House Votes to Increase Appropriations for Permanent Committees

Phillip Lohaus, Daniel Schuman and Mandy Smithberger report:

Today [March 8, 2017] the Committee on House Administration took a small but important step to restore the House of Representatives as an effective legislative and oversight body. It voted unanimously to increase funding for each permanent committee — with four committees receiving a double-digit percentage increase.

The legislative branch is appropriated 1% of the federal budget to oversee the entire federal government, with much of that going towards non-legislative functions like security and facilities. Congress is woefully underfunded to perform its legislative, oversight, and representational duties, and that has undermined its ability to serve as a check on the executive branch.

Read more at https://www.justsecurity.org/38555/small-step-house-representatives/