hold your breath).

Related Topics

Human Rights & Global DevelopmentForeign Aid & Diplomacy
Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (Dr. Haus personality)

💰 Campaign Finance Network

Rep. Scalise, Steve [R-LA-1]

Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions
$4,428,500
25 donors
PACs
$0
Organizations
$77,750
Committees
$0
Individuals
$4,350,750

No PAC contributions found

1
AI ALTEP INVESTMENTS LLC
1 transaction
$50,000
2
TUNICA-BILOXI TRIBE OF LA
2 transactions
$6,000
3
SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY
2 transactions
$4,950
4
POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS
1 transaction
$3,300
5
CHICKASAW NATION
1 transaction
$3,300
6
COUSHATTA TRIVE OF LOUISIANA
1 transaction
$3,300
7
MORONGO BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
1 transaction
$3,300
8
SAN MANUEL BANK OF MISSION INDIANS
1 transaction
$2,300
9
SAN MANUEL BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
1 transaction
$1,000
10
AIRBOAT ADVENTURES LLC
1 transaction
$300

No committee contributions found

1
UIHLEIN, ELIZABETH A. MRS.
2 transactions
$594,800
2
UIHLEIN, RICHARD
2 transactions
$594,150
3
CHOUEST, GARY MR.
1 transaction
$300,700
4
COTTON, SEAN P.
1 transaction
$300,700
5
STEPHENS, WARREN A.
1 transaction
$300,700
6
HALE, ROBERT
1 transaction
$300,700
7
FAVRE, ART
1 transaction
$300,000
8
FLORY, DAVID
2 transactions
$300,000
9
HENDRICKS, DIANE MRS.
1 transaction
$260,500
10
DAVIS, JAMES S.
1 transaction
$250,000
11
SMITH, BOYD C.
1 transaction
$200,000
12
LOW, ROBERT E. MR.
1 transaction
$200,000
13
JOHNSON, H. FISK MR.
1 transaction
$173,500
14
CULVERHOUSE, HUGH F. MR. JR.
1 transaction
$150,000
15
CHILDS, JOHN
1 transaction
$125,000

Cosponsors & Their Campaign Finance

This bill has 5 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.

Rep. Cole, Tom [R-OK-4]

ID: C001053

Top Contributors

10

1
CHEROKEE NATION
OrganizationTAHLEQUAH, OK
$52,900
Dec 8, 2023
2
CHEROKEE NATION
OrganizationTAHLEQUAH, OK
$46,300
Oct 21, 2024
3
CHEROKEE NATION
OrganizationTAHLEQUAH, OK
$25,000
Oct 21, 2024
4
SAGINAW CHIPPEWA INDIAN TRIBE
OrganizationMT PLEASANT, MI
$5,000
Dec 26, 2024
5
PECHANGA BAND OF INDIANS
OrganizationTEMECULA, CA
$5,000
May 13, 2024
6
PECHANGA BAND OF INDIANS
OrganizationTEMECULA, CA
$3,300
May 13, 2024
7
ISBELL FARMS
OrganizationMUSCLE SHOALS, AL
$1,500
Sep 30, 2024
8
KANADY, MICHAEL C
ECHOFOUNDER
IndividualNICHOLS HILLS, OK
$100,000
May 6, 2024
9
SPITZER, TERRY
GLOBAL TECHNICAL SYSTEMSCEO
IndividualVIRGINIA BEACH, VA
$30,000
Jun 6, 2024
10
PEROT, ROSS MR. JR
IndividualDALLAS, TX
$13,200
Jun 3, 2024

Rep. Bean, Aaron [R-FL-4]

ID: B001314

Top Contributors

10

1
MUSCOGEE CREEK NATION
OrganizationOKMULGEE, OK
$1,000
Jul 29, 2024
2
DEMETREE, JAY
DEMETREE BROTHERS INC.PRESIDENT
IndividualJACKSONVILLE, FL
$3,300
Oct 17, 2024
3
FALCONETTI, JOHN
DRUMMOND PRESS, INC.GRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS CO. CEO
IndividualJACKSONVILLE, FL
$3,300
Oct 27, 2024
4
MILLER, ALAN
COASTAL SPINE AND PAIN CENTERPHYSICIAN
IndividualFERNANDINA BEACH, FL
$3,300
Oct 29, 2024
5
DAVIS, DOROTHY
JAGUAR TECHNOLOGIES, INC.TELECOMMUNICATIONS CO. CEO
IndividualSAINT AUGUSTINE, FL
$3,300
Nov 30, 2023
6
ELLER, J. SCOTT
THE MAYERNICK GROUPGOVERNMENT RELATIONS
IndividualSARASOTA, FL
$3,300
Dec 22, 2023
7
FAISON, JAY W.
CLEARPATH FOUNDATIONOWNER
IndividualCHARLOTTE, NC
$3,300
Oct 31, 2023
8
GARDNER, WILLIAM D. JR.
W. GARDNER, LLCCEO
IndividualFLEMING ISLAND, FL
$3,300
Nov 30, 2023
9
MAYERNICK, FRANK
THE MAYERNICK GROUPGOVERNMENTAL CONSULTANT
IndividualTALLAHASSEE, FL
$3,300
Dec 22, 2023
10
SAPP, JUD JR.
N/ARETIRED
IndividualORANGE PARK, FL
$3,300
Dec 11, 2023

Rep. Sessions, Pete [R-TX-17]

ID: S000250

Top Contributors

10

1
POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS
OrganizationATMORE, AL
$5,000
May 16, 2024
2
POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS
OrganizationATMORE, AL
$5,000
Sep 12, 2023
3
POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS
OrganizationATMORE, AL
$3,300
Jun 17, 2024
4
POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS
OrganizationATMORE, AL
$3,300
May 24, 2023
5
ALABAMA-COUSHATTA TRIBE
OrganizationLIVINGSTON, TX
$1,000
Sep 30, 2024
6
HOWARD, RONALD VANCE
BANKERS LIFEMANAGEMENT
IndividualHUNTSVILLE, TX
$5,000
Mar 13, 2023
7
HOWARD, KAREN
ELEMENTS MASSAGEMANAGEMENT
IndividualHUNTSVILLE, TX
$5,000
Mar 13, 2023
8
SINGH, PRITPAL
BETA SOFT SYSTEMSMANAGEMENT
IndividualFREMONT, CA
$5,000
Jun 23, 2023
9
KAUR, MANJIT
SINGH SEMICONDUCTORS & SYSTEMSMANAGEMENT
IndividualFREMONT, CA
$5,000
Jun 23, 2023
10
BEHRINGER, TODD
THE BEHRINGER GROUP, LLCCONSTRUCTION
IndividualWOODWAY, TX
$3,400
Sep 1, 2023

Rep. Greene, Marjorie Taylor [R-GA-14]

ID: G000596

Top Contributors

10

1
PREWETT SERVICES LLC
OrganizationSOUTHAVEN, MS
$5,000
Jun 14, 2023
2
PREWETT SERVICES LLC
OrganizationSOUTHAVEN, MS
$1,700
Jun 14, 2023
3
THE WETZEL FAMILY TRUST
OrganizationLAS VEGAS, NV
$250
Jun 28, 2024
4
LUKE, DON MR
RETIREDRETIRED
IndividualPHOENIX, AZ
$11,600
Mar 13, 2023
5
RADGOWSKI, STEVEN
IndividualNORTHPORT, NY
$7,300
Dec 31, 2023
6
HAHN, SAMUEL
RETIREDRETIRED
IndividualFAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, IL
$6,600
Aug 30, 2024
7
ELLIOTT, BEVERLY B MS
RETIREDRETIRED
IndividualMOUNT JULIET, TN
$6,600
Mar 16, 2023
8
MCMANUS, DEBORAH
RETIREDRETIRED
IndividualLIVERMORE, CA
$6,600
Mar 18, 2023
9
FORSYTHE, GERALD R
INDECK ENERGY SERVICESCEO
IndividualNAPLES, FL
$6,600
May 31, 2023
10
KNIGHT, JZ
RETIREDRETIRED
IndividualYELM, WA
$6,600
May 24, 2023

Rep. Moore, Blake D. [R-UT-1]

ID: M001213

Top Contributors

10

1
JLS HOLDINGS LLC
OrganizationSALT LAKE CITY, UT
$9,900
Jul 13, 2023
2
THE CHICKASAW NATION
OrganizationADA, OK
$3,300
May 16, 2024
3
HEMMCO LLC
OrganizationOREM, UT
$2,500
Sep 15, 2023
4
R & O CONSTRUCTION
OrganizationOGDEN, UT
$2,500
Sep 13, 2023
5
PARKER, ALEXANDRA
APERCEN PARTNERS, LLC
IndividualPALO ALTO, CA
$6,600
Sep 20, 2024
6
PARKER, SEAN
APERCEN PARTNERS, LLC
IndividualPALO ALTO, CA
$6,600
Sep 20, 2024
7
KAUFMAN, TRENT
MGTEXECUTIVE
IndividualHOLLADAY, UT
$6,600
Sep 9, 2024
8
MOORE, BRENT
SOLTIS ADVISORSPARTNER
IndividualSALT LAKE CITY, UT
$6,000
Sep 26, 2024
9
MOORE, BRENT
SOLTIS ADVISORSPARTNER
IndividualSALT LAKE CITY, UT
$6,000
Sep 26, 2024
10
CHANG, JASON
IndividualMENLO PARK, CA
$3,300
Oct 30, 2024

Donor Network - Rep. Scalise, Steve [R-LA-1]

PACs
Organizations
Individuals
Politicians

Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.

Loading...

Showing 77 nodes and 45 connections (74 secondary connections hidden)

Total contributions: $4,596,250

Top Donors - Rep. Scalise, Steve [R-LA-1]

Showing top 25 donors by contribution amount

10 Orgs15 Individuals

Industry Impact

Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 1 harmed.

  • Section 2(b)(20)(A)-(B) rescinds amounts made available for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, which harms public broadcasters and related media entities.

Who funds the sponsor on these industries

For each industry this bill affects, here's what the sponsor (Rep. Scalise, Steve [R-LA-1])received from donors associated with that industry during the 2022–present cycles. Donations are not proof of intent — they are a record of who funds the people writing the law.

Industries this bill HARMS

Project 2025 Policy Matches

This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document.

Introduction

Moderate63.7%
Pages: 300-302

— 267 — Agency for International Development benefits financially from extending and expanding these large-scale programs for years, even decades, ensures little scrutiny of these ever-increasing appropriations. The massive growth in “emergency” aid distorts humanitarian responses, wors- ens corruption in the countries we support, and exacerbates the misery of those we intend to help. The permanence of this assistance, particularly in countries where we have little to no in-country presence and must rely on U.N. agencies to self-monitor, has morphed into a co-governance scheme in which the U.S. govern- ment effectively finances the social services obligations of corrupt regimes that threaten the United States. These governments can then redirect scarce budget resources away from costly health and education toward financing their wars, sup- porting terrorism, repressing their citizens, and enriching themselves. Examples of this abuse are spread throughout the world. l Over the past decade, the U.S. government has expended $14 billion in aid to Syria where the bloody regime of Bashar al-Assad—a close ally of Iran and Russia—skims nearly half of foreign aid through inflated official exchange rates, the diversion of food baskets to its military units, and procurement arrangements with compromised local contractors. l Yemen, once the breadbasket of the Arabian Peninsula, is now dependent on billions of dollars of aid as formerly productive Yemeni farmers cannot compete against “free food” while irrigation systems remain in disrepair, leaving the country to suffer from water shortages during long summer droughts and flooding during its rainy season. Iran-backed Houthi rebels divert substantial amounts of aid to support their war efforts. l In Afghanistan, the aid infrastructure built over 20 years of American military presence that three Presidents wanted to end collapsed with the failure of U.S.-trained Afghan forces to repel the Taliban’s 2021 advances. Yet the country has received nearly $1 billion more in U.S. humanitarian aid since the Taliban’s takeover and absent a U.S. embassy to ensure that it is not diverted to the Taliban and other terrorist groups. l In Burma, U.S. aid finances all of the food and medical care for hundreds of thousands of persecuted Rohingya that the military regime forces to live in open-air concentration camps. l In northern Iraq, hundreds of thousands of Yazidis—targeted for genocidal extermination by ISIS—remain in miserable camps unable to return home because of the Iraqi government’s refusal to clear out Iran-backed militias occupying their homeland.

Introduction

Moderate63.7%
Pages: 300-302

— 267 — Agency for International Development benefits financially from extending and expanding these large-scale programs for years, even decades, ensures little scrutiny of these ever-increasing appropriations. The massive growth in “emergency” aid distorts humanitarian responses, wors- ens corruption in the countries we support, and exacerbates the misery of those we intend to help. The permanence of this assistance, particularly in countries where we have little to no in-country presence and must rely on U.N. agencies to self-monitor, has morphed into a co-governance scheme in which the U.S. govern- ment effectively finances the social services obligations of corrupt regimes that threaten the United States. These governments can then redirect scarce budget resources away from costly health and education toward financing their wars, sup- porting terrorism, repressing their citizens, and enriching themselves. Examples of this abuse are spread throughout the world. l Over the past decade, the U.S. government has expended $14 billion in aid to Syria where the bloody regime of Bashar al-Assad—a close ally of Iran and Russia—skims nearly half of foreign aid through inflated official exchange rates, the diversion of food baskets to its military units, and procurement arrangements with compromised local contractors. l Yemen, once the breadbasket of the Arabian Peninsula, is now dependent on billions of dollars of aid as formerly productive Yemeni farmers cannot compete against “free food” while irrigation systems remain in disrepair, leaving the country to suffer from water shortages during long summer droughts and flooding during its rainy season. Iran-backed Houthi rebels divert substantial amounts of aid to support their war efforts. l In Afghanistan, the aid infrastructure built over 20 years of American military presence that three Presidents wanted to end collapsed with the failure of U.S.-trained Afghan forces to repel the Taliban’s 2021 advances. Yet the country has received nearly $1 billion more in U.S. humanitarian aid since the Taliban’s takeover and absent a U.S. embassy to ensure that it is not diverted to the Taliban and other terrorist groups. l In Burma, U.S. aid finances all of the food and medical care for hundreds of thousands of persecuted Rohingya that the military regime forces to live in open-air concentration camps. l In northern Iraq, hundreds of thousands of Yazidis—targeted for genocidal extermination by ISIS—remain in miserable camps unable to return home because of the Iraqi government’s refusal to clear out Iran-backed militias occupying their homeland. — 268 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise In effect, humanitarian aid is sustaining war economies, creating financial incentives for warring parties to continue fighting, discouraging governments from reforming, and propping up malign regimes. Nefarious actors reap billions of dollars in profits from diversions of our human- itarian assistance, but so do international organizations. The WFP charges 36 percent in overhead while Oxfam International’s overhead has reached 70 percent in Yemen, reflecting the high costs of foreign staff, security, and logistics. With pow- erful lobbies in Washington, D.C., and in leadership positions throughout USAID and the Department of State, the aid industry adroitly exploits Congress’s dispo- sition to increase funding year on year to assist those in dire need but provides no evidence to justify the mounting budget requests. In 2020, USAID’s leadership fused formerly bifurcated food and nonfood emergency relief operations into a single Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance to improve the management of the agency’s largest portfolio, but this reform was not sufficient to address the problem. The next Administration should resize and repurpose USAID’s humanitarian aid portfolio to restore its original purpose of providing emergency short-term relief, prepare vulnerable communities for tran- sition, and do no harm in the following ways: l Work with Congress to make deep cuts in the IDA budget by ending programs that do more harm than good in places controlled by malign actors, such as in Yemen, Syria, and Afghanistan, where our aid is consumed by fraud, diversion, and partner overhead costs. l Require USAID and the State Department to devise country-based exit strategies that term-limit the duration of humanitarian responses and transition funding from emergency to development projects. This will require robust diplomacy to press host governments to integrate displaced persons in lieu of keeping them in expensive and dehumanizing camps financed by the international community. l Transition from large awards to expensive, inefficient, and corrupt U.N. agencies, global NGOs, and contractors to local, especially faith-based, entities that are already operating on the ground. This approach provides a far less expensive and more effective alternative for aid delivery. Local partners more ably navigate corrupt environments and are more likely to steer vulnerable populations away from dependence on aid toward self-sufficiency. l Require that BHA avail itself of existing IDA authorities that it fails to use, including to dispense with the cost-reimbursement model that disqualifies

About These Correlations

Policy matches are calculated using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text. A score of 60% or higher indicates meaningful thematic overlap. This does not imply direct causation or intent, but highlights areas where legislation aligns with Project 2025 policy objectives.

Full Policy Text

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