House Budget Committee Passes Bill Raising FY20 Budget Caps

Earlier this week House Democrats on the Budget Committee released the text of their draft bill to raise the discretionary spending caps for FY20 and FY21 by $356B. The bill sets the FY20 defense spending cap at $733B and the non-defense spending at $639B for FY20. 

The House Budget Committee met on Wednesday and approved the bill by a vote of 19-17. All of the votes in favor of passage were from Democrats while three Democrats joined all 14 Republicans in voting against the measure. Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) all voted against the bill because it raises defense spending caps. The bill could be on the House floor next week, but it will have a tough time getting passed, and it isn’t likely to be considered by the Republican-controlled Senate. But it serves as a starting point for negotiations on raising the spending caps for FY20 and FY21.