# Senate appropriators press Trump administration to release vaccine funding  
**Published:** 2026-05-04T19:15:40.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/04/repub/bipartisan-us-senate-appropriators-urge-trump-administration-to-spend-vaccine-funds/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/senate-appropriators-press-trump-administration-to-release-vaccine-funding

Bipartisan senior members of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee are calling on the Trump administration to release $600 million in approved funding for GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, according to a [letter sent Monday](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/04/repub/bipartisan-us-senate-appropriators-urge-trump-administration-to-spend-vaccine-funds/) by the committee leaders.

The six senators—three Republicans and three Democrats—urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to fulfill the government's "pledge" to the global vaccine organization, which works to immunize children in low and middle-income countries. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine; ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash.; and Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii; and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. signed the letter.

The funding reflects a significant congressional rebuke of the Trump administration's effort to eliminate support for GAVI. In March 2025, the administration announced plans to cut all funding for the organization, citing concerns about vaccine safety and management practices. However, Congress included [$600 million for GAVI in its foreign assistance appropriations bill](https://www.devex.com/news/us-congress-backs-gavi-the-vaccine-alliance-despite-trump-admin-cuts-111670) approved earlier this year.

The senators emphasized GAVI's track record and economic benefits to the United States. "GAVI plays a critical role in averting the spread of preventable diseases around the globe and helps protect public health in our country by stopping outbreaks before they reach our borders," the senators wrote. The organization has immunized more than 1.1 billion children and prevented 20.6 million deaths since 2000.

According to the senators' letter, GAVI "supports U.S. industry and jobs, purchasing more than $12.5 billion in U.S.-manufactured goods and vaccines." The organization is the world's leading purchaser of American-produced vaccines and hosts a U.S.-founded global vaccine stockpile used to respond to disease outbreaks.

The State Department did not respond to requests for comment on the matter. South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, chairman of the State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, did not sign the letter.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/04/repub/bipartisan-us-senate-appropriators-urge-trump-administration-to-spend-vaccine-funds/)
- [Devex reporting on Congress backing GAVI despite Trump administration cuts](https://www.devex.com/news/us-congress-backs-gavi-the-vaccine-alliance-despite-trump-admin-cuts-111670)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/04/repub/bipartisan-us-senate-appropriators-urge-trump-administration-to-spend-vaccine-funds/.