Rep. Lauren Underwood Delivers Remarks at the Full Committee Markup of the Fiscal Year 2026 Legislative Branch Funding Bill to Highlight Republicans’ Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

WASHINGTON — Today, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) delivered the following remarks at the House Appropriations Committee markup of the fiscal year 2026 Legislative Branch funding bill:

“I am unable to support the Fiscal Year 2026 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill we have before us today.

Republicans talk a big game about efficiency and fiscal responsibility—but this bill fails every test. Instead of investing in the institutions that keep our democracy alive, this majority has opted to hollow them out and cede Congress’s Article One powers to the Trump Administration.

Let’s start with the Government Accountability Office. The non-partisan G-A-O is responsible for ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent effectively, as intended by Congress 

In the past two decades, GAO has identified $2.8 trillion in payment errors.  

GAO’s independent, objective analysis and recommendations are critically important to protecting taxpayer resources from waste, fraud, and abuse. That’s why the agency’s average return on investment is $123 for every $1 spent.

So why on earth does this bill slash GAO’s budget by almost 50 percent? By our calculations, based on GAO’s return on investment, this cut of over $396 million could end up costing taxpayers almost $49 billion, with a B.

So let’s be real: cutting funding for GAO is not about saving money. The real purpose of defunding the Government Accountability Office is to undermine its ability to hold the government accountable. 

It’s about limiting an independent, nonpartisan watchdog’s ability to conduct oversight of this Administration’s corruption, illegal use of taxpayer dollars, and abuses of the Constitution.

It’s no coincidence that this attack comes while GAO has nearly 40 open investigations into credible reports that the Trump Administration is illegally withholding funds Congress has already appropriated. 

This bill even goes so far as to prohibit GAO from bringing civil actions against the Executive Branch for failing to comply with the Impoundment Control Act. 

Once again, Republicans in Congress are so eager to hand OUR power of the purse over to President Trump and DOGE, in violation of federal law and the Constitution’s separation of powers.

This reckless bill also cuts funding for the Library of Congress by 10 percent.  This latest attack on the Library follows President Trump’s firing of Dr. Carla Hayden with a two-sentence email on May 8, 2025.  Dr. Hayden is a highly accomplished and widely respected scholar who also happens to be the first woman and first Black person to serve as Librarian of Congress.

These attacks threaten our country’s ability to preserve our memory and inform our future.

They also undermine Congress’s ability to research and legislate on behalf of the American people, continuing the majority’s efforts to weaken the legislative branch. 

This Republican bill also flat-funds the Member’s Representational Allowance, again, despite continued inflation, which effectively amounts to a cut and shortchanges our ability to serve our constituents. 

Casework needs continue to grow in light of the chaos and confusion caused by the Trump Administration’s actions, and I am particularly concerned that this bill would not allow us to meet those needs.

This bill also fails to provide any additional resources for much-needed security improvements.  In light of the recent tragedy in Minnesota and other terrifying incidents of political violence, law enforcement and security experts have repeatedly recommended increased resources for the security of Congressional offices and Members. Instead, this bill leaves us and our communities vulnerable.

This bill also pointlessly and cruelly continues to bar DACA recipients from employment in the Legislative Branch. DACA recipients should have the right to serve their communities on our staff, and our constituents deserve to benefit from their talents, skills, and dedication to our shared values as Americans. 

This bill also recycles the same divisive policy riders we’ve seen over and over again. Let me be very clear: the diversity, equity, and inclusion training provided here in the Legislative Branch is about creating respectful and inclusive workplaces. It helps ensure our public servants can do their jobs free from discrimination.

We should be strengthening and supporting these efforts, not undermining and distracting from them with meaningless riders. Congress is the bedrock of our representative democracy.

We are Article One. This bill fails to take this responsibility seriously, and it fails to invest in the very institutions charged with upholding our shared values.

I urge my colleagues to stand up for accountability, for our democratic institutions, and for the American people—and reject this misguided bill.”