President Donald Trump proposed new “pocket rescissions” on September 25, 2026, that will cancel $810 million of previously appropriated budget authority.
A rescission is the cancellation of budget authority that has been appropriated by Congress, which prevents the funds from being obligated and spent. By proposing the rescissions close to the end of the fiscal year, the Trump Administration is seeking to use the Impoundment Control Act’s 45-day withholding authority to keep the funds from being obligated before they expire on October 1.
What Funds Are Being Rescinded?
The 11 rescissions would come from seven federal agencies, including the Departments of Commerce, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, and Justice, as well as International Assistance Programs administered by the Treasury.
All of the funding proposed for rescission was already scheduled to expire on October 1, 2026, less than a week after the rescissions were announced.
Many of the rescissions target appropriations that were specifically directed toward controversial activities, such as benefits for illegal aliens and non-citizens, climate change, and race-based programs.
The largest rescission is $567 million from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Refugee and Entrant Assistance account. Funds in this account are used to resettle migrants into the interior of the United States via grants to non-profit organizations. These funds were originally appropriated in FY 2024.
Agency | Account | Rescission | Original Appropriation | Percentage Rescinded | |
Department of Health and Human Services | Refugee and Entrant Assistance (075-1503 2024/2026) | Office of Refugee Resettlement | $567,401,904 | $6,327,214,000 | 9.0% |
Department of Homeland Security | Federal Assistance (070-0413 2025/2026) | Alternatives to Detention | $15,000,000 | $15,000,000 | 100.0% |
Department of Homeland Security | Federal Assistance (070-0408 2025/2026) | Citizenship and Integration grants | $10,000,000 | $10,000,000 | 100.0% |
Department of Education | Education for the Disadvantaged (091-0900 2026/2026) | Special Programs for Migrant Students | $24,907,509 | $52,123,000 | 47.8% |
Department of Justice | Salaries and Expenses, Community Relations Service (015-0500 2026/2026) | Community Relations Service | $15,000,000 | $20,000,000 | 75.0% |
International Assistance Programs | Debt Restructuring (020-0091 2023/2026) | Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act | $8,704,713 | $20,000,000 | 43.5% |
Department of Commerce | Minority Business Development (013-0201 2026/2026) | Grant programs | $10,000,000 | $50,000,000 | 20.0% |
Department of Education | Higher Education (091-0201 2026/2026) | International Education and Foreign Language, Domestic Programs | $69,588,896 | $70,300,000 | 99.0% |
Department of Health and Human Services | Healthcare Research and Quality (075-1700 2026/2026) | Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality | $27,700,000 | $345,380,000 | 8.0% |
Department of Housing and Urban Development | Housing Counseling Assistance (086-0156 2025/2026) | Housing Counseling | $56,100,000 | $57,500,000 | 97.6% |
Department of Health and Human Services | Office of the Secretary (075-0120 2026/2026) | Office of Minority Health | $5,098,000 | $625,136,000 | 0.8% |
Total | $809,501,022 | 10.7% | |||
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Background on Rescissions
The Impoundment Control Act (ICA) was originally enacted in 1974 to restrict the President’s ability to unilaterally cancel appropriations enacted by Congress, a practice known as impoundment. The ICA instead established a process for the President to propose rescissions that Congress can consider under expedited procedures that bypass the Senate filibuster.
The ICA requires that the President submit a rescission proposal to Congress:
Whenever the President determines that all or part of any budget authority will not be required to carry out the full objectives or scope of programs for which it is provided or that such budget authority should be rescinded for fiscal policy or other reasons (including the determination of authorized projects or activities for which budget authority has been provided), or whenever all or part of budget authority provided for only one fiscal year is to be reserved from obligation for such fiscal year.
The ICA also allows the President to withhold funds that have been proposed for rescission during the 45-day window that is available for the expedited Congressional approval process. This withholding period ensures that the President is not forced to obligate the funds before the rescission can be enacted.
The Administration argues that, if the President initiates the rescission process within 45 days of the end of the fiscal year, the funds can effectively be “pocket rescinded” by withholding those funds from obligation through their scheduled expiration, even if Congress does not affirmatively enact a rescission bill.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued an opinion on September 25, 2026, stating that “the ICA does not allow the President to withhold budget authority through its date of expiration.” In 1975, GAO wrote that, “In our opinion, having to wait 45 days of continuous session before it can be determined that a proposed rescission has been rejected is a major deficiency in the Impoundment Control Act.”
Every Bit of Savings Helps
In the context of the $7 trillion annual budget, $810 million is a relatively small spending reduction. However, with the national debt exceeding $40 trillion and the fiscal year 2026 deficit projected to be about $2.1 trillion, every bit of savings is welcome news for taxpayers.
Congress has regularly used rescissions. Unfortunately, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have used rescissions as budget gimmicks to offset higher spending levels rather than for deficit reduction. The House’s fiscal year 2027 appropriations bills included 51 different rescissions totaling at least $13.7 billion in budget authority. Rather than using these rescissions to reduce spending, the resulting budgetary offsets would support higher spending elsewhere in the FY 2027 appropriations bills. The enacted FY 2026 appropriations bills included more than 100 rescissions totaling more than $55 billion that were used to offset higher funding levels elsewhere in those spending bills.
Congress and the President should work together to use rescissions to eliminate unnecessary budget authority and reduce the deficit.