House appropriators approve Legislative Branch bill with GAO cuts

WASHINGTON — The House Appropriations Committee advanced a draft fiscal 2026 Legislative Branch spending bill on Thursday that would slash the budget for the Government Accountability Office by nearly half and take aim at the Library of Congress. As amended, it would also let ‘Dreamers’ work in congressional offices.

The party-line vote of 34-28 came after a contentious markup, as Democrats argued the GAO cut was politically motivated and would cost the government money in the long run.

“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,” said House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.

The measure would provide $415.4 million for the GAO, a cut of 49% compared to fiscal 2025, and would bar it from suing under the 1974 budget law restricting presidential impoundments, unless specifically authorized by Congress.

The watchdog has recently drawn the ire of Republicans, finding on at least two occasions that the Trump White House illegally barred the release of appropriated funds.

At Thursday’s markup, Democrats put their colleagues on the record, calling for votes on amendments to strip out the lawsuit provision and to reinstate funding. Republicans blocked those along party lines.

“I think there’s a sense that they’ve not been as responsive as they should be to the majority in this chamber,” House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., said of the GAO a day before the markup.

‘Dreamers’ at the Capitol

There was, however, one surprising instance of bipartisanship.

For several years, Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., has pushed to allow recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to work as staffers on Capitol Hill, but the provision never made it into a final appropriations bill. On Thursday, the committee adopted his amendment, 32-29.

Joining Democrats in support of the DACA provision were House Legislative Branch Appropriations Chair David Valadao, R-Calif., along with three other Republicans: Reps. Dan Newhouse of Washington, Ryan Zinke of Montana and Juan Ciscomani of Arizona.

“Being from Arizona, being in that age group and being an immigrant myself, I grew up with a lot of these kids … and I can tell you that they go to our churches, they go to our schools and they don’t know any other country except this one,” Ciscomani said. “It breaks my heart for them to not be able to have all the opportunities they … want to, especially to be able to give back to their community here.”

Now that the committee has approved the spending proposal, it will be up for floor consideration at a later date. Overall, the measure would provide $5 billion for the operations of the House and its various support agencies. Adding in an estimate of Senate-only funds, the total would come to $6.7 billion, a decrease of $51 million from current enacted levels.

The Library of Congress would get $767.6 million, a cut of roughly 10%. The proposed reduction for the library comes after its director Carla Hayden and Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter were abruptly fired by President Donald Trump in May, which Democrats saw as part of a broader attack by the administration on cultural institutions and the legislative branch.

“This is part of this administration’s assault on libraries of knowledge,” said Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine.

Security concerns

The markup started on a tense note, as a Democratic huddle ahead of time ran late while members discussed funding for their own security and pay, among other issues. Democratic lawmakers eventually entered the Rayburn hearing room nearly 45 minutes late, drawing a rebuke from Cole.

“I can get every one of my members here and start on time, so please don’t do this again,” the Oklahoma Republican said. “I’m sure it was important, but it’s incredibly inconsiderate.”

Republicans have said the spending measure represents a commitment to increased security for members of Congress, in the wake of the killing of a state lawmaker in Minnesota earlier this month. But Aguilar, who serves as chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said it does too little to address growing anxieties.

“This bill fails to increase funding for additional security protections for members of Congress,” he said. “It is incumbent upon us as a committee to pass a bill that ensures members of Congress are safe and can do their jobs without the fear of political violence.”

Capitol Police would get a more than 10% boost in fiscal 2026 under the proposal, though that $890.9 million falls short of the $967.8 million the force requested. And 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, would stay flat at $850 million.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., offered an amendment that would have allotted money for individual member offices to hire law enforcement coordinators, but then withdrew it, citing ongoing bipartisan conversations on how to improve member security.

Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a statement earlier Thursday announcing that House Administration Chair Bryan Steil, R-Wis., and ranking member Joseph D. Morelle, D-N.Y., would take the lead and “aggressively chart the path” on security changes going forward.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to reach an agreement that’s bipartisan and between authorizers and appropriators to do what we can to keep our members, our staff, our constituents, safe,” Morelle, who also sits on the House Appropriations panel, said at the markup.

Meanwhile, the committee agreed to insert more security-related language into the report accompanying the bill. A manager’s amendment from Valadao, adopted by voice vote, would ask the House sergeant-at-arms to recommend ways to improve emergency preparedness in district offices, while also encouraging a look at “innovative security technologies” such as firearm-detection software.

COLA, plaque

Lawmakers sparred on other less headline-grabbing, but still contentious, issues.

Odd bedfellows emerged on the perennial question of whether members should give themselves a cost-of-living adjustment. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., and Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., each offered amendments that would have removed the COLA block and raised member salaries from $174,000, where they’ve sat since 2009.

Clyde’s amendment was defeated on a voice vote and Hoyer withdrew his, saying he didn’t want to force members to go on the record on what is seen as a losing political issue, particularly for members in battleground districts.

“This is about politics. This is about fear of the public thinking that we have our hand in the cookie jar,” Hoyer said. “This is something that we ought to do if we have self-respect for ourselves, for our institution and respect for our voters.”

A nearly hour-long debate erupted over a plaque to honor law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. According to a provision in the fiscal 2022 omnibus spending law, that plaque was supposed to have been created and displayed on the West Front of the Capitol by March 2023.

Democrats say the plaque is done and somewhere on the Capitol grounds, awaiting approval from Johnson. Staff held up a replica at the markup as Espaillat offered an amendment aimed at forcing installation of the plaque, but it fell short on a 28-34 vote.

Meanwhile, Valadao said Republican leaders were sorting through details of the law, which requires the names of officers who responded that day to be honored, and taking care because it would be the first memorial of its kind to be displayed on the exterior of the Capitol.

“So there is dialogue to find a location that would be suitable to everyone,” Valadao said. “And there are also people in law enforcement agencies who were here that day and specifically asked not to be named.”

Democrats, however, pointed out that the version of the plaque they say is finished would address that issue by featuring only the names of overall law enforcement agencies, with a digital component to include individuals.

The committee also approved updated interim subcommittee allocations, which includes the Legislative Branch measure at $6.7 billion, on a 34-28 vote. Lawmakers have now approved five of the 12 subcommittee allocations, and are in continued talks with House leaders on the remaining seven, Cole said Wednesday.

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—Aidan Quigley contributed to this report.