Top Moments from House Budget Committee’s Hearing on the President’s FY 2027 Budget Request

Top Moments from House Budget Committee's Hearing on the President's FY 2027 Budget Request

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Yesterday, the House Budget Committee held a hearing entitled "The President's Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request" with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought.

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On Strengthening National Security and Making America Safer:

Director Russell Vought: This budget builds on the President's vision by continuing to constrain non-defense spending and reform the federal government. The budget proposes a 10% cut to non-defense compared to 2026 levels. Within this total, the budget maintains investment in border security and immigration enforcement. It delivers on the President's commitment to support law enforcement and combat violent crime, with a 13% increase to the Department of Justice and honors the nation's sacred obligation to our military veterans.

In addition, this 2027 budget eliminates wasteful Green New Deal projects that are dependent on foreign supply chains, returns control of education back to American families, and roots out waste, fraud, and abuse in programs both at home and abroad, ensuring that every taxpayer dollar makes Americans safer, stronger, and more prosperous.

The budget simultaneously builds upon the historic $1 trillion fiscal year 26 defense top line by requesting $1.5 trillion for 2027, a 42% increase as promised by President Trump last year. The 2027 budget will ensure that the United States continues to maintain the world's most powerful and capable military as we grapple with an increasingly dangerous world.

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On the Establishment of the National Fraud Enforcement Division Through the President's Budget:

Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind.): The President's budget specifically noted the establishment of the new National Fraud Enforcement Division. Can you talk about how this will build on the success of the Working Families Tax Cuts Act to prevent taxpayer dollars from being wasted?

Director Russell Vought: Congresswoman, we are trying to scale resources to fight fraud wherever we possibly can. And the National Fraud Task Force kind of sits within the Executive Branch, but we also need to pull resources from the agencies to do the actual work. Some of the agencies, Dr. Oz in particular, will give you kind of horrifying stories about the extent to which fraud was really amped up under the Biden administration because they did not fund enough investigators. I think we were probably in the single digits for Medicaid fraud which is totally unsustainable. And you wonder why we see it in our federal programs.

It's not just hunting for fraud. It's also looking at policies, President Biden and his administration changed the childcare program, which we fully fund, changed the childcare program so that it was not connected to individuals, but was going towards entities unrelated to whether they were caring for children. And then we wonder why we see what we see in Minnesota. So, we are looking for all of those kinds of policies. We're going to be very surgical where we ask for investments. This is an example of one, but this administration is very, very committed to going after fraud because we think it shreds the fabric of the expectation that the American people have with their government.

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On Reducing Wasteful Spending While Investing in the American People:

Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.): President Trump's FY27 budget continues to reduce wasteful spending, right-size bloated bureaucracies, and put the federal government on a more sustainable fiscal path. It cuts non-defense spending by $72 billion, roughly 10%, while continuing to invest in veterans, seniors, law enforcement and farmers. These savings are achieved by continuing President Trump's promise to rid the government of woke and wasteful spending and weaponization of the federal government and terminate the Green New Scam.

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On Preserving Our Economic Foundation for Future Generations:

Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kan.): We're at a critical moment in our nation's history. As we look forward to celebrating the 250th anniversary of America, we need to ensure that economic foundation that we leave for the next generation is one of stability and not crushing debt for families nationwide and for hardworking people in my district. I'm encouraged to see that this budget request prioritizes cutting wasteful spending and rooting out the kind of fraud that has plagued federal spending for so long.

Earlier this year, I joined a group of bipartisan members to introduce House Resolution 981, the 3% resolution. Our objective is simple to reduce the federal deficit to 3% of GDP or lower within five years. Currently, our deficit is double that benchmark. I'm interested as we talk through this and talk about some of your thoughts on the FY27 budget request, how it helps us get to that point.

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On the Impact of the High Debt-to-GDP Ratio:

Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah): I can't emphasize enough that the biggest issue for every person, no matter what area, what industry you work in, wherever you are in our country, is a debt-to-GDP ratio that continues to climb. I don't know of anybody in the world of Washington politics and policy that is working to reduce our deficits more than you, Director. I've had many conversations with you about it, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate your willingness to do a very difficult thing. Because if we can no longer cover our deficits with treasuries and all that world, guess what? These programs that we're all arguing are so important, they're the first to go. So, we need to be able to reduce our deficits year over year. And I don't know of anybody that's been more focused on that than you.