WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee—released the following statement as Senate Democrats speak on the Senate floor all night in opposition to the nomination of Russell Vought to serve as Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB): “Russell Vought is dangerously unfit to serve […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Democratic members of the Senate Budget Committee along with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) demanded that Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) delay Russell Vought’s nomination to serve as Director of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) until he satisfactorily answers questions regarding his advice to the President relating to the illegal […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley – Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee – blasted the Trump administration’s late-night announcement freezing all federal funds, a clear violation of law and Congress’s constitutional duty to appropriate funds: “The President is not a king, and the laws Congress passes are not suggestions. The […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley – Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee – released the following statement as prepared for delivery for a hearing on the nomination of Russell Vought to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget: “Good morning, Chairman Graham, and congratulations on your new role […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley – Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee – issued the following statement following the annual release of the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) Budget and Economic Outlook: “America’s working families are stretched thin. Over the past few years, inflation pushed the price of basic necessities like […]
Washington, D.C. – Today, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), in their respective capacities as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee during the 118th Congress, released a bipartisan staff report on the findings of their investigation into the ways in which private equity investment in health care has negative consequences […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tens of thousands of documents uncovered as a result of a Senate Budget Committee investigation into Credit Suisse’s World War II-era accounts indicate extensive new evidence of previously unknown or only partially known Nazi-linked account holders. The bank failed to disclose these accounts during prior investigations. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sheldon Whitehouse […]
Washington, D.C.— Climate change is poised to increase prices for families, erode property values, and destabilize the entire economy, confirmed the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). In a new, wide-ranging report, published at the request of Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), CBO backed key findings from the Committee’s examination of the costs that climate change is […]
Washington, D.C. – Trump’s tariffs, which he proposed on the campaign trail, would hike prices on everyday goods and shrink the economy, according to a new estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The estimate was requested by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Finance […]
Washington, D.C.—Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, released a first-of-its kind public dataset and accompanying staff report that expose the scale of the climate change-driven crisis in homeowners’ insurance. With this release, the Committee makes publicly available—for the first time—an accounting of insurance non-renewals at the county level from all […]
Washington, D.C.—Today, the Senate Budget Committee released a new report examining the economic dangers and budgetary costs of climate change. Across 19 hearings during the 118th Congress, the Budget Committee heard testimony from economists, central bankers, actuaries, insurance industry analysts, scientists, health care providers, farmers, academics, state and local government leaders, national security experts, and […]
Washington, D.C.—According to a new estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Democrats’ proposals to expand health care for children would extend Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage to 400,000 more children each year and increase U.S. gross domestic product by $31 billion in the long term. In 2024, Medicaid provided health […]
Washington, D.C. – The current debt ceiling process “exposes the country to an unnecessary risk of default,” concluded a new report published today by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Because spending and revenue decisions are separated from Treasury’s borrowing authority, and because Republicans frequently play political games with the debt ceiling, the United States faces […]
Washington, D.C. – In a new dynamic estimate of the Trump tax law, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that another round of Trump’s tax cuts for the ultrarich will shrink the United States economy over the long term. As Congress gears up for the 2025 tax debate, Republicans are pushing for even more […]
Washington, D.C. — Today, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) announced they are joining forces to turn up the heat on fossil fuel companies suspected of illegally conspiring with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the international oil cartel, or […]
Washington, D.C. — A new report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found wealth inequality in the United States has widened significantly since 1989, as the rich have captured an even larger share of overall wealth. According to the latest data, the wealthiest 10 percent of families now control 60 percent of U.S. wealth, while […]
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report showing that raising the Social Security retirement age to 69—as House Republicans have proposed—would slash benefits for hardworking retirees. The report finds that Social Security benefits would be cut by an average of 13 percent if the Republicans’ plan were fully implemented. “Raising the retirement age is […]
Washington, D.C.— U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, delivered the following remarks from the Senate Floor in opposition to Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) proposed budget, which would extend the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy—costing $4.6 trillion—while cutting $20 trillion in federal spending and omitting all details about what he would […]
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing,titled “The Costs of Inaction: Economic Risks from Housing Unaffordability.” Yesterday, Senator Whitehouse introduced the Affordable Housing Construction Act, new legislation to make housing more affordable by more than tripling the size of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit […]
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing, titled “Social Security Forever: Delivering Benefits and Protecting Retirement Security.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: Today’s hearing will examine the challenges facing one of our most important government programs, Social Security. Social Security has been a […]
Today, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee; Sen. Ron Wyden, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee; and Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability sent new letters to top oil and gas executives demanding compliance with the Committees’ original requests for information regarding quid pro quo […]
Washington, D.C.— U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing, titled “Examining CBO’s Updated 2024-2034 Budget and Economic Outlook.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: I am pleased that we are joined by Director Swagel today to discuss the federal government’s fiscal trajectory. My […]
Washington, D.C.—Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has launched an investigation demanding answers from 18 oil producers about any efforts to illegally coordinate with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries—the international oil cartel—or representatives of its member countries that would artificially raise prices on American consumers and increase costs for the federal government. The […]
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement echoing the Biden Administration’s call to fix the tax system so it helps hardworking Americans and the middle class, rather than the wealthy and well-connected: “As Congress gears up for the 2025 tax debate, Republicans are lining up […]
Washington, D.C.— U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing, titled “Making Wall Street Pay Its Fair Share: Raising Revenue, Strengthening Our Economy.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: Ranking Member Grassley, members of the committee, witnesses, and guests, welcome. Next year, a number of […]
Washington, D.C. – Today, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse and House Budget Committee Ranking Member Brendan F. Boyle sent a letter to Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell ahead of this week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, expressing concern over the harmful economic effects of prolonged elevated interest rates and calling on the Fed to […]
Washington, D.C.— U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing, titled “Riskier Business: How Climate Change is Already Challenging Insurance Markets.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: Members of the Committee, witnesses, guests. More than a year has passed since our hearing on climate havoc […]
Washington, D.C.— Following reports that former President Donald Trump made quid pro quo propositions to Big Oil executives—promising to roll back climate policies if he were re-elected in exchange for donations to his campaign—Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) are demanding answers from nine oil and […]
Washington, D.C. – Today, Senate Budget Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse and House Oversight and Accountability Ranking Member Jamie Raskin called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Big Oil for its decades-long disinformation campaign to mislead the public about the climate effects of fossil fuels and obstruct climate action. The letter follows multiple House Oversight Committee hearings and […]
Washington, D.C.— U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, delivered the following opening statement at today’shearing, titled “Budgeting for the Storm: Climate Change and the Costs to National Security.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: Ranking Member Grassley, members of the committee, witnesses, and guests: welcome. As we examine the looming economic […]