Monitoring democratic institutions through public records
Spending Money Congress Approved — Week of May 12, 2025
Can the President refuse to spend money that Congress already approved? This is called "impoundment" and it's usually illegal.
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This week, a member of Congress introduced legislation responding to what he described as the executive branch freezing billions of dollars in federal spending without following the legal process required since 1974. In a May 15 floor speech, Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA) cited specific consequences: the Social Security Administration's website crashing four times in ten days, health research shutdowns, cuts to utility assistance for renters, and loss of Head Start childcare. He noted that under the Impoundment Control Act, presidents have formally notified Congress 243 times before withholding funds — but that the current administration has not followed this process.
This might matter because Congress's control over federal spending — the "power of the purse" — is one of the most fundamental checks on executive power in the Constitution. If a president can freeze or redirect funds Congress approved without even notifying lawmakers, the budget process could lose its binding force, and the public programs those budgets fund could be disrupted without democratic accountability.
Important context and alternative explanations should be considered. Most plausibly, this is a minority-party member making the strongest possible case for his legislation — floor speeches are advocacy, not neutral fact-finding. The specific service disruptions he cited may have multiple causes beyond spending freezes. Additionally, the administration may believe it has legal authority to manage spending in ways that don't require ICA notification, a question courts have not yet resolved.
The bill introduced — the Protect Our Constitution and Communities Act — would let states, cities, and individuals sue to challenge spending freezes. It has 30 cosponsors but faces long odds in the current Congress.
Limitations: This analysis draws primarily from one congressional speech, which represents one side of an ongoing legal and political dispute. The specific claims about program impacts have not been independently verified. This is AI-generated analysis, not a finding of fact.