Congress

As the ceasefire between Iran and Israel went into effect, U.S. Rep. Mark Alford, a Republican from Missouri, told KCUR that he backs President Trump's decision to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. Alford's district includes Whiteman Air Force Base, where the bombers were launched.

Uniting more than 200 sites across eastern Kansas and western Missouri, Freedom's Frontier preserves the story of the border war and the settlement of the western frontier. But the Trump administration has blocked funding for National Heritage Areas.

If the U.S. Senate signs off on the rescission package passed by the U.S. House on Thursday, the loss of federal funding would be an immediate hit to hundreds of public broadcasters like KCUR. "We're going to rely on this community to figure out ways so that we are not having to diminish the service we provide," says General Manager Sarah Morris.

Federal lawmakers are considering cutting billions of dollars from Medicaid funding. Experts say that would lead to an increase in hospital closures and uninsured rates in Kansas.

A narrow majority of the House voted to rescind existing funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, sending the proposal to the U.S. Senate. If approved, this bill represents an existential threat to the future of KCUR, NPR, and hundreds of local stations around the country.

The U.S. House voted Thursday on a rescission bill to claw back money for foreign aid programs, along with the next two years of funding for the public media system. The measure now goes to the Senate.

Advocates worry that tens of thousands of vulnerable Missourians will lose Medicaid and food stamps because of new administrative barriers proposed by the GOP-led Congress. Missouri has already come under fire for failing to administer benefits on time.

President Trump is asking lawmakers to claw back the $1.1 billion in federal subsidies for public broadcasting that Congress approved earlier this year. Such a funding cut would directly impact local public media stations like KCUR.

President Trump's tax-cut bill, which was narrowly approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, could dramatically cut funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Kansas City advocates say this would harm the nearly 850,000 residents between Missouri and Kansas that depend on food benefits.

Federal lawmakers are considering big cuts to the health care program Medicaid. Some Kansans fear they’ll lose coverage or benefits.

Nearly 200 officials from public radio stations across the country are descending on Capitol Hill to seek to convince lawmakers to maintain funding for public broadcasting despite President Trump's campaign against it.

Arts organization in Kansas City are under financial pressure after the Trump administration rescinded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Spinning Tree Theatre is one of hundreds of organizations who were notified by email last week that their grant had been withdrawn.