100+ Groups Urge Congress: Vote NO on Trump’s Rescissions
United States House of Representatives
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20515
June 9, 2025
Dear Members of Congress,
As you prepare to take up the Trump Administration’s recently-proposed rescissions legislation, the undersigned 100+ organizations urge you to vote NO.
Though each of our organizations may take differing institutional positions on various items included in the proposed rescissions package and on the federal budget as a whole, we are united in strongly opposing this legislation.
Most centrally, we are deeply concerned about the devastating impacts to real people that have already resulted, and will continue to result, from the Trump Administration’s gutting of federal spending. Some of our own constituencies include people directly harmed by these spending cuts – from people around the world for whom access to foreign aid means life or death, to those at home whose access to critical public services could be shuttered, as popular and bipartisan programs like local PBS programming and PEPFAR are on the potential chopping block.
We note that this rescissions proposal does not ask Congress, as required by the Impoundment Control Act, to approve the entirety of the federal spending that has been illegally frozen by the Trump Administration. Thus, even if this package passes, it will not address the illegal impoundment of federal funds, possibly totaling more than $420 billion, according to estimates from House and Senate Appropriators. The Administration is merely trying to establish a veil of legitimacy while it continues unconstitutional actions that it began more than 100 days ago.
Further, neither Congress, the Government Accountability Office, nor the public has sufficient information to properly conduct oversight of the Administration’s funding decisions, including fully assessing these proposed rescissions. First, despite being mandated by Congress to post the information publicly, the Trump administration has illegally shuttered the Public Apportionments Database, created by Congress in the aftermath of the first Trump Administration’s unlawful impoundment actions. Without access to this database, it is impossible to understand the full scope of how the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has apportioned funds appropriated by Congress, including any requirements or conditions imposed on an agency’s spending. Additionally, as Comptroller General Dodaro recently testified to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Administration is refusing to cooperate on 39 separate investigations into the Administration’s funding freezes. Voting to approve this rescission package would sanction the Administration’s actions even as it is refusing to follow the ICA’s statutory requirements.
Finally, by going down this path, Congress risks irreparable damage to the regular bipartisan appropriations process. Despite the political back and forth, Congress eventually reaches a bipartisan agreement on government funding every year, one way or another. The basis for that bipartisan agreement is that both parties must agree to compromises to achieve any of their goals. If a party with a political trifecta can simply rescind funding for the parts of appropriations bills they compromised on, they undermine congressional checks and balances and the basis for future bipartisan dealmaking on an already politically fraught process.
Congress should not go along with any part of the administration’s slash-and-burn approach, and thus must reject these proposed rescissions.
Sincerely,
20/20 Vision
AFT, AFL-CIO
AIDS Alabama
AIDS Foundation Chicago
AIDS United
American Federation of School Administrators
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
American Friends Service Committee
Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF)
American Library Association
AVAC
Caring Across Generations
Center for American Progress
Center for Biological Diversity
Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund
Christian Council of Delmarva
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
Clean Water Action
Coalition on Human Needs
Communications Workers of America (CWA)
Community Change Action
Conservation Lands Foundation
Consumer Action
Council for Global Equality
Defenders of Wildlife
Demand Progress
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)
Earthjustice Action
Endangered Habitats League
Environmental Action Committee of West Marin
Environmental Center of San Diego
Family Equality
First Focus Campaign for Children
Five Horizons Health Services
FOUR PAWS USA
Free Press Action
Friends of Blackwater, Inc.
Friends of the Clearwater
Friends of the Earth
Global Health Council
Government Information Watch
Great Old Broads for Wilderness
Greater Boston Legal Services
Greenpeace USA
Health Care Without Harm
Health GAP
Hilltown Vision
Housing Action Illinois
Institute for Policy Studies, Poverty Project
Kettle Range Conservation Group
Kids for Saving Earth
League of Conservation Voters
League of Women Voters of the United States
Los Angeles Audubon Society
MomsRising
MoveOn
Nama Wellness Community Centre (NAWEC)
NASTAD
National Action Network
National Alliance for HIV Education and Workforce Development
National Employment Law Project
National Health Law Program
National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies
Native Sun Community Power Development
Natural Resources Defense Council
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New Hampshire Audubon
NY4WHALES
Oxfam America
PAI
PFLAG National
P Street
Partners In Health
Pelecanus
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Pipe Line Awareness Network for the Northeast
Plug In America
Population Institute
Predator Defense
PrEP4All
Prevention Access Campaign
Project Eleven Hundred
Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK)
Public Citizen
Public Knowledge
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Rainier Audubon Society
Resource Renewal Institute
Safer Foundation
Save HIV Funding Campaign
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Sierra Club
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
Spark Street Advisors
Spokane Audubon Society
The Center for Science in the Public Interest
The Reunion Project
Treatment Action Group (TAG)
Union of Concerned Scientists
United Steelworkers (USW)
USA for UNFPA
Vivent Health
Voices of Health Care Action
Western Watersheds Project
Whale and Dolphin Conservation
WildEarth Guardians
Wildlife for All
Women Employed
Wyoming Untrapped