House-Passed GOP Budget Would Decimate Science Funding

On April 26, the House passed along party lines the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023. The bill, which was developed by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and other GOP members a week prior, represents the Republican’s opening bid in negotiations to raise the federal debt ceiling. Under the measure, the bill would suspend the federal debt limit until March 31, 2024, or until debt reaches $1.5 trillion, which ever comes first. However, as expected, the bill would demand steep cuts elsewhere in the budget to accommodate the increased borrowing authority. The White House and Congressional Democrats are seeking a “clean” debt limit bill with no strings attached.

Should the House-passed bill become law (which, to be clear, is not expected to happen in its current form as it would not pass the Democrat-controlled Senate), it would result in devastating cuts to discretionary programs across the federal government, including federal science agencies and other research activities. Most notable is the call to return discretionary funding in fiscal year (FY) 2024 to FY 2022 levels, which would translate to an immediate cut of more than $130 billion to discretionary funding below current (FY 2023) levels. Even more troubling, as Republican lawmakers are certain to protect and perhaps increase funding for defense accounts, the cut to nondefense discretionary funding would be disproportionately felt. The bill would also place caps on future discretionary spending, allowing growth by only one percent each year through FY 2033, and contains several additional policy provisions, such as repealing clean energy tax credits, canceling President Biden’s student debt relief program, and increasing work requirements for Medicaid recipients.

Nondefense discretionary spending is one of the smallest segments of the federal budget, representing only one-sixth of all federal spending, discretionary and mandatory. However, its reach is incredibly broad, including not only scientific research, but K-12 education and student financial aid programs, assistance for low-income families, infrastructure, law enforcement, health care for veterans, clean drinking water, international diplomacy efforts, public health, and small business initiatives, to name a few.

Now that the House has passed its bill—albeit along party lines—attention turns to the Senate and White House who will likely be forced to make some concessions in order to raise the debt ceiling before it is breached, which reports indicate could happen as early as June 1.

TAKE ACTION

Over the last few weeks, advocates have been busy calling on lawmakers to reject the draconian cuts proposed by House Republicans. One such opportunity is a sign-on letter being led by the Coalition for Health Funding. Organizational sign-on is sought and requested by Friday, May 5.