Ranking Member DeLauro Remarks: Fiscal Year 2027 Legislative Branch Subcommittee Markup
WASHINGTON – Today, House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) delivered the following remarks at the subcommittee markup for the fiscal year 2027 Legislative Branch funding bill:
Thank you Chairman Cole, Chairman Valadao, and Ranking Member Espaillat.
I also want to thank Faye Cobb on the minority, and her counterparts on the majority, Lori Rowley and April Lyman as well for their work. …
I oppose the bill we are considering this morning because it opens the door, in my view, to more corruption by the Trump administration, weakens government oversight, undermines the power of the purse by making it easier for the Executive Branch to withhold funding that Congress approves, and does not allow for Dreamers to work in the Legislative Branch.
The Trump administration has been one of the most corrupt presidencies in history. Since he took office, President Trump has used his office to make himself $1.4 billion richer, at least.
His family has cut business deals with foreign governments – Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE and India, they all cut lucrative deals with the Trump family, adding to his personal wealth while he makes global decisions that are supposed to be in the public interest. Qatar even gifted him a $400 million jet, which he will keep after he leaves office. The corruption is not even hidden any more—it is done in the open, with pride.
He has made millions of dollars in settlements from lawsuits against media companies which his hand-picked FCC director is in charge of regulating, and who has openly threatened the broadcast licenses of news organizations whose coverage has been critical of the President.
He is currently suing the IRS for $10 billion, while his personal defense lawyer serves as the acting Attorney General of the United States.
The First Lady was paid $40 million directly by Amazon for the rights to a documentary about herself.
And the Trump family has made at least $867 million through their crypto company, which offers anyone a venue to give money directly to the Trump family anonymously. A company backed by the UAE announced a $2 billion investment in the Trumps’ crypto company, and then two weeks later the president granted the UAE access to advanced microchips. What a coincidence.
As working families around the country struggle just to get by as the cost of living continues to rise, the Trump family has made a killing. And this bill allows them to get away with even more.
This bill effectively defunds the Government Accountability Office, a government watchdog that roots out waste, fraud, and abuse. GAO's work delivers real results and more than pays for itself. In fiscal year 2026 alone, it generated nearly $63 billion in cost savings. This 25 percent cut in funding – $200 million – would weaken oversight of this administration and increase the risk of mismanagement of taxpayer dollars.
These steep reductions would force at least 1,000 layoffs at GAO, diminishing its ability to hold agencies accountable. That stacks the deck in favor of anyone who would abuse positions of public trust for their own private gain.
My Republican colleagues have often bemoaned what they believe to be a gross mismanagement of taxpayer dollars. So I do not know why their solution to that stated problem is to defund the government agency that is responsible for improving government efficiency and reducing waste, fraud and abuse.
This bill also fails to allow American residents who were brought to this country as young children to work in the Legislative Branch.
DACA recipients – Dreamers – are American in every way that matters. They were raised here. Many serve in our armed forces. Failing to allow Dreamers to serve their country in the Legislative Branch is an injustice to them and a disservice to us. We deprive ourselves of the talent, intelligence and commitment that they could bring to this institution, and we deny them a fair opportunity to serve the only country they have ever really called home.
I encourage my colleagues to oppose this measure, and work in a bipartisan fashion to craft a bill that cracks down on corruption, improves government efficiency, and corrects this historic injustice for Dreamers.
Thank you and I yield back.