Congressman Nick Begich Statement on House Passage of Rescissions Package

WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 12, 2025 – Today, Congressman Nick Begich (R-AK) released the following statement on the House passage of the rescissions package: 

“Today, I voted in favor of the rescissions package, H.R. 4, a necessary step for restoring fiscal responsibility in our nation. America has been built on principles of freedom of expression, self-determination, sovereignty, personal responsibility, and limited government. This package supports those values by rescinding $9.4 billion from programs that do not reflect the will of the taxpaying public.  

This rescissions package primarily targets ideologically shaped foreign spending at USAID. Under both the Obama and Biden Administrations, USAID funding was misused to promote political and socially left policies abroad. This package helps refocus our support in ways that are consistent with America’s core values, rather than promote the agendas of international bureaucracies and ideological NGOs. 

This package also reduces involuntary taxpayer funding for certain state-sponsored media outlets like NPR and PBS. While rural communities have in the past been indirectly supported through state-sponsored media, we must acknowledge how far we have come in terms of connectivity since the birth of radio more than 120 years ago. Alaskan residents have embraced today’s pervasive cellular, satellite, and wireline technologies, connecting rural communities to critical information and resources in rich and compelling ways. Importantly, however, emergency management funding from these budgets that is directed to rural communities has been preserved. 

I will continue to support the robust deployment of both new connectivity technologies as well as durable legacy technologies such as radio and long-range digital television as we continue the work to connect Alaskan communities to the world.” 

###