Ranking Member Press
CBO: Over 10 Percent of U.S. Population Will Be Uninsured Due to the Republican Big, Ugly Betrayal Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the below statement after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report showing that the number of uninsured Americans climbs to 37.4 million in 2036, or 10.4% of the population “largely because of provisions of the 2025 [Republican] reconciliation act.” The increased number of uninsured Americans include the 15 million people who won’t have health insurance… Continue Reading
07.23.26
ICE, CBP Now Sitting on $152 Billion After Republican Funding Bills
WASHINGTON, D.C. - As of the end of June, data from the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) SF-133 reports shows that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have $152 billion in unobligated funding from the two partisan funding bills that Republicans passed over the last year—the One, Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which was enacted in July 2025 and the Secure America Act, which became law in early June 2026. Following this news, U.S. Senator Jeff… Continue Reading
07.16.26
Merkley Statement on House Budget Committee’s Out-of-Touch Budget
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement after the House Budget Committee advanced a fiscal year 2027 budget resolution that kicks off a third reconciliation process to spend nearly $100 billion on wasteful programs, ignores the needs of working families, and funds Trump’s war of choice with Iran. “Over the past year and a half, Republicans have already passed two reconciliation bills—one that str… Continue Reading
07.14.26
Merkley, Wyden Demand Answers from Kennedy, Oz on Newly Formed Healthcare Advisory Committee
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley, Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, and Ron Wyden, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee and a senior member of the Senate Budget Committee, demanded answers from Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz on the newly formed Healthcare Advisory Committee. Merkley and Wyden expressed concerns with the Committee, i… Continue Reading
07.12.26
Merkley Statement on the Sudden Passing of Senator Lindsey Graham
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the below statement following the news of the passing of Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. “I am shocked to hear of the sudden passing of Senator Graham. We shared a strong interest in defending Ukraine and, to the surprise of many, in climate change. We got to know each other as we served together on three committees, including the Budget Committee, … Continue Reading
07.02.26
Peters, Schumer, Murray & Merkley Lead Senate Democrats in Demanding OMB Rescind Rule Giving President Sweeping Power to Politicize Federal Grants
WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Democratic Leader; Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee; and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, led the entire Senate Democratic caucus in demanding Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought immediately rescind OMB’s proposed regulation on federal financial… Continue Reading
06.25.26
Merkley Asks CBO To Examine the Long-Term Impact Higher than Expected Interest Rates Would Have on the National Debt
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, calls on the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to examine how the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, the Republican signature undertaking that stripped health care and food assistance from families to give tax cuts to the wealthy, would affect the federal debt over the next 30 years. Merkley also asked how the debt would be impacted if interest rates rose even 1 percent more over this… Continue Reading
06.24.26
Merkley Statement on Trump’s Request for Nearly $88 Billion To Fund His Illegal War and Illegal Tariffs
Washington, D.C. - Today, President Trump formally requested that Congress spend an additional $88 billion in the form of a supplemental request. The majority of these funds would be spent to cover the costs and replenish wasted ammunitions from Trump’s war of choice with Iran while also covering the cost of his illegal tariffs that have hurt families and farmers across the country. Following this news, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement: “At a time when America… Continue Reading
06.23.26
After Republicans Gave ICE, CBP $70 Billion in New Funding Bill, Agencies Continue to Sit on $95 Billion from Previous Funding Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - After President Trump signed into law the Secure America Act, a Republican funding bill that gave Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) nearly $70 billion in new funding, data from the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) SF-133 reports shows that, as of the end of May, the two agencies are still sitting on $95 billion in unobligated funding from the One, Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that passed last July. Following this news, U… Continue Reading
06.17.26
As Trump Requests $1.5 Trillion for Pentagon, Sens. Markey and Merkley Press for Details on “Golden Dome” $1.2 Trillion Price Tag, Mission
Letter Text (PDF) Washington (June 17, 2026) - As Congress considers President Trump’s $1.5 trillion request for Pentagon spending and SpaceX wins billions in Golden Dome contracts, Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Representatives John Garamendi (CA-08) and Don Beyer (VA-08), co-chairs of the bicameral Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group, today led their colleagues in a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, demanding further information on the … Continue Reading
06.16.26
Merkley Asks CBO to Detail How Investing in Flood Adaptations Can Affect the Federal Budget
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, requested that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) conduct a study of how federal spending for flood adaptations now is likely to affect the federal budget. Merkley specifically asked CBO to estimate the amount of potential future savings that could accrue to the federal government for every dollar it spends on flood adaptation and mitigation. A previous CBO report published i… Continue Reading
06.16.26
Merkley Opening Statement at Duncan Nomination Hearing
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) delivered the following opening statement at the nomination hearing for Hal Duncan to be Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Sen. Merkley’s remarks, as prepared for delivery follow: Thank you, Chairman Graham. And thank you, Mr. Duncan, for joining us. Today, we will consider your nomination to be Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget. This is a position of immense… Continue Reading
06.09.26
Merkley Responds to Trustees’ Reports That Big, Ugly Betrayal Law Moves Up Insolvency Dates for Social Security, Medicare
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement after the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees released their annual reports showing that Social Security’s Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund’s insolvency date moved up one quarter to late 2032, and Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund’s projected insolvency date moved up in 2033. These changes in insolvency dates are due in part to the… Continue Reading
06.05.26
Merkley Statement on Oil and Gas Lease Sales from Republican Big, Ugly Betrayal Law Failing to Meet the Levels Promised
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, released the below statement after the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management released a report stating that oil and gas lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) totaled $3.7 million, with $1.8 million going to the federal government. This is tens of millions of dollars sho… Continue Reading
06.05.26
Merkley: Republicans Vote to Ignore Working Americans and Cater to Trump’s Demands
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the below statement after Senate Republicans voted to pass their funding bill that will give Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) nearly $70 billion. This bill provides zero relief to working families who are facing sky-high costs. “It is insanity to send $70 billion of Americans’ hard-earned money to two rogue agencies that are already sittin… Continue Reading
05.28.26
Warren, Merkley, Schumer, Lawmakers Urge Nonpartisan Congressional Scorekeeper to Determine True Cost of War in Iran
“The American people deserve to know the true costs of this conflict, and they deserve transparency and honesty when their government commits the nation to war.” Text of Letter (PDF) Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, along with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), led a coalition of lawmakers in urging the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to determine the true cost of war in Iran… Continue Reading
05.21.26
Merkley, Wyden Demand Oz Detail How Health Care Providers’ Personal Information, Including Social Security Numbers, Were Published to Public Portal
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley, Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, and Ron Wyden, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, ask Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to answer for how the highly sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers, of health care providers ended up on the public provider directory portal, leaving these providers subject to a substantial risk of identity theft. “Repo… Continue Reading
05.20.26
As Senate Republicans Move to Give ICE, CBP $70 Billion, Agencies Are Sitting on $100 Billion from Previous Reconciliation Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - As Senate Republicans prepare to pass a funding bill that would give Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) nearly $70 billion in new funding, data from the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) SF-133 reports shows that, as of the end of April, the two agencies are sitting on $100 billion in unobligated funding from the One, Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that passed last July. Following this news, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR),… Continue Reading
05.20.26
Merkley Calls on Independent Watchdogs to Probe Trump’s New “Golden Fleet” Battleship Program
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, called on two independent, nonpartisan agencies—the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)—to investigate President Donald Trump’s proposed “Golden Fleet” initiative, including the new Trump-class battleship and frigate that together could cost more than $200 billion. Merkley is requesting in-depth reviews citing the Navy’s decades-long pattern… Continue Reading
05.20.26
Merkley Opening Statement at Budget Committee Markup on Republican ICE and Border Patrol Slush Fund Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, delivered the following opening statement at a Senate Budget Committee markup hearing on the Republican bill that would gift Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) nearly $70 billion and throw $1 billion at Trump’s gilded ballroom. Sen. Merkley’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow: American families are pressed to the wall. I recently hel… Continue Reading