If House Republicans pass Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget later this week, one of the ideas they’ll be endorsing is that domestic discretionary spending should be cut below sequestration levels, in order to direct more spending toward the Pentagon.
What’s less well known is that one of the only real powers internal to a budget resolution is setting caps that congressional appropriators must honor when they write legislation to fund the government.
Needless to say, Senate Democrats and the White House will never abide by future government funding legislation that reduces domestic discretionary spending below sequestration levels to increase defense spending. But according to House Speaker John Boehner, Republicans will pass appropriations that adhere to the requirements of the Ryan budget.
“I think we can do our appropriations under this scenario without any problem at all,” he told reporters at a Tuesday morning Capitol briefing.
That sets up, you guessed it, another government shutdown fight in September. Obviously a lot can change between now and then. And if the House and Senate can’t agree on appropriations, then they can pass continuing resolutions and keep sequestration in place.
But this suggests that as far as House Republicans are concerned, it’s budget standoffs all the way down.
