The House Plans to Slash the FY24 Budget

The deal between Speaker McCarthy and his conservative detractors lays a foundation for massive spending cuts.  The House GOP lawmakers need to agree among themselves about what's actually on the table. If spending bills for FY24  are capped at the FY22 levels, that assumes a reduction of over $130 billion, or 8 percent, from the recently enacted FY23 omnibus. Military and national security-related programs, which received more than half of this year's budget increase, or $76 billion, would take a 10 percent hit if cuts were applied proportionally.  However, top Republicans are already warning that will never happen. Kay Granger, the incoming Appropriations chair, said that she looks forward to working with other committees to "cut wasteful spending while maintaining our national security priorities." The deal, if it holds, would largely impose the balanced-budget blueprint that former President Trump’s budget director, Vought, drafted that would have cut $10 trillion in projected spending over the next decade. Overall, the proposal calls for cutting $4 trillion from projected health care spending over a decade and another $2 trillion in cuts from other mandatory programs, such as agricultural price supports, food stamps and child nutrition, student loans, disability insurance and more. Vought’s plan includes tight caps on appropriations, cutting about $4 trillion from discretionary funds, mostly from nondefense programs, though defense would not be spared.