Senate appropriators approved their fiscal 2026 Legislative Branch bill Thursday, which would boost spending for Congress by roughly 5 percent and avoid cuts to the Government Accountability Office.
It would keep the GAO steady at $811.9 million for the coming fiscal year, unlike the bill backed by House Republican appropriators last month, which would slash funding for the nonpartisan watchdog nearly in half.
And it would keep funding steady at $852.2 million for the Library of Congress, which in the House version of the bill faces a cut of around 10 percent from the current level, while also boosting the Capitol Police and Senate Sergeant at Arms.
“I do believe these bills are all a good compromise starting point — delivering critical resources to continue key programs and make targeted new investments, rejecting some of the truly harmful proposed cuts by the president, and steering clear of the extreme partisan policies he’s requested and that we’ve seen in some of the House bills over the last few years,” said Senate Appropriations ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash., at the start of a markup that also included the Commerce-Justice-Science and Agriculture spending bills.
The Senate Appropriations Committee was mostly united behind the bill on Thursday, voting 26-1 to favorably report it. Overall, it would provide $4.9 billion for the Senate and joint expenses, or $7.1 billion when leaving room for House-only items.
The smallest of the 12 spending bills, the legislative branch bill is also typically the least controversial. But the House’s proposed cuts to GAO funding have put it in the spotlight, drawing the condemnation of Democrats and outside groups, who characterized the move as a political attack after the watchdog found on at least two occasions that the Trump White House illegally barred the release of appropriated funds.
More than 100 House Democrats this week joined a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson and Appropriations Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., arguing the funding reduction to the independent watchdog would “significantly weaken its ability to deliver future savings throughout the government.” Also this week, dozens of outside groups signed on to two separate letters similarly calling for the restoration of funds.
“No federal agency is perfect, but the GAO’s more than 100-year history is a success story overall, with an average return on investment of $123 for every $1 expended,” said one letter, led by the R Street Institute and signed by about a dozen other center-right groups. “As Congress’s fiscal watchdog, the GAO has identified hundreds of billions of dollars in savings along with opportunities to reduce duplication and mismanagement.”
The Library of Congress, which was targeted by the White House in May when President Donald Trump fired its director Carla Hayden and Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter, also would avoid a deep cut.
Perlmutter filed a lawsuit challenging her firing, which is ongoing, and Democrats have floated changing the process by which directors of legislative branch agencies, like the Library of Congress, Government Publishing Office and the GAO, are appointed.
Murray briefly spoke about her draft amendment regarding the positions, but it was not put to a vote. She said she wanted to continue to discuss the issue with Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine.
“Right now, the appointing process for the heads of these agencies involves the executive branch. That does not make a lot of sense, no matter who the president is. And I do believe it’s time to modernize this process and make sure that agency heads are appointed by the legislative branch,” Murray said.
Security concerns
Member security has become a top priority of late after a Minnesota state legislator was killed in her home in June and another was severely injured by a shooter who specifically targeted lawmakers.
The Senate bill would provide $855.1 million to the Capitol Police, an increase of nearly $50 million over current funding levels, but well short of the nearly $1 billion the department has requested to staff up and enhance security. And it would increase funding for the Senate Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper to $361.2 million, up roughly 16 percent from the current fiscal year.
Senate Legislative Branch Appropriations Chair Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., called the bill “a strategic investment we have made to improve the security of Congress and strengthen our capabilities to work on behalf of the American people,” while also describing it as a work in progress.
Mullin said he has been working with Senate Sergeant at Arms Jennifer Hemingway to get a sense of how much it would cost to implement more member security measures, adding he hoped to be able to come back to the committee within two months with a proposal.
“We have a good path forward on funding for that,” Mullin said. “But before we just throw money at it, we want to know what it’s actually going to cost so we can properly appropriate it.”
While tensions rose Thursday as lawmakers debated the other measures considered at the markup, particularly around the future home of the FBI headquarters, the appropriators moved quickly on the legislative branch, adopting a manager’s amendment by unanimous consent.
That amendment adds language to the bill report that would instruct lawmakers and the Architect of the Capitol to explore the feasibility of creating interfaith prayer spaces for Senate staff and interns.
The bill would also continue a block on cost-of-living pay increases for members of Congress.
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