SHOCKING Budget Betrayal — Caps Thrown Out

Person pointing at an upward trend line graph.

Congress just abandoned fiscal discipline entirely, pushing a $1.7 trillion spending spree that blows past previous budget targets while claiming to prevent a government shutdown—yet another example of Washington’s inability to control spending even as our national debt spirals out of control.

Story Snapshot

Congress approved $1.7 trillion in discretionary spending, $38 billion more than FY 2025 and $50 billion above the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act targets
For the first time since the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act, Congress abandoned statutory spending caps, setting a dangerous precedent for unchecked growth
The package adds $30 billion in health care spending deliberately excluded from deficit-reduction requirements, circumventing fiscal accountability rules
Despite President Trump’s administration pushing for cuts through DOGE initiatives, Congress rejected most spending reduction proposals

Congress Abandons Spending Caps After 43-Day Shutdown

Following the longest government shutdown in American history—43 days in late 2024—Congress crafted a bipartisan 1,059-page funding bill to prevent another shutdown by the January 30, 2026 deadline. The House completed passage of all twelve appropriations measures for Fiscal Year 2026, with the Senate now racing to approve remaining bills. This represents the first year since the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 that Congress operates without statutorily binding spending caps, relying only on non-binding targets suggesting one percent annual growth that lawmakers completely disregarded.

Massive Spending Increases Across Federal Agencies

The appropriations package directs massive increases to multiple departments: Transportation and Housing received $13 billion more, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education gained $11 billion, and Defense secured $7 billion above prior levels. When combined with approximately $300 billion in new defense and homeland security spending through Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, defense spending increases by $47 billion year-over-year. Only Homeland Security faced a traditional appropriations decrease of $2 billion, though OBBBA spending more than compensates. These increases far exceed inflation rates and completely ignore the fiscal framework established just three years ago.

Fiscal Watchdogs Warn of Missed Opportunities

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget characterizes this appropriations cycle as “one of missed opportunities,” noting Congress rejected many spending cuts proposed in President Trump’s FY 2026 budget and failed to include major fraud prevention reforms. A one-year discretionary spending freeze could save approximately $350 billion over a decade, while a ten-year freeze would save $1.5 trillion, according to CRFB estimates. Instead, Congress chose business as usual, adding $30 billion in mandatory health care spending specifically excluded from Pay-As-You-Go scorecard requirements—a routine mechanism for circumventing fiscal rules that accelerates deficit growth.

Long-Term Fiscal Consequences for Future Generations

This spending package represents only one-quarter of the projected $7 trillion federal budget for FY 2026, with Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and interest costs consuming the majority on autopilot. The abandonment of spending caps establishes a dangerous precedent for unconstrained discretionary spending growth precisely when our national debt demands fiscal restraint. Future taxpayers will bear the burden of this increased debt through higher taxes or reduced services. The Cato Institute emphasizes that despite President Trump’s push for fiscal discipline through DOGE-backed reforms, Congress maintained spending patterns that exceed fiscal targets and ignore deficit reduction—undermining the limited government principles conservatives fought to restore.