Republicans are pushing for a vote to slash spending from the $1.3 trillion fiscal 2018 spending bill Congress passed in March, as well as programs, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Friday.
“It remains a work in progress,” the California Republican said. McCarthy said the House will take up a measure that cuts spending “if there is an opportunity for this.”
McCarthy said the cuts will not be limited to the giant omnibus spending bill. “It won’t be just the omni, it will be all the other accounts sitting there,” McCarthy said.
President Trump’s economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said this week the White House plans to send a rescission package to Congress next week, which could be incorporated in the GOP bill. The legislation would employ the 1974 Impoundment Act, which allows quick consideration of federal spending cuts and passage in both chambers with a simple majority.
A leadership aide said the spending cut legislation is not ready for consideration next week and could not provide a specific timeline.
The idea is gaining momentum on Capitol Hill, where Republicans are eager to respond to criticism about the spending package.
Conservative backlash over the spending bill, which raised spending caps and adds to the deficit, is prompting the GOP to look for ways to cut it. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday he is open to discussing a rescission package.
McCarthy told Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Calif., in a floor exchange that he is seeking Democratic support for rescissions, which he said would cut unneeded programs. McCarthy did not provide more details on what programs or spending might be returned to the Treasury but said it would not impact vital programs.
“That’s healthy for the country,” McCarthy said of the plans to cut.
McCarthy reminded Hoyer that Hoyer voted for rescissions twice during the Clinton administration.
“I hope you will be for this rescission as well,” McCarthy said.
Hoyer said he was open to returning unused funding to the Treasury, a move he called “a reasonable thing to do.”
