California Representative Michael Honda wants to know how House Speaker John Boehner plans to pay to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

“No matter where you fall on the issue politically, it is this committee's responsibility to ensure that the American people's tax dollars are spent legally and judiciously,” said Honda during a Thursday House Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee hearing.

In March, a five-member panel appointed by Boehner voted 3-2 along party lines to instruct the House's nonpartisan Office of the General Counsel to defend the 1996 law, now that President Barack Obama won't. Obama instructed the Department of Justice to no longer defend the law, which bans federal agencies from recognizing the legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples, because he believes parts of it are unconstitutional.

The Atlanta-based law firm King & Spalding dropped the case last month, prompting partner Paul Clement to jump ship to the Washington-based Bancroft PLLC, where he'll continue to work on the case.

Boehner has dodged questions on how the case will be funded. Several lawmakers, including Boehner, have suggested docking the Department of Defense's budget to fund the case.

“Is this a case where an overzealous House Speaker committed $500,000 of the American people's tax dollars to push a partisan and political agenda without having a funding source already in place? If so, do Speaker Boehner's actions violate the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits involving the government in any obligation to pay money before funds have been appropriated for that purpose.”

“If the Republican Leadership can't handle the responsibility of properly administering the budget of the House, is it any surprise that the American people are beginning to question how they are handling the budget of the nation? If the message from the last election is to cut spending, then why is Speaker Boehner forcing Americans to pay a high-priced private law firm $520 per hour to defend a Constitutionality-flawed and discriminatory law?”