WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement today ahead of the 1,200th day since the Senate Democrat majority last offered a budget plan to the American people: “The Senate has adjourned for recess as we’re approaching 1,200 days since this Democrat majority has passed a budget. […]
“Congress intended that immigrants who come to the United States should not become dependent on our expanding welfare system… the INA specifically states: ‘An alien who… is likely at any time to become a public charge is inadmissible.’ … We were thus shocked to discover that both the State Department and DHS exclude reliance on […]
“The White House predicts this year’s federal budget deficit will end up at $1.2 trillion, marking the fourth consecutive year of trillion dollar-plus deficits during President Barack Obama’s administration… The White House report [was] released Friday afternoon with the Olympics poised to distract voters for two weeks…” Associated Press, “Administration projects $1.2T 2012 budget deficit,” […]
President Obama today released an update to his fiscal year 2013 budget. Federal law requires the President to update his February budget submission by July 16 each year to account for revised estimates that may be necessary because of changes in the economy and actual spending patterns observed over the intervening months. The update provides […]
“The reply makes no attempt to justify the program itself or the idea that we should partner with a foreign government to persuade immigrants and foreign nationals to become dependent on U.S. government support. Not only is this unwise as a matter of policy, but it is unaffordable during a time of $16 trillion debt… […]
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Senate this evening passed by unanimous consent H.R. 5872, the Sequestration Transparency Act, which the House of Representatives passed last week by a vote of 414–2. This bill was originally introduced by Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune (R-SD) and Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Sessions (R-AL), and House Republican Conference Chairman […]
“Once the accounting tricks are removed—such as the delayed implementation of the major spending provisions—we know the law will cost more than two and half trillion dollars over its first full 10-year window.” WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today about the Congressional Budget Office’s […]
“In this time of fiscal crisis, and at a moment when the Obama Administration is scaling back the work requirements that were a centerpiece of welfare reform, the nation needs to review all of the nearly 80 welfare programs now administered by the federal government. We must build on the sound principles of the 1996 […]
“My Budget Committee staff recently asked USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service to furnish materials relating to this partnership and the expenditure of taxpayer dollars, such as SNAP literature that is being distributed through Mexican consular offices. Despite these requests, that material has not been provided… It is a sound principle of immigration policy that those […]
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, and U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, today praised the House of Representatives’ passage of the Sequestration Transparency Act (H.R.5872) in a nearly unanimous bipartisan vote of 414 to 2. The Sequestration Transparency Act would require the Obama […]
“Chairman Conrad, to his credit, does not dispute… [that] the outlay total he filed is $14 billion higher… He simply asserts that it is within his discretion to unilaterally set a higher total… Remember, outlays are the spending figure which directly registers on the debt. $14 billion in higher outlays in 2013 means $14 billion […]
“It is clear there is a great need to distinguish between proper and improper disability claims, and to better incentivize and find acceptable work for those who are able… The administration of this program must be improved to avoid sinking our country deeper into debt, to ensure the program remains viable for those with disabilities, […]
“This makes a more significant statement than the President’s recent speeches and interviews professing his vigilant stewardship of the nation. Combined with $5 trillion in debt accrued since 2009, and the refusal of his Senate Majority to produce a budget for three years in the midst of crisis, it reveals a troubling detachment from the financial […]
“While there can be value in judicial conferences, that value is substantially eroded when judges and employees are distracted with extracurricular activities unrelated to the matters of the court. There is no indication that attendees are required to attend even one official event while on the Island… In our initial letter, we requested specific documents […]
“I have concluded these ads are only the symptom of a wider culture in USDA, apparent throughout their enrollment literature, which seeks maximum registration as the ultimate goal, regardless of need… The evidence is mounting that USDA [is] pushing, even intimidating, people who do not wish to receive assistance, including non-citizen immigrants, into enrolling for […]
“President Obama indicated recently that the biggest mistake of his first term was not spending more time delivering his message. Respectfully, I think a much bigger mistake was adding $5 trillion to the debt and then producing a budget plan this year that would add another $11 trillion to the debt through 2022. Making matters […]
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today in response to the continued emergence of reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has undertaken an aggressive outreach campaign to swell the food stamp rolls even when an individual does not need or wish to receive financial […]
1,164 days have elapsed since Senate Democrats last offered a budget plan for the nation. Since that time, we’ve spent $11 trillion and added $4.7 trillion to the debt. The unemployment rate has now been above 8 percent for 41 consecutive months. Higher debt leads to slower economic growth. Empirical studies show that high levels […]
“The task now before the country is to fully repeal this onerous and unworkable law. If it is not repealed, it will cause Americans’ personal health costs—and our nation’s debt—to rise disastrously. It will massively expand the power and reach of the federal bureaucracy and its intrusion into our lives and livelihoods. This bill is […]
“The health care law is utterly unaffordable—[adding] $17 trillion in unfunded long-term obligations… It is unthinkable our nation would add this new, colossal debt burden at a time when we are already borrowing forty cents out of every dollar we spend. This 2,700-page health law… will be financially devastating to our Republic… If it is […]
“Under this proposal, food stamp spending will average $77 billion each year for the next ten years. The average in the seven years prior to the recession was $28 billion. Is it the official view of the White House, and the Senate majority, that our economy will experience no improvement for a decade? … “Those […]
“Those administering the program seem determined to place the largest number of people possible on welfare support. Is not a better goal to see how many Americans we can help achieve financial independence?” WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued a statement today following votes on two of his […]
“Having information about how the sequester would be implemented, and the specific items of spending that would be reduced, is critical to Congress in evaluating the impact of the sequester. Congress has tried repeatedly to obtain this information from the Office on Management and Budget, and it has not been provided. As a result, this […]
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, and U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement today in response to a letter from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals defending the planned million-dollar judicial conference at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & […]
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today in response to President Obama’s comments on the debt: “I was stunned that President Obama said his plan will pay down the national debt. His budget would add $11 trillion to the debt in ten years and was […]
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today after President Obama held a news conference on the state of the economy: “It is astounding that, only days after the Congressional Budget Office issued its chilling debt outlook, President Obama once again failed to seriously address the […]
“I have filed a modest package of food stamp reforms to the farm bill that will achieve several important goals: Save taxpayer dollars; reduce the deficit; achieve greater accountability in how the program is administered; confront widespread waste; direct food stamps to those truly in need; and help more Americans achieve financial independence… It is […]
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, sent the following letter today to Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad about the outlay levels filed as required by the Budget Control Act. Although that law directs outlay aggregates be set at the CBO March 2012 baseline level, Conrad used figures apparently derived […]