House Republicans’ proposal to cut nearly half of the Government Accountability Office’s budget could result in Congress missing out on billions of dollars of savings, Democrats argued on Monday.
The cut is part of the GOP’s fiscal 2026 Legislative Branch appropriations bill, which the subcommittee reported favorably on a party-line, 6-4 vote. It now heads to the full committee for a markup on Thursday.
The targeting of GAO, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog that provides auditing and investigative services, is political retribution for an agency that has found President Donald Trump illegally barred the release of appropriated funds, according to Democrats.
“It’s astonishing that for all the talk about finding and rooting out waste, fraud and abuse, House Republicans would defund the watchdog that is tasked with precisely that role,” said House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., at Monday’s markup. “The only plausible explanation is that the majority, and the administration to which it is exceedingly loyal, is upset that GAO has repeatedly found that the White House is stealing funds away from taxpayers.”
The measure would provide $415.4 million for the GAO, which, in addition to slashing its current funding level nearly in half, would be more than $500 million less than what the agency requested.
Overall, the $5 billion proposal — not including Senate-only expenses — would represent a 5 percent decrease from current spending levels, as Republicans look for savings across the federal government.
“We believe it is our responsibility to lead by example and make responsible funding decreases where appropriate,” said House Legislative Branch Appropriations Chair David Valadao, R-Calif.
The bulk of those legislative branch cuts would come from the GAO and from the Library of Congress, whose $767.6 million budget would be a roughly 10 percent reduction from current levels.
Subcommittee ranking member Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., argued the library’s proposed funding cut was also political in nature, after Trump fired its Director Carla Hayden and Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter in May and staff blocked Justice Department officials from entering the copyright offices.
“What did the Library of Congress do to deserve a 10 percent cut? They disallowed DOJ to infiltrate and dismantle a legislative branch agency,” Espaillat said.
Meanwhile, Valadao and full committee Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla, touted their support for the Capitol Police and support for member security after a state lawmaker in Minnesota was gunned down earlier this month. The names of congressional lawmakers were found in the alleged killer’s notes, raising safety concerns for members while they’re at home in their districts.
“Moments like this are a stark reminder of the responsibility we carry in this subcommittee, and we will not neglect our duty to safety and security,” Cole said.
Republicans and Democrats both have condemned the attack. But Democrats claimed on Monday that the proposed bill does too little to support member security.
Though the legislation would increase Capitol Police funding by more than 10 percent, to $890.9 million, it would flat-fund the Members’ Representational Allowance account, which covers operational and office expenses for members of the House and can be used for some types of security, at $850 million for the coming fiscal year.
It also falls short of the $25 million Capitol Police requested in multiyear funding for mutual aid agreements with local law enforcement agencies that protect members outside of Washington. According to the draft bill, Capitol Police would receive $10 million for those partnerships.
And it would not direct the installation of a plaque honoring officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, which was authorized and ordered to be hung by March 2023, according to the final omnibus spending measure for fiscal 2022. Democrats have blamed Republicans for delaying its installation.
“Instead of using this bill to support the brave men and women who keep us safe, this bill is shamefully silent,” DeLauro said.
But both sides left room for further negotiation on security funding, with Valadao emphasizing that the subcommittee mark is the “first step in the bill’s journey.”
“We look forward to continuing the discussion on security measures, particularly when we go to the conference with the Senate, where we’ll be able to address these concerns in a united fashion,” the California Republican said.
And DeLauro said “this is not and should not be a partisan dispute, and it demands a nonpartisan response.”
“I know that Chairman Cole would have given the subcommittee its allocation, and Chairman Valadao would have had to make most decisions about the content of the bill, prior to the tragic attacks in Minnesota. While there are funds included in the bill to reimburse local law enforcement, we must do far more. We cannot sit silently by and wait for the next attack,” she said.
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