U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty joined every House Democrat in voting against a bill that would cut funding to foreign aid and public broadcasting.
Beatty’s overnight vote came just over a month after she missed a previous vote on the same cuts in mid-June for a hip surgery. That vote passed 214-212 with Beatty and three other House Democrats not voting.
The Columbus Democrat came under criticism at the time for missing such a close vote. She returned to Washington D.C. for the House vote on the “Big Beautiful Bill” in early July, wearing an eye covering and reportedly using a wheelchair.
NPR, PBS to lose billions in funding
The bill passed this week claws back around $9 billion in previously Congressionally approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS, and for foreign aid agencies like the U.S. Agency for International Development and the World Health Organization, USA TODAY reported.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting would lose $1.1 billion in federal funding under the bill, imperiling the $13.3 million that Ohio public radio stations receive each year.
In a statement released after the vote, Beatty said the cuts would hurt Ohio families and possibly shutter some of the state’s public broadcasting stations.
“Just weeks after Republicans shoveled trillions in tax breaks to billionaires, their unnecessary clawback of approved funding once again shows that Trump and House Republicans will always put their wealthy donors first and everyday Americans last,” she said in the statement.
The cuts passed 216-213 largely along party lines just after midnight on July 18, with only two Republicans, including Ohio Rep. Mike Turner, joining Democrats to oppose it.
Columbus’ other U.S. representative, Republican Mike Carey, voted for the cuts.
The bill now goes to President Trump’s desk, who first asked Congress to claw back the funds on June 3. He posted a victory statement to Truth Social shortly after the midnight vote.
“HOUSE APPROVES NINE BILLION DOLLAR CUTS PACKAGE, INCLUDING ATROCIOUS NPR AND PUBLIC BROADCASTING, WHERE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR WERE WASTED. REPUBLICANS HAVE TRIED DOING THIS FOR 40 YEARS, AND FAILED….BUT NO MORE. THIS IS BIG!!!” he wrote.
Breaking and Trending News Reporter Nathan Hart can be reached at NHart@dispatch.com and at @NathanRHart on X and at nathanhart.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Joyce Beatty votes against bill that would cut PBS, NPR funding after missing June vote
Reporting by Nathan Hart, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
