House Democrats Side with Hardworking Americans, House Republicans Side with Billionaires and Big Corporations

Republican Financial Services and General Government Funding Bill Benefits Scammers, Fraudsters, and Cheaters and Makes Communities Less Safe

WASHINGTON — The House Appropriations Committee Republicans today released the draft fiscal year 2025 Financial Services and General Government funding bill which will be considered in subcommittee tomorrow. The legislation benefits billionaires, big corporations, and the well-connected at the expense of hardworking Americans. It makes communities less safe and enables individuals to commit fraud and sell dangerous products.

House Republicans are proposing a 10 percent cut below 2024 to the bill's overall funding level. It includes $23.6 billion, a decrease of $2.6 billion, below 2024, and $5.9 billion, or 20 percent, below the Biden Administration's 2025 request. In addition, the legislation provides $143 million for disaster relief efforts at the Small Business Administration, the same level as last year.

This legislation:

• Decimates enforcement efforts to ensure wealthy individuals and the biggest corporations pay their taxes. House Democrats stand up to corporate greed. House Republicans side with billionaires and big corporations.
• Leaves consumers vulnerable to scams and predatory junk fees by cutting funding for both the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, allowing greedy corporations to continue price gouging. These changes increase the cost of living for hardworking Americans.
• Enables individuals to sell dangerous products and puts children at risk by cutting resources for the Consumer Product Safety Commission and including harmful extreme policies that side with big corporations over Americans.
• Drastically underfunds the Securities and Exchange Commission tasked with making sure markets are fair and protecting investors from bad actors.
• Makes our elections less secure with no funding for Election Security Grants.
• Includes approximately 80 new, problematic, or pointless policy riders on topics such as the IRS Free File, SEC's climate disclosure rule, and abortion. Additionally, instead of addressing the issues that matter most to the American people, House Republicans are micromanaging the District of Columbia's health and traffic laws.

"Republicans' Fiscal Year 2025 FSGG bill would cut vital federal resources that our government agencies need to protect American consumers, enforce financial laws, and go after those who break them," Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Steny Hoyer (D-MD-05) said. "My colleagues across the aisle claim that fiscal responsibility is another one of their priorities, but this legislation continues their assault on the Internal Revenue Service and its ability to enforce current tax laws and collect legally owed revenue. Republicans also say they want to lower inflation. Their bill, however, would undermine the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications Commission, and other regulatory agencies responsible for lowering Americans' costs and protecting them from predatory fees. Additionally, this legislation would violate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's independent funding structure, contradicting the Supreme Court's recent 7-2 decision written by Justice Thomas that upheld it as constitutional. There are also a variety of partisan riders attached to this bill that interfere with home rule in the District of Columbia – from restricting women's reproductive rights to meddling with local traffic laws. Republicans know this bill won't pass. Instead of wasting our time with it, they ought to work with Democrats on a bill that can pass, address the deficit, and put People Over Politics."

"House Democrats side with hardworking Americans and stand up to corporate greed to lower costs and protect consumers. House Republicans side with billionaires, big corporations, and their lobbyists and take away women's rights. These values are on full display in their 2025 Financial Services funding bill," Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) said. "The agencies and programs that protect everyday American consumers, secure our elections, and make our economy work for hardworking people are funded in this bill, so it is disappointing, but not surprising, that House Republicans have completely decimated its funding. At every turn, Republicans are showing they are willing to do the bidding of the wealthiest Americans and largest corporations with the highest profits. Whether it's helping the extremely wealthy avoid paying their taxes, endangering children, or letting scammers take advantage of senior citizens, this bill will hurt Americans while padding the pockets of the greediest corporations and the well-off and well-connected. We have to make our economy more fair and more transparent, and we have to do better than this bill and its extreme policies and dangerous cuts."

A summary of House Republicans' 2025 Financial Services and General Government bill is here. A fact sheet is here. The text of the bill is here. The subcommittee markup will be webcast live and linked on the House Committee on Appropriations website.

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