House GOP stalled over budget deal

By Tony Bertuca / June 27, 2017 at 12:15 PM

Though the House Budget Committee has agreed to a budget blueprint that would provide a boost to defense funding, negotiations for a final deal have stalled over cuts to mandatory spending and the panel is eying continued debate after the July 4 recess, according to sources.

The committee released a statement Tuesday saying Chairwoman Diane Black (R-TN) is "100 percent committed to getting a budget done."

"It's the strongest possible step to achieving real deficit reduction, strengthening our military, and beginning the tax reform process," committee spokesman Chris Hartline said. "The committee plans to keep this process moving after the July 4th recess."

Meanwhile, the House Armed Services Committee will mark up its fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill Wednesday. The House Appropriations defense subcommittee marked up its FY-18 defense spending bill Monday and the full committee could do so as early as Friday, according to a congressional source. Both bills seek to increase defense spending well above the 2011 Budget Control Act cap and tens of billions above what the Trump administration has proposed.

Senior Senate Democrats, however, recently sent a letter to GOP leadership Monday reminding them that any FY-18 bill will require bipartisan support and demand legislation that provides equal topline relief from the BCA for both defense and non-defense priorities.

188080