House Approps chief endorses spending levels in Ryan budget

The Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday endorsed the spending level in the House GOP budget even though he said he wanted it to be higher.

“It’s a workable number. We’ll make it work,” the chairman, Rep. Hal Rogers (Ky.), told The Hill.

The GOP unveiled a budget resolution on Tuesday that calls for a discretionary spending level of $1.028 trillion in fiscal 2013. That is $19 billion less than the $1.047 trillion spending cap that Republicans and Democrats agreed to as part of the debt-ceiling law known as the Budget Control Act last year.

Rogers and other senior appropriators had urged the GOP leadership to stick to the $1.047 trillion figure, and Democrats have accused the party of reneging on the debt-limit deal by proposing a lower level of spending.

“While I would have preferred $1.047 trillion, $1.028 trillion is a workable number,” Rogers told reporters.

The budget resolution is largely a political document without the force and effect of law, but it will establish the spending level that Republicans must adhere to in drafting the 12 annual appropriations bills.

Conservatives wanted the leadership to set an even lower level of spending, with some pushing for a cap of $931 billion.

“The leadership needed a number that they could pass on the Budget Committee,” Rogers said.

As he has before, the chairman pushed for lawmakers to shift the budget-cutting focus from discretionary spending to mandatory and entitlement spending, which make up two-thirds of the budget.

Despite his initial reservations, Rogers predicted that Republicans on the Appropriations Committee would support the budget resolution.

“I think it’s a responsible policy plan for our caucus to center on,” he said. “I think it's something that we can all rally around.”

---