Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) voted against Congressional Republicans’ budget-related legislation that calls for at least $1.5 trillion in government spending cuts in the House and at least $4 billion in the Senate. 

“At a time when families across our community and our country are struggling with rising costs, the Congressional Republican budget plan directs devastating cuts to programs that people in Texas’ Seventh Congressional District rely on every day in order to give tax breaks to President Trump’s billionaire buddies,” said Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher.  “Rather than setting out to make meaningful investments to foster economic growth, my Republican colleagues have proposed an irresponsible budget plan that hurts children, seniors, and hardworking Americans, while increasing our debt limit to pay for tax cuts.”

Passing this budget resolution is the first step in the budget reconciliation process, a legislative process in Congress that fast tracks consideration of the President’s policy priorities with a simple majority vote in both the House and Senate.  This resolution directs certain House committees to make cuts to programs under their jurisdiction.

The Senate amendment to H.Con.Res 14 calls for at least $4 billion in cuts to critical programs as well as $4.5 trillion in  tax cuts for the next ten years for people earning more than $762,000 per year.  It also increases the debt limit by $7 trillion.

To pay for these tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, House Republicans are proposing cuts to programs that millions of Americans rely on.  Specifically, Senate amended H.Con.Res. 14 directs:

• The House Energy & Commerce Committee to find at least $880 billion in cuts, most of which are expected to come from Medicaid, which provides health care to nearly 80 million Americans, most of whom are children;
• The House Committee on Agriculture to find at least $230 billion in cuts, most of which are expected to come from food assistance for underserved Americans, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program;
• The House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure to find at least $10 billion, which could include restricting Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding.  The Houston region has received more than $1 billion in federal funding from the IIJA.  These cuts could also result in increases to the tonnage tax on cargo—and Port Houston is the largest port in the U.S. for waterborne tonnage;
• The House Committee on Financial Services to find at least $1 billion in cuts, which are expected to come from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a governmental agency that protects Americans from unfair financial practices and was established in response to the Great Recession in 2008; and
• The House Committee on Education & the Workforce to find at least $330 billion in cuts, most of which are expected to come from Head Start programs, school meal programs, and federal student aid.