Washington, D.C.—Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an estimate of House Republicans’ proposed $14.3 billion supplemental aid package for Israel. House Republicans’ “offset” would rescind $14.3 billion from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) enforcement and would reduce federal revenues by $26.8 billion, increasing the deficit by $12.5 billion and costing American taxpayers. Senate Budget Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) issued the following […]
Republicans have, again, proposed defunding Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax enforcement, hamstringing the agency’s ability to go after wealthy tax cheats and increasing the deficit. In their Israel supplemental, House Republicans have called for “offsetting” $14.3 billion in emergency aid with cuts to the IRS. A score from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is forthcoming, […]
WASHINGTON, D.C.—A new report released today by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that financial aid provided by the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic helped millions of working-class Americans reduce their credit card debt. It was the first time in nearly a decade that the share of active credit card accounts with a balance declined. The […]
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 “Bottlenecks and Backlogs: How Climate Change Threatens Supply Chains.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: Ranking Member Grassley and members of the Committee, in ten hearings so far this year, we’ve laid out serious risks […]
Washington, D.C.—Today, consistent with the September continuing resolution (CR), Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, adjusted the topline spending limit for the Appropriations Committee. The Fiscal Responsibility Act, which passed in June of this year, lifted the debt limit and established caps on discretionary spending for the next two fiscal years. […]
Washington, D.C.—Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury released a statement on the Fiscal Year 2023 budget results. According to the statement, federal revenues fell to 16.5 percent of GDP last fiscal year, down from 19.3 percent in 2022. Revenues have only been that low six times since 1962 (not including the period immediately […]
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 “Improving Care, Lowering Costs: Achieving Health Care Efficiency.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: Ranking Member Grassley and members of the Committee, today’s hearing is about excess costs in health care and ways we can […]
Washington, D.C.—The latest Republican effort to defund Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax enforcement would increase the deficit by $24 billion, finds the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in a new analysis provided to Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). In an amendment that the Senate may soon consider to the minibus appropriations bill, Senator […]
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 “Medicare Forever: Protecting Seniors by Making the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: Ranking Member Grassley and members of the Committee, today’s hearing is about guaranteeing Medicare solvency by balancing […]
Washington, D.C.—A new estimate from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of the Actuary, released today, finds that the Medicare and Social Security Fair Share Act would extend the Medicare Hospital Insurance trust fund’s solvency indefinitely by making the nation’s highest earners contribute a fairer share. The legislation, which uses the same Medicare […]
Washington, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, spoke on the Senate floor about the Committee’s ongoing bipartisan investigation into Credit Suisse’s Nazi ties. The investigation has exposed new details about Credit Suisse’s historical servicing of Nazi clients and Nazi-linked accounts, which in some cases continued until as recently […]
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 “Reducing Inequality, Fueling Growth: How Public Investment Promotes Prosperity for All.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: Ranking Member Grassley and members of the Committee, Today’s hearing is about how economic inequality impedes economic growth. Economic […]
Washington, D.C.—Today, the Republicans on the House Budget Committee released the text of a budget resolution to be marked up tomorrow, September 20, 2023, just ten days before the end of the fiscal year. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement: “In June, Congress passed a bipartisan […]
Laurens van Beek grew up in Iowa City, attended the University of Iowa, and landed a job at a DNA technology firm after graduation. But a year ago he was forced to leave the US for the Netherlands, a country he hadn’t visited since he was seven years old. About a quarter million “documented dreamers” […]
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 “Unlocking America’s Potential: How Immigration Fuels Economic Growth and Our Competitive Advantage.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: Co-Chairman Padilla, Ranking Member Grassley, Senator Lee and members of the committee, distinguished witnesses, and guests: This […]
Washington, D.C.—Today, consistent with the bipartisan agreement to avert default, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, adjusted the topline spending limit for the Appropriations Committee to allow this week’s minibus bill to proceed. The Fiscal Responsibility Act, which passed in June of this year, lifted the debt limit and established spending […]
Washington, D.C.—In case you missed it, Project Syndicate published an opinion piece today by Senator Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, highlighting the mounting economic risks from climate change. Across ten Budget Committee hearings, central bankers, financial experts, economists, insurance executives, political leaders, and other thoughtleaders have testified that in addition to the immediate […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Persistent and bipartisan oversight by the Senate Budget Committee has exposed new details that show Credit Suisse’s internal investigation into its servicing of Nazi clients and their enablers was insufficient, allowing the bank to continue to obscure details of its historic servicing of Nazi clients and their enablers. Pursuant to subpoena, the Budget Committee […]
WASHINGTON, D.C.– Persistent and bipartisan oversight by the Senate Budget Committee has exposed new details that show Credit Suisse’sinternal investigation into its servicing of Nazi clients and their enablers was insufficient, allowing the bank to continue to obscure details of its historic servicing of Nazi clients and their enablers. Pursuant to subpoena, the Budget Committee […]
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement on the recent decision by Fitch Ratings. “It is a straight line from Republicans’ manufactured debt crisis to Fitch’s downgrade. Years of Republicans’ debt limit brinkmanship, showering billionaires with tax giveaways, and campaigning for economic default have come with a […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. — According to a new report—commissioned in 2020 by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Chairman of the Committee on the Budget, and released yesterday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO)—the gap in retirement account balances between middle- and high-income older households more than doubled from […]
Today, House and Senate leadership re-appointed Dr. Phillip Swagel to a second four-year term as Director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). As required by the Congressional Budget Act, the appointment was made jointly by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and President Pro Tempore of the Senate Patty Murray (D-WA), upon the […]
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 “Beyond the Breaking Point: The Fiscal Consequences of Climate Change on Infrastructure.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: Ranking Member Grassley, members of the committee, witnesses, and guests, welcome to the tenth in our series on […]
Washington, D.C. – Reneging on the bipartisan budget agreement that was signed into law to avoid a catastrophic default, House Republicans are proposing cuts to Fiscal Year 2024 spending bills that would cost a half a million jobs and reduce GDP growth by $138 billion next year, according to analysis published today by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. […]
Washington, D.C.—This week, the Senate Budget Committee held a hearing on protecting Social Security for all by making the wealthy pay a fairer share. Witnesses all made clear that the only way to prevent cuts is to raise revenue. WATCH: All 5 witnesses agreed: The only way to protect Social Security for all is to raise revenue. Republicans […]
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 “Protecting Social Security for All: Making the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: Since the start of this Congress, my distinguished ranking member and many of the Republican members of this Committee […]
Washington, D.C.—New analysis released today by the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Chief Actuary finds the Medicare and Social Security Fair Share Act, originally introduced by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and with companion legislation introduced today by Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA-02), would extend Social Security solvency indefinitely by making the nation’s highest earners contribute their fair share. The Chief […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. â The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a global Jewish human rights organization dedicated to confronting anti-Semitism, hate and terrorism, recognized Budget Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) for their efforts to shine a light on previously-undisclosed Nazi-linked accounts held by Credit Suisse.
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 “Dollars and Degrees: Investigating Fossil Fuel Dark Money’s Systemic Threats to Climate and the Federal Budget.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: Before we get to our opening statements, I’d like to take a moment to […]
Washington, D.C.— Today, Senator Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, delivered the following remarks after the House Ways & Means Committee began marking up Republicans’ new tax package, which would increase the deficit, undo climate progress, and deliver tax cuts that would primarily benefit large corporations and the wealthy. Watch: Video of Senator […]