Chairman’s Press

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Cap adjustments have allowed Congress to increase spending beyond the levels set forth in the Budget Control Act of 2011. These cap adjustments have resulted in almost $1 trillion in additional spending. The BCA contains several cap adjustments to increase spending for specified purposes, including emergencies, disasters, program integrity, and overseas contingency operations […]

WASHINGTON D.C. – During a Senate Budget Committee hearing on cap-adjusted spending under the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011, Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) noted that cap adjustments have allowed Congress to spend almost $1 trillion beyond the levels set forth in the law. Enzi said these cap adjustments have created an additional path to […]

WASHINGTON D.C. – Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) is questioning Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham about the Bureau’s plans to control the cost of the 2020 Census. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) placed the 2020 Census on its high-risk list because of concerns with the development and security of information technology (IT) systems […]

WASHINGTON D.C. – During a Senate Budget Committee hearing on the Congressional Budget Office’s Budget and Economic Outlook for fiscal years 2019 through 2029, Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) said the CBO report highlights the need for Congress to confront the threat of the nation’s out of control spending.  “Trillion dollar deficits are within sight, they […]

WASHINGTON D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) today was again elected by his colleagues as Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and welcomed new GOP Senators Mike Braun (R-IN), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) to serve on the Committee during the 116th Congress. “I am honored to return as chair of the Senate […]

WASHINGTON D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, is pressing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan for more information about a CBP hiring contract worth millions of dollars that only resulted in two new agency hires. The Homeland Security Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently found […]

WASHINGTON D.C. – During a speech on the floor of the United States Senate, Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, outlined his plans to begin fixing the broken budget and appropriations process in the new Congress.  “I have always believed that changes to the broken budget and spending process must be […]

WASHINGTON D.C. – Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) today said more action is needed from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on problems that have prevented thousands of veterans from receiving their full GI Bill benefits.  Since August 1, hundreds of thousands of veterans have either not received their monthly housing allowance (MHA) […]

WASHINGTON D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, sent a letter to Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) Administrator Brock Long expressing his concerns about significantly marked-up prices FEMA contractors charged for repairs to homes damaged by Hurricane Maria. Recent news stories report that more than 60 percent of what a […]

WASHINGTON D.C. – After recent reports that the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) information technology (IT) systems have prevented thousands of veterans from receiving their full GI Bill benefits, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) pressed the agency on what actions it was taking to address this significant problem.  Since August 1, hundreds of […]

WASHINGTON D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, contacted the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) about how effectively the agency manages the federal government’s real property.  The agency operates a vast portfolio of federal property including approximately 267,000 buildings, 496,000 structures, and 42 million acres of land, at […]

WASHINGTON D.C. – As part of the Senate Budget Committee’s ongoing oversight of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Republican members of the Committee sent a letter to the agency encouraging it to release details of its new health insurance simulation model (HISIM) to the public prior to its use next spring.  The members also asked […]

The Pell Grant program is the largest single source of grant aid to postsecondary students, with federal spending on the program totaling $30.6 billion in fiscal year 2018. This needbased program also has one of the most complex funding structures in the federal budget, involving a mix of discretionary funding and two separate mandatory spending […]

WASHINGTON D.C. – During a Senate Budget Committee hearing focused on the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) expanded transparency initiatives, Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) said that CBO should continue to focus on producing accurate and objective budget estimates in a transparent manner. “In the more than 40 years since CBO’s inception, Congress and the public have […]

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently updated its annual Expired and Expiring Authorizations of Appropriations report to reflect enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018. The updated report shows that of the $1.4 trillion in discretionary spending provided for 2018, $318 billion was spent on 1,035 agencies, programs, and functions with expired authorizations of appropriations […]

WASHINGTON D.C. – Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) are asking the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to examine the effects of federal student loan policies on borrowing, loan repayment, cancellation, discharge, and forgiveness. The chairmen are seeking information on income-driven-repayment (IDR) plans. […]

The 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA) allows for several cap adjustments to increase spending for specified purposes without triggering a breach of statutory spending limits. These adjustments, which have grown in number in successive spending deals, have supported a staggering $890 billion in discretionary spending beyond the BCA’s base caps.  View the July 18 Budget […]

WASHINGTON, DC – This week, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY) and House Budget Committee Chairman Steve Womack (AR-03) sent a letter to the members of the conference committee for H.R. 5895, the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019. In the letter, the chairmen urged conferees to […]