At least four House committee chairs requested a budget increase in the wake of the Trump administration slashing funding for federal spending.
In testimony to the Committee on House Administration on Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee requested more than $30 million over the next two years. The House Rules Committee, Natural Resources Committee, and Financial Services Committee also requested additional funding.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY), a strong supporter of Elon Musk’s work at the Department of Government Efficiency, requested that the committee receive close to a 10% boost in its budget as it seeks to properly compensate its 133 staffers.
“The Committee has recruited and continues to recruit staff with oversight expertise and diverse skillsets,” Comer said in his testimony obtained by Punchbowl. “Our proposed budget will allow the Committee to not only recruit, but retain, experienced legal and investigative staff to do our important oversight work.”
Comer called the budget request an “investment in oversight.”
“As I mentioned earlier, our Committee’s purpose is to protect taxpayer dollars from fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, and to ensure the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of the federal government,” Comer stated. “This budget request is an investment in oversight. It is an investment in skilled staff and a commitment to travel as needed to conduct oversight and follow investigative leads.”
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chairwoman of the House Committee on Rules, is requesting approximately $8 million, pointing to a 62% increase in processing amendment submissions during the last Congress.
“While the increase we are seeking might be modest, it is necessary,” Foxx said in her testimony. “Our ability to deliver the House’s business, as well as the Republican Conference’s commitment to maximum inclusiveness in the legislative process, is fully at stake.”
The Natural Resources Committee and the Financial Services Committee requested a 10% increase in their budgets.
Rep. French Hill (R-AR), chairman of the Financial Services Committee, shared in testimony obtained by the Washington Examiner that the committee seeks to hire 15 more staff members and create a new task force to examine “both monetary policy and the Treasury debt market decisions of the last few years.” Hill said he is looking to hire a chief economist who will oversee this effort.
“The financial services industry helps drive economic growth, supports small businesses, and is at the forefront of innovation in our country,” Hill said in his testimony. “It is imperative that this committee can thoroughly examine the policies affecting this critical sector of the economy.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) said the committee’s requested 10% budget increase would go toward giving staff members raises as well as replacing its two committee servers, which is estimated to cost $100,000.
“Maintaining an aggressive legislative agenda supported by skilled staff and executing the committee’s field agenda will require investments in both the Committee’s personnel and travel budgets,” Westerman wrote in his testimony obtained by the Washington Examiner.