House Freedom Caucus to Oppose GOP’s Budget Plan for 2017

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GOP legislators in the conservative House Freedom Caucus are calling for changes to the 2017 budget plan being pushed by the GOP leadership, likely creating another headache for embattled House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Caucus member GOP Rep. Mark Sanford posted this tweet after the decision.

According to the caucus statement;

From the beginning of the budget process, the House Freedom Caucus has called for a Republican budget that shows the American people we are serious about addressing Washington’s out-of-control spending problem. Our Members have put forward multiple proposals that would rein in spending through real budget reforms. House leadership has continually asked the Republican conference to support President Obama’s budget levels, even though the national debt passed the $19 trillion mark in January, and the Congressional Budget Office has reported that the federal deficit increased by $105 billion this year. As a group, we have decided that we cannot support the current budget at the $1.07 trillion level for discretionary spending. We continue to hope that we can work with the House Republican conference to write a conservative budget that reduces spending while prioritizing our defense needs and the priorities of the American people.

Early in February. the leadership attempted to assuage the concerns expressed by members of the Freedom Caucus. Caucus members were upset at spending caps signed into law last year, and they wanted the newest budget for 2017 to not spend the additional $30 billion in funding authorized by the two-year deal.

House Budget Chairman Tom Price (R, GA) reported today that on Wednesday, the House Budget Committee will mark up the Fiscal Year 2017 budget resolution, titled “A Balanced Budget for a Stronger America.”

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com

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