Conservative caucus model budget takes aim at ‘woke’ policies, slashes spending by $16.3T

The Republican Study Committee (RSC), the largest conservative caucus in the House, put a heavy focus on opposing “woke” policies in its annual model federal budget, while proposing $16.3 trillion in spending cuts over a decade.

The model budget for fiscal 2024, first shared with The Hill, includes policies that oppose gender-affirming health care for transgender youth and beyond, boost protections for religious institutions, and take aim at critical race theory — a framework that examines systemic racism in institutions.

“Nearly every major problem facing our nation can be traced back to a failure to budget,” said RSC Chairman Kevin Hern (R-Okla.).

“It all boils down to something we’ve heard the President say quite a few times this year: Show me your budget, and I’ll show you your values. Our values are clearly on display with this budget,” Hern said.

It would balance the federal budget in seven years, according to the caucus, while also cutting spending by $16.3 trillion and taxes by $5 trillion over a decade. It cuts spending slightly less and cuts taxes more than the group’s model budget from last year, which had $16.6 trillion in spending cuts and $3.9 trillion in tax cuts.

“The RSC Budget is a reflection of our commitment to defending our constitutional rights, championing conservative values, and safeguarding the foundational principles that make our country great,” Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.), chair of the RSC Budget and Spending Task Force, said in a statement.

The caucus had delayed releasing its fiscal 2024 budget while House GOP leaders negotiated a debt limit increase and spending cut deal with the White House, not wanting to distract from leaders’ messaging on the matter.

The budget is an idealized proposal that does not necessarily reflect the House GOP caucus as a whole. But RSC proposals to raise the eligibility age for Medicare and the retirement age for Social Security became a major talking point for Democrats in the 2022 election cycle.

This year’s version pushes back on claims from the Biden administration that it supports cuts to benefits. It does not include any age increases for Medicare eligibility, but does include some “modest adjustments to the retirement age.”

Cline said that the retirement age would be increased at a rate of three months per year — but not for current or near-retirees — starting in 2026, until the retirement age reaches 69 for those turning 62 in 2033.

Leaders of the caucus stressed that the proposed entitlement reforms will require bipartisan cooperation, since Social Security is set to be insolvent in 2033 and Medicare is set to be insolvent in 2031.

“We would like to have support on engaging on these issues from the White House,” Cline said.

The annual framework is also an opportunity for the conservative group to go beyond the nitty-gritty in the federal budget and lay out its messaging priorities on social issues.

The RSC budget proposes eliminating the Committee on Racial Equity at the Treasury, a ban on what Republicans say are critical race theory-based training in the military, and a ban on federal funding going to entities that promote the theory. 

It also includes Rep. Greg Steube’s (R-Fla.) bill to ban transgender athletes in Title IX-funded womens’ sports, which passed earlier this year; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors; and a ban on federal funds being used for gender transition procedures.

The framework also has a measure that prevents the government from discriminating against faith-based institutions that provide adoption or foster care placements, a measure that opponents worry could undermine the ability of LGBTQ families to foster or adopt. Another included bill would protect the ability of leaders of religious institutions to make political statements without endangering their tax status.

Structural changes for how Congress deals with budget and spending matters are also included in the RSC budget blueprint. 

It would require a reauthorization vote for mandatory spending outside of entitlements when estimated spending exceeds actual spending by a certain percentage. And it says the RSC supports Congressional rules that prohibit borrowing from trust funds to pay for other non-trust fund programs.

The RSC budget has traditionally received a vote in a GOP-controlled House, though it has failed in the past due to lack of GOP support. Hern said that GOP leadership has committed to hold a vote on approving the RSC budget this year.

Updated at 3:21 p.m.