The parent agency for Voice of America is still being funded $653 million by government even after Trump wanted to defund it. 

Lawmakers from both parties are funding $653 million to fund Voice of America’s parent agency, The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), rejecting president Donald Trump’s demand to defund the international broadcaster and shut it down. 

This has reached all of America and is good/bad news at the same time, considering how we’re doing right now with Trump in office. Some, like Senator Schatz, criticized Trump’s administration, which is something almost nobody would do, but the office has told everybody to keep their opinions to themselves because the package still requires house and senate approval before heading to Trump’s office. 

Although many people are hoping this gets approved, it’s conjectured that Trump won’t accept this. It was the first time VOA went dark since it was first set up in 1942 to combat Nazis, and the new bill allocates 199.5 million of the total appropriation to VOA but needs $30 million for USACM operations.

Voice of America also provides news to people around the world, especially in countries where free press is limited; supporters believe the funding is important because it helps spread reliable information and supports democracy, while others believe the government should spend money on different priorities. So its 50/50: some people believe this is done for a good cause, and others believe this is useless.

Although people’s opinions matter and should be heard by the president, this decision is Trump’s to make.