Chair of the House Freedom Caucus Andy Harris (R-MD) stated that DC officials are urging GOP leadership to keep the Senate’s funding regulations that threaten significant reductions to local budgets.
“We have encouraged leadership to postpone it until we revise the budget resolution, and we must call for the requirements concerning the District of Columbia,” Harris mentioned to Hill on Thursday.
His remarks come as House and Senate Republicans are negotiating budget proposals that will assist in pushing through President Trump’s tax policy.
“We need to finalize an agreed-upon budget resolution before we address issues like whether DC can allocate billions on indiscriminate expenditures,” Harris stated.
He added that conservatives “require a little more time to devise a list of requirements that should be included for DC,” though he has “previously restricted the district’s expenditures on what we considered unwise.”
When asked if he informed him to wait for leadership to introduce the bill, Harris responded, “I’m unsure since we usually understand that we can obtain everything we require to maintain our position.”
DC officials have warned about the legislation passed by Congress earlier this month, indicating that officials might reduce the district’s budget by approximately $1 billion from local earnings.
This month, Congress enacted a Stand-up Funding Bill that maintains government funding at 2024 levels by September.
Nonetheless, DC’s Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and other officials pointed to legislation that excluded the regulations contained in previous suspension laws necessary for DC’s operations in the fiscal year 2025 budget.
Consequently, DC officials argue that the district will be forced to operate at the 2024 funding level, as federal agencies do following the budget update’s six months of running. They assert this change will necessitate spending cuts of about $1 billion, although some Republicans claim the cuts are minor.
After the passage of the government’s funding legislation earlier this month, the Senate approved a last-minute amendment aimed at preventing reductions in the district’s budgets. The bill is presently awaiting consideration in the House.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) asserted at a press conference on Thursday that the House should consider a bill “within the next week or shortly before the upcoming district work period.”
“Senate Republicans have clearly and explicitly backed the spending legislation. Senate Democrats, House Democrats, and Donald Trump himself have highlighted the importance of rectifying this significant error in the House Republicans’ highly partisan spending measures.”
Jeffries informed Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) that he had not discussed “this specifically,” but added, “If there are further delays, I will address it directly with him.”
