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.
