GOP set to mark up spending bills at levels below debt ceiling deal caps

House GOP negotiators will mark up annual spending bills below the agreed-upon limits in the deal struck between President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) weeks ago.

House Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-Texas) said in a statement issued late Monday that the negotiated cap for fiscal 2024 spending represents “a ceiling, not a floor” for the funding bills they’ll soon be marking up.  

“That is why I will use this opportunity to mark up appropriations bills that limit new spending to the fiscal year 2022 topline level,” she said, adding that Republicans will also look to claw back billions in funding for certain “unnecessary, partisan programs,” as the party has taken aim at dollars for key priorities passed by Democrats in the last Congress.

Granger said the party will “refocus government spending consistent with Republican priorities, keeping total spending 1% lower than if we were operating under a continuing resolution.”

This week, the GOP-led spending committee plans to consider fiscal 2024 government funding bills for military construction and veterans affairs, agriculture and rural development, as well as subcommittee allocations.

The panel previously planned to begin markup sessions for a handful of funding bills in late May, but those were canceled as debt limit negotiations dominated Capitol Hill leading to an early June deadline for a national default. 

The deal both sides produced staved off default by raising the debt limit, dubbed the Fiscal Responsibility Act, but not without a handful of measures attached aimed at curbing spending to buy Republican support. That includes a punishment to trigger automatic spending cuts if the bills aren’t finished on time.

The agreement drew opposition from many hard-line conservatives who felt the measure didn’t go far enough in tackling the national debt, a key issue among the Republican rebels who held up floor action in a recent revolt against House leaders.  

“To avoid a sequester next year that would dramatically impact our military readiness and lock in Democrats’ policies, Republicans on the Committee intend to act quickly to get all appropriations bills signed into law,” Granger said. 

“We’ll use the appropriations process in the House to stake out our priorities and reverse the reckless spending of the last two years,” she added.