Politics
House Panel Passes GOP Budget Amid Rancor Over Defense Spending
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaks to reporters following a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
(Politico) – The House Budget Committee on Thursday morning passed the GOP’s 2016 spending proposal on a straight party line vote, but only after Republican leaders delayed their plan to dramatically boost Pentagon spending.
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other GOP leaders, in an effort to win support for the budget resolution from defense hawks, want to pump tens of billions of dollars in new funds into the “Global War on Terror” without reducing spending elsewhere, a move that would increase the deficit.
But fiscal conservatives on the Budget Committee balked at leadership’s efforts on Wednesday night, leading to an embarrassing episode as House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) tried — and failed — to win their support.
After Boehner and other leaders huddled with Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.) and Armed Services Committee Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) for an hour on Thursday morning, leadership went with another plan — move the resolution through the Budget panel first without the additional defense money, and then add the Pentagon funding back via the Rules Committee, before the proposal hits the House floor next week.
