Top Dem DeLauro: This is "astonishing." Top Republican Cole: This is responsible.
WASHINGTON — As U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro repeatedly called out President Donald Trump for refusing to spend the money appropriated by Congress, she had a powerful ally when she accused the White House of “stealing” taxpayer dollars.
The Government Accountability Office — the congressional watchdogs and investigators — said that the Trump administration illegally cut off $30 million in funding for the Institute for Museum and Library Sciences, which provides aid to local libraries across the country, and excised $3.2 billion to fund construction of electric vehicle charging stations, while also illegally taking down the government website listing what the government spends taxpayer dollars on.
The House Republican response: Gut the GAO, whose mission is to ferret out waste, fraud and abuse in federal agencies; recommend improvements to government operations; and respond to hundreds of congressional inquiries about federal spending and programs every year.
On Thursday, the House Appropriations Committee, where DeLauro sits as the top Democrat, voted along party lines to slash the GAO’s budget by almost 50 percent, to $415 million from $812 million. The cut was included in legislation to fund the Legislative Branch for the 12 months beginning Oct. 1, which also passed along party lines.
“It is astonishing that, for all the talk about finding and rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse, that House Republicans would defund the watchdog that is tasked with precisely that role,” DeLauro said. “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 legislation also would prevent the GAO from going to court to force Trump to abide by the Impoundment Control Act, enacted in 1974 to ensure that the president spends the money that Congress approved. Trump and his budget director, Russell Vought, insist that the law is unconstitutional and claim the right to unilaterally block congressionally mandated funding.
“We as appropriators, and as members of Congress, cannot tolerate this theft,” DeLauro said. “They [committee Republicans] would defund the watchdog that alerts us to government malfeasance.”
Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma, applauded the legislation. “Importantly, we exercise responsible governance by protecting key priorities and refocusing agencies on their core missions,” he said. “This both safeguards taxpayer dollars and ensures proper operational scope.”
Committee Republicans in their summary of the legislation said the provision was designed to redirect the GAO “to be reflective of congressional priorities” while “cutting funding to curtail the agency’s self-directed, liberal initiatives.”
“The agency’s projects are often self-driven actions that aren’t priorities of Congress,” Legislative Branch subcommittee chair David Valadao, Republican of California, said during the committee debate on Thursday.
But the work GAO does is at the behest of Congress. GAO’s own statistics show that the agency fields an average of 627 requests from members of Congress annually, as well as more than 1,100 quick, informal requests for technical assistance. The GAO provided $67.5 billion in financial benefits, or about $76 for each $1 spent by the agency. It regularly audits agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service at the Congress’ request.
“Supporting the administration’s actions that contravene the rule of law means the committee compromises its integrity and undermines public trust in its capacity to uphold justice,” said the top Democrat on the subcommittee, U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York. “If efficiency is the goal of both the GAO and of the administration, then how does this action, as well as preventing the GAO to bring civil action under the Impoundment Act, make sense?”
The proposed spending reductions follow the GAO launching more than three dozen investigations ongoing into whether Trump has illegally withheld congressionally approved funding. The president’s funding freezes to date have blocked more than $425 billion in spending, according to DeLauro and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Thursday’s vote sends the bill to the House floor. If it passes there, it would be reconciled with a separate Senate version. But Senate Democrats could block the GAO cuts in their chamber because Republicans would need 60 votes to pass the spending bill.