The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to cut its own budget by 6.5% as part of H.R. 2551, the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act of 2012, the largest Legislative branch cut in U.S. history. The vote marks the second time this year the Republican-led House has slashed its funding, following a 5% cut in the FY2011 budget earlier this year.
“The nation has to cut federal spending, and this body should lead the way by cutting our own budget,” says House Republican Conference Secretary John Carter. “People at home are willing to make sacrifices to bring our federal spending under control, but they want to see their government willing to make sacrifices, too. We have done that with this vote.”
Today’s action results in a more than 11% total cut in spending from FY2010 levels, before Republicans won control of the House. Members of the House have also not received cost-of-living increases in four years, after voting to freeze congressional pay in light of the recession and federal deficit.
