Ranking Member DeLauro’s Statement at the Full Committee Markup of 2027 Legislative Branch Funding Bill

WASHINGTON – House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) delivered the following remarks during the full committee markup of the fiscal year 2027 Legislative Branch funding bill:

Thank you Chairman Cole, Chairman Valadao, and Ranking Member Espaillat. 

I also want to say a thank you to Faye Cobb from the minority side, and her counterparts on the majority, Lori Rowley and April Lyman I want to thank them as well for their work.

I rise in opposition to the bill before us today. The bill guts funding for the Government Accountability Office, or GAO. Which makes it easier for the Trump administration to withhold funding that Congress approves – forfeiting our power of the purse.

I refer my colleagues to take a look at the dais here, in front of the chairman, it says, “No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law.” Read it. Internalize it. Understand what I means for this Committee.

GAO is what DOGE pretended to be: a force for efficiency within the federal government. In reality, DOGE was a cynical effort by a group of billionaires to use the language of good-government to advance their own agenda. 

GAO, on the other hand, is the real deal. They are an independent agency – not beholden to one interest or another. They meticulously comb through government data to audit spending, identify savings, and then publish their findings for all to see. They actually do root out waste, fraud, and abuse.

Supporting GAO is one of the best investments that we can make. In fiscal year 2026 alone, they generated nearly $63 billion in savings, with a budget of less than $1 billion. What an incredible return.

But this bill proposes slashing their budget by 25 percent – $200 million. This dramatic cut would force GAO to lay off more than 1,000 employees, substantially weakening their ability to carry out their mission. 

Think about that. That is 1,000 fewer people working day in and day out to identify places where the government can save money. Any savings from cuts to their budget will be vastly outweighed by the costs of continued waste.

I share my Republican colleagues’ concern over government efficiency. I am strongly in favor of making sure the American people are getting the most for their money. But it does not make any sense to slash funding for the agency dedicated to that very mission – especially when that agency generates so much more in savings than it costs to operate.

This bill also includes a provision that would make it easier for the Trump administration to withhold the funds that Congress approves. 

It would prevent GAO from bringing civil actions against government employees who violate the Impoundment and Control Act, unless Congress specifically signs off on each case first. GAO has the authority to bring these actions because Congress granted it to them in the first place. In fact, it did so in the 1974 Impoundment and Control Act itself.

This new restriction uses inefficiency as a weapon to hamstring the agency working to make the government more efficient.

This provision would make it easier for the White House to unilaterally withhold funding for programs that Congress has approved – funding that we agree to here on a bipartisan basis, after rigorous negotiations. 

This administration has shown they are willing to do this time and again. They illegally withheld $5 billion in foreign aid funding. They froze $7 billion in education funding. And they blocked $8 billion in funding for energy projects across more than 130 Congressional districts.

Taken together, the effect is to weaken our power of the purse. That is bad for this institution as a whole – not just for one party or the other. We take great pride being a member of the appropriations committee. 

You have heard me say over and over again: it is the heart and soul of our government. It says we cannot move forward on spending without the approval of Democrats and Republicans in the House and in the Senate. Why would we think about giving up that power to any administration – any administration – Democrat, or Republican. It is the reason why we hold this committee in the highest esteem. Let us not relinquish the power of the purse to any administration. Any government. Let us hold it as sacred. Let us move forward and make sure the money we appropriate goes to the people we believe are deserving of those funds.

Lastly, 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 called home.

While I am opposed to the Legislative Branch bill in its current form, when we considered MilCon-VA bill last month in committee, we saw that it is possible to improve a bill during markup. 

Leg Branch is not far from getting bipartisan support. Today we will consider amendments on GAO and DACA. I hope the majority can work with us to make improvements so that we can report out another bipartisan bill.

Thank you and I yield back.

A summary of the bill is here. The text of the bill is here. 

Watch the full committee markup here.

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