The White House unveiled a request on Tuesday for Congress to retroactively cut more than $15 billion in spending, prompting enthusiasm from House Republicans, skepticism from their Democratic colleagues—and an uncertain reception among Senate Republicans, some who previously had been skeptical of such an idea.
$15.4 billion in old spending would be on the chopping block if Congress pursues the White House’s plan, known as a presidential “rescission.” The process allows the administration to target funds already passed into law for elimination and provides the House and Senate a 45-day window to approve the cuts with simple-majority votes. The White House says its proposal singles out spending from previous years that was never used, as well as spending it says is not needed.
Almost half of the cuts would come from the Children’s Health Insurance Program, including $5 billion from a one-year appropriation that officials say lapsed at the end of September. Approximately another $2 billion would be drawn from a contingency fund for states, which Republicans say they don’t expect states to need.
Because this $7 billion either hasn’t been obligated or the White House doesn’t expect it to be disbursed, the cuts would have no effect on the deficit.
“Rescinding these funds will have no impact on outlays,” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said in a press conference Tuesday morning. “Let’s make government more accountable, more efficient, and more effective.”
Roll Call points out that Congress rescinds CHIP funds on a regular basis, most recently in the omnibus spending bill enacted in March, “but typically uses the money to pay for other health-related priorities.” Congress reauthorized CHIP for the next 10 years in February.
More than 30 other programs are targeted in the rescission package, as well, including $4.3 billion from the Department of Energy’s loan program for advanced technology vehicle manufacturing, $252 million from the 2015 Ebola crisis response, and $800 million from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid innovation program.
Democrats appeared skeptical of the plan after its release. They said that defense spending, largely a Republican priority, was passed up for cuts of any kind, while their priorities were the ones getting the ax.
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer argued that it “defies logic” to overlook defense spending in an effort to cull back money that isn’t being used. Congress recently passed hefty increases in both defense and non-defense discretionary spending.
And House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi criticized Republican efforts to retroactively cut spending after passing tax cuts that will add to the deficit, saying in a statement Monday that the rescission “show[s] the hypocrisy of a GOP Congress that insists on tight budgets for children and families while handing enormous, paid-for giveaways to corporations and the wealthiest.”
Lawmakers have 45 days to act on the request, during which the measure will have privileged status. Assuming that nothing in the package violates budget rules—mandatory spending, like most of that from CHIP, cannot be touched through the rescission process—it can be passed in the Senate with a simple majority. But Senate Republicans have been skeptical of the push since it first began, fearing it could hurt future bipartisan appropriations talks—and even one Republican defection could sink the bill.
Senate Republicans including Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins criticized a rescission idea in April, when it was first floated publicly, but the scope of such a package has narrowed significantly since then. Even in response to this particular effort, however, Collins was skeptical. The Washington Post’s Erica Werner reported on Monday that the Maine Republican had concerns about cuts to CHIP: “I would have to have an awfully good reason given to me,” Collins said, adding that such a reason may exist.
“What’s new?” House Freedom Caucus member Jim Jordan responded when asked about the bill’s odds in the Senate. “Of course there’s headwinds on the Senate side. They don’t do much over there on this kind of thing.”
“It’s a good start. Let’s pass it,” he added.
The bill’s chances might be helped now that the White House’s plan leaves spending from the fiscal year 2018 omnibus bill untouched. The original expectation was that the administration would target as much as $60 billion from that legislation for retroactive elimination, but the request dwindled significantly and ended up targeting other, prior-year spending.
“We’re trying to be respectful and say, ‘OK, if your objection to a rescission package is some connection to the omni, that’s fine. We’ll take that objection away.’” Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told reporters of the White House’s strategy after briefing Republican members on the proposal Tuesday morning. “Now what are your objections? This is money that shouldn’t be spent, can’t be spent in some circumstances, doesn’t need to be spent. What’s your argument for voting against that?”
House Republicans indicated passing the White House’s rescission plan would mark a first step in a more ambitious effort to rollback spending, perhaps some of which came from the $1.3 trillion omnibus that President Donald Trump was so reluctant to sign this spring. “This is, I believe, the first of many rescission packages that you’ll see,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows told Roll Call on Monday. “To suggest that this is the closing chapter of the rescission narrative is not accurate.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday afternoon that passing a rescission could sour the ability of lawmakers to get appropriations done.
For his part, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said during a press conference Tuesday afternoon that he would “take a look at it.”
