House Republican Cuts Increase Costs for Hardworking Families

Based on information the House Appropriations Committee received from agency leaders in the Biden Administration, House Republicans’ reported proposal to cut fiscal year 2024 discretionary spending back to the fiscal year 2022 enacted level—resulting in a cut of at least 22 percent for essential programs—would increase costs for hard working people and middle-class families:

“Many families are struggling to pay their bills. While Democrats are working to lower costs, boost the economy, and help people access higher-paying jobs, House Republicans want to impose devastating cuts that make everything from child care to college more expensive,” said Appropriations Committee Ranking Member DeLauro. “The proposed dangerous cuts would take away the opportunity for 80,000 people to attend college and impact all 6.6 million students who rely on Pell Grants. If implemented, 200,000 children will lose access to Head Start, and 100,000 children will lose access to child care, undermining early education and parents’ ability to go to work. Year after year, Democrats and Republicans in both the House and the Senate come together to support these critical programs, and I hope we can do that again this year. These cuts would put people at risk and proposals to enact them are misguided and ill-informed.”

“Capping funding for essential programs at FY2022 levels would have dire consequences for the American people. These reckless, sweeping cuts would hinder federal agencies' ability to provide essential services to people across the country. For example, 125,000 fewer small businesses would have access to Small Business Administration programs that provide free business consulting. Similarly, cuts to the Internal Revenue Service would make it easier for the wealthiest individuals and corporations to commit tax fraud and evasion, and make it harder for American taxpayers to receive quality customer service. The Treasury Department also cautioned that such a decision would severely impair its ability to support Community Financial Development Institutions, which help lower costs, create new jobs, and generate economic growth in some of America's most disadvantaged communities. Ultimately, they would raise costs on American families at a fragile time when our economy is still recovering from the pandemic and supply-chain disruptions abroad.  Congress has a duty to make, not undo, progress For The People. I will work tirelessly with Ranking Member DeLauro and our colleagues on the Appropriations Committee to ensure that Americans never have to suffer through the terrible effects of these irresponsible cuts,” said Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee Ranking Member Steny Hoyer.

“The Department of Energy has a proven track record of driving down the costs of clean energy technologies, which reduces every day energy costs for Americans, while creating good-paying jobs for our workers and families,” said Energy and Water Development Subcommittee Ranking Member Marcy Kaptur. “The Department also deploys energy conservation programs for low-income households that reduce burdensome energy costs on families and seniors, especially those struggling to make ends meet. Extreme budget cuts would impede these important initiatives, resulting in higher energy costs and increased dependence on foreign adversaries for energy supplies. Republicans can't have it both ways when it comes to energy independence—if they cut spending at home, it will only increase our dependence on foreign energy sources.”

“The Agriculture Appropriations funding bill contains programs that touch the lives of every American – regardless of age, where they live, or their politics,” said Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee Ranking Member Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. “I’m very troubled by the Republicans’ proposed cuts – especially those cuts to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and the Farm Service Agency (FSA). These drastic rollbacks in funding would jeopardize public food safety due to lack of import and export inspections, reduce State agencies’ ability to provide nutrition services in a timely manner, dramatically reduce farm loan funding and FSA service levels, and result in tens of thousands of jobs lost.”

The math is not there. These drastic proposed cuts would:

Make health care more expensive.

• Amid a mental health and overdose crisis, nearly 1 million people facing a suicidal or mental health crisis would be unable to access support services through the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, and tens of thousands of individuals could be denied admission to opioid use disorder treatment, denying them a potentially life-saving path to recovery. 
• An estimated 2 million vulnerable individuals and families, including rural and underserved populations, would lose access to health care services through Community Health Centers.

Increase energy costs.

• In a century marked by extreme weather events and rising natural disasters, efforts to address the climate crisis would be endangered, including by slowing the development of more clean energy technologies like wind, solar, and energy-efficient vehicles needed to lower greenhouse gas emissions and save American families on their energy bills.
• As families continue to face tight budgets, nearly 5 million low-income households could have their home heating or cooling benefits cut by hundreds of dollars, threatening their ability to heat their homes in winter or cool their homes in summer.  

Make college more expensive.

• The proposed draconian cuts would take away the opportunity for 80,000 people to attend college. It would also reduce the maximum award by nearly $1,000 for the remaining 6.6 million students who receive Pell Grants—making it harder or impossible for them to attend and afford college.

Drastically cut access to child care and preschool.

• As families struggle to find high quality, affordable child care, 200,000 children lose access to Head Start slots and 100,000 children would lose access to child care—undermining our children’s education and making it more difficult for parents to join the workforce and contribute to our economy.

Strip nutrition assistance from millions of people.

• Hardworking families are struggling to pay their bills, and this Republican proposal would only make it more difficult by stripping vital nutrition assistance through Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) away from 1.2 million women, infants, and children.
• With the looming rise of food insecurity, nutrition services, such as Meals on Wheels, would be cut for more than 1 million seniors.

Make it more costly to run a small business.

• Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. Cutting funding to 2022 levels would result in 125,000 fewer entrepreneurs and small businesses with access to free business counseling, including the Small Business Development Centers, that help bolster the small business economy. Additionally, 295,000 fewer small businesses would be served by the Entrepreneurial Development Program, which would make it harder for entrepreneurs to receive the support they need.

More information on how this proposal raises costs can be found here.