Text of the Letter (PDF) Washington, D.C. – Senate Democrats sent an open letter to the American public today, warning families across the nation about Republicans’ efforts in Congress to pass legislation that would deliver a tax handout that disproportionately benefits millionaires and billionaires while taking away health insurance and health care benefits from millions of […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the below statement following House Republicans’ vote to advance Senate Republicans’ budget resolution. “After all their concerns around the Senate Republicans’ budget resolution, House Republicans bent the knee to President Trump and advanced this resolution that will slash […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – At the request of U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, the independent, nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a new projection showing that the tax giveaways in the Senate Republicans’ budget proposal will add $52 trillion to the national debt over the next 30 years. The […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, and Congressman Brendan Boyle (PA-02), Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, released the following statements in response to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) raising concerns with the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) actions last month to […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, demanded that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) turn over all documents from agencies and departments in response to large-scale reduction in force directives issued by OMB in February. “The February 26 memo’s directives enable further disastrous mass […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement after Senate Republicans passed another version of their budget resolution: “For a second time, Republicans passed their budget resolution in the dark of night to double down on their mission to slash programs that help families […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, took to the Senate floor to highlight the purpose of the Republicans’ budget plan: to give tax breaks to billionaires at the expense of working families. Merkley’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow. M. President: Families lose, billionaires win. That […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, took to the Senate floor to start debate on the Republicans’ budget proposal which will benefit millionaires and billionaires, while gutting programs families rely on. Merkley’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow. M. President: Families lose, billionaires win. That’s the […]
Washington, D.C. – Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal, D-Mass., and House Budget Committee Ranking Member Brendan F. Boyle, D-Pa., released the statement below on a new estimate from the Joint Committee on Taxation that […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the below statement after Senate and House Republicans released their budget proposal. Republicans want to use the budget gimmick known as “current policy baseline” to pretend that adding over $4.6 trillion to the debt over 10 years and […]
Washington, D.C – Today, Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Ranking Member of the Finance Committee Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Ranking Member of the Budget Committee Jeff Merkley (D-OR) sent the following letter to Republican Leader John Thune (R-SD) slamming the Senate Republican’s plan to use the “current policy baseline” in the reconciliation process. If the […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, and Congressman Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, announced they have formally requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigate several funding suspensions ordered by President Trump to determine their legality under the Impoundment Control Act. […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released new projections showing what the economy and federal budget would look like over the next 30 years, with the debt growing to 156 percent of GDP if no action is taken to address the national debt. U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, took to the Senate Floor to call out the hypocrisy in the Republicans’ budget reconciliation process. Republican leadership is hell bent on using “magic math” – in the form of a budget gimmick known as “current policy baseline” – […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, on a party line vote, Senate Republicans confirmed Dan Bishop to be the Deputy Director at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the below statement following the confirmation. Merkley, along with every Democrat on the Committee, voted […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the below statement following new data published by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), a centrist budget policy think tank, that shows making permanent the Trump Tax Giveaways will add an astronomical $37 trillion to the debt […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, called on Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought to immediately restore the website listing funds that Congress appropriated and have since been sent out the door by the Trump Administration. The deleted portal provided a public […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, and U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, released the following statements after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published 10- and 30-year projections of the debt and deficit if Republicans permanently enact a second […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, unveiled a new portal for public and private sector workers to report known waste, fraud, and abuse at their place of employment. As the Trump Administration continues to blatantly ignore the law by impounding funds or attempting to subvert […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In Case You Missed It, following the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board’s endorsement of using current policy baseline in the Republicans’ budget proposal, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, slammed the editorial board for advocating for the use of “magic math” in an attempt to hide […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, issued the below statement at today’s executive session on the nomination of Dan Bishop to be Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Merkley, along with every Democrat on the Committee, voted against Bishop’s nomination. Merkley’s remarks, […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) released the below statement following the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) new analysis underscoring the fact that Republican budget goals are impossible to achieve without severely gutting Medicaid. “Republicans are claiming that their disaster of a budget won’t cut Medicaid. But today the nonpartisan […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Senate and House Republicans debate the best way to strip hard-working Americans of essential services and explode the deficit with a second round of Trump tax giveaways to the wealthy, bipartisan budget policy experts are sounding off on a budget gimmick to hide the high cost of their tax cuts for […]
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) delivered the following opening statement at the nomination hearing for Dan Bishop to be Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Sen. Merkley’s remarks, as prepared for delivery follow: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And welcome, Mr. Bishop. Today, we will […]
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) released the following statement after House Republicans voted to advance their version of a FY 2025 budget resolution: “The House Republican budget plan does three things: slashes programs for families, hands even more massive tax giveaways to billionaires, and explodes the deficit—each of […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley – Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee – released the following statement after Senate Republicans passed a FY25 budget resolution: “Families lose and billionaires win. That’s the heart of the Republicans budget resolution. “This Republican budget proposes $1 trillion cuts to programs for working families by […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. –Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley – Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee – released the following statement after Republicans passed a FY25 budget resolution through committee:? “This Republican budget opens the door to massive cuts for families. Democrats on the committee offered amendment after amendment to protect health care, housing, and education […]
WASHINGTON, DC – Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-MI) continued their Congressional oversight responsibilities of the Trump Administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) by seeking clarity on the scope and reach […]
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) released the following statement after House Republicans released their version of a FY 2025 budget resolution: “This is one big, awful pile of junk. The House Republican FY 2025 Budget Resolution tees up a reconciliation bill that would eviscerate Medicaid, cut critical nutrition […]
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) released the following statement on the FY25 budget resolution: “Republicans are taking a blatant first step to give tax breaks to the already richest Americans—and our families will pay the price,” said Ranking Member Jeff Merkley. “The proposed budget resolution is a bait […]