Ranking Member Press

11.08.23

Whitehouse: “If you care about debt and deficits, you should want a well-funded, well-functioning IRS.”

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 “Fairness and Fiscal Responsibility: Cracking Down on Wealthy Tax Cheats.”  Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: Today’s hearing is entitled “Fairness and Fiscal Responsibility: Cracking Down on Wealthy Tax Cheats.”  Most Americans follow the law and pay their taxes on time and in full.  Many of the very… Continue Reading


11.02.23

Budget Committee Launches Investigation into Climate Change-Fueled Insurance Crisis

Washington, D.C.—Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and fellow Committee member Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) launched an investigation into how insurance companies are navigating mounting risks from climate change, including where companies will next pull coverage or raise premiums. The inquiry builds on a related investigation the Committee launched in June into the U.S. insurance industry’s decisions to continue investing in and underwriting fossil fuel exp… Continue Reading


11.01.23

Whitehouse: IRS Cuts in Republicans’ Israel Supplemental Would Increase Deficit

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 statement:   “Republicans never m… Continue Reading


10.31.23

MEMORANDUM: Cuts to IRS tax enforcement would increase the deficit

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, but CBO has already scored Republicans’ attempted IRS clawbacks four times this year and found all would incre… Continue Reading


10.30.23

NEWS: New GAO Report Finds Pandemic Assistance Helped Reduce Credit Card Debt for America’s Working Class for First Time in Over a Decade

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 report was commissioned by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Commi… Continue Reading


10.25.23

Whitehouse: “If you care about inflation, you’d better care about climate disruption”

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 climate change poses to the federal budget, to American families and businesses,… Continue Reading


10.24.23

Whitehouse: Statement on Adjusting Topline Spending Limit to Fund Disaster Relief, Address Effects of Climate Change

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.  But the Congressional Budget Act allows for extra funding above the caps if Congress deems it an emerge… Continue Reading


10.20.23

Whitehouse: Republicans’ fixation on tax cuts for billionaires is driving up the national debt

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 following the Great Recession).  Even without the one-time drop in the deficit from the Supreme Court striking down President Biden’s student debt forgiveness … Continue Reading


10.18.23

Whitehouse: Making Health Care More Efficient Will Improve Quality of Care, Reduce Costs

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 reduce the budget by spending health care dollars more efficiently. As I poin… Continue Reading


10.17.23

Proposed Cuts to IRS Enforcement Would Add $24 Billion to Deficit, CBO Finds

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 Rand Paul (R-KY) proposes cutting more than $25 billion from the IRS, a move that would help large corporations a… Continue Reading


09.27.23

Senator Whitehouse: We Can and Must Protect Medicare Without Cutting Benefits

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 the tax system so it’s less rigged and more fair — two good goa… Continue Reading


09.20.23

Whitehouse, Boyle Legislation to Protect Medicare for Seniors, Make Wealthiest Pay Fair Share Would Extend Solvency Indefinitely

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 revenue proposals as those included in President Biden’s Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2024, was originally introduced by Se… Continue Reading


09.20.23

Chairman Whitehouse: Floor Remarks on Committee’s Bipartisan Investigation of Credit Suisse’s Nazi Ties

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 as 2020, and has raised new questions about the bank’s role in supporting Nazis fleeing justice follo… Continue Reading


09.20.23

Senator Whitehouse: Economic Inequality Constricts Economic Growth and Undermines Economic Stability

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 growth is essential for our nation and its people.  Fosteri… Continue Reading


09.19.23

Sen. Whitehouse Statement on House Republicans’ Budget Resolution

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 budget agreement—negotiated under MAGA Republican threat of a U.S default—that set spending levels for the next two years. That agreement was… Continue Reading


09.13.23

Bloomberg Law: Removing ‘Documented Dreamers’ Harms Economy, Senators to Hear

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” in the US on dependent visas, like van Beek, are at risk of aging out of legal status when they turn 21 because their immigrant parents are stuck in the green card backlog or otherwise have no path… Continue Reading


09.13.23

Senator Whitehouse: Broken Immigration System Harms People, Reduces Economic Growth and Competitiveness

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 morning, we discuss the role that immi… Continue Reading


09.12.23

Senator Whitehouse’s Statement on Adjusting Topline Spending Limit for Minibus

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 caps for the next two fiscal years. It allows for extra funding above the caps on defense and nondefense spendi… Continue Reading


09.11.23

ICYMI: As Economy-wide Risks from Climate Change Pile Up, Senator Whitehouse Urges Action

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 costs of emissions-driven natural disasters, climate change poses new syst… Continue Reading


08.17.23

Credit Suisse Failed to Fully Investigate Nazi-Linked Accounts, Full Report Confirms

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 obtained records, which it released in April 2023, that brought to light new evidence … Continue Reading

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