Oversight

09.29.25

GAO Finds Trump Administration Again Violated the Impoundment Control Act by Withholding Funding

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) published additional findings that the Trump Administration again violated the Impoundment Control Act (ICA) by withholding funds appropriated for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement. “Donald Trump is not a king, and the laws of our land are not suggestions. The administration’s decision to withhol… Continue Reading


09.25.25

Merkley Statement on OMB’s Threat to Fire Public Servants if Republicans Shut Down the Government

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the below statement following release of the memo from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) detailing mass layoffs as Republicans continue on a path toward shutting down the government. “This threat has nothing to do with keeping the government open - it is just another strong arm attempt from Donald Trump and his hatchet man Russ Vought to dismantle the government piece by piece. T… Continue Reading


09.22.25

Merkley Leads Senators in Demanding CBO Probe Trump’s Wasteful Use of Taxpayer Dollars in Renaming Department of Defense

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, led nine of his Senate colleagues in calling on the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to probe the cost of President Donald Trump’s recent executive order renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War. The lawmakers requested this analysis because without action by Congress to pass legislation to legally rename the Department of Defense, the president’s executive o… Continue Reading


09.18.25

Premium Spikes, Coverage Loss Will Worsen If Republicans Fail to Act on Tax Credits, CBO Says

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. issued a statement after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the nonpartisan budget scorekeeper, released an analysis of the harm resulting from Republicans’ war on health care, including their repeated atta… Continue Reading


09.16.25

Merkley to Senate Colleagues: Reject Paul’s Disastrous Budget Proposal

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, urged his Senate colleagues to reject the budget proposal put forth by U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY). The Paul budget proposes cutting $22 trillion from vital programs and services like Medicare, border security, law enforcement, and federal prisons - while enshrining $4.8 trillion of tax cuts for the wealthy from the recently passed Big, Ugly Betrayal bill. Merkley’s remarks, as prepared … Continue Reading


09.16.25

Trump Administration Violated the Impoundment Control Act by Withholding Funding, GAO Reports

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) published additional findings that the Trump Administration violated the Impoundment Control Act by withholding funds appropriated for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement. “The administration’s decision to withhold this funding is not only irresponsible but illegal. These funds were appropriated by… Continue Reading


09.04.25

Federal Court Backs Up Merkley’s Call that Trump’s Pocket Rescission is Illegal

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the below statement following a ruling from U.S. District Judge Amir Ali that reaffirms Congress’s power of the purse. “A federal court slapped down Trump and Vought’s illegal attempt to use a ‘pocket rescission’ to claw back funding appropriated by Congress. This should not be a surprise to anyone; the Congress’s constitutional ‘power of the purse’ would have no meaning if the Pr… Continue Reading


08.29.25

Merkley Blasts Trump Administration for Invoking Illegal Maneuver to Claw Back Bipartisan, Congressionally Appropriated Foreign Aid

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the below statement after President Donald Trump announced plans to use an illegal, unconstitutional tactic known as a “pocket recission” to cancel billions in funding that Congress has appropriated. “Trump just made it clear that he is going to use an illegal and unconstitutional tactic known as a ‘pocket rescission’ to claw back bipartisan, congressionally appropriated funding. … Continue Reading


08.18.25

Trump’s Big, Beautiful-for-Billionaires Law Triggers $536 Billion Cut to Medicare Over Next Decade

Washington, D.C. - In Case You Missed It: the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a letter on Friday at the request of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA) confirming that by exploding the deficit, President Trump’s Big, Beautiful-for-Billionaires Law will automatically trigger the S… Continue Reading


08.11.25

New CBO Analysis Confirms Republicans’ Big Ugly Law Steals from the Poor, Gives to the Ultra-Rich

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirms that President Trump’s Big Ugly Law overwhelmingly benefits the ultra-rich, while working Americans pay the price. The report makes clear that the Big Ugly Law steals from working families to hand billionaires massive tax breaks. This report was requested by Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffri… Continue Reading


08.05.25

Merkley Statement on GAO Determination That Trump Administration Violated the Impoundment Control Act by Withholding NIH Grant Funding

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) published additional findings that the Trump Administration has violated the Impoundment Control Act by withholding appropriated National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant funding. U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement. “Withholding National Institutes of Health grant funding - that was appropriated by Congress and signed into law by the Pre… Continue Reading


08.04.25

CBO Tells Merkley: When Including Interest and Assuming Temporary Tax Provisions Are Made Permanent, “One Big, Beautiful Bill” Adds $5 Trillion to Debt

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) told U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, that when accounting for interest costs and assuming the temporary tax provisions of the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” are instead made permanent, the debt will increase by $5 trillion over the next 10 years. Recently, CBO released analysis showing that the bill will add $3.4 trillion to the debt excluding the increased interest on the nati… Continue Reading


07.31.25

Merkley Statement on Additional GAO Determination That Trump Administration Again Violated the Impoundment Control Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) published additional findings that the Trump Administration has violated the Impoundment Control Act by withholding appropriated funding for the Department of Energy’s Renew America’s Schools Program, which is intended to help K-12 public schools make necessary energy infrastructure improvements across the country. U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the followin… Continue Reading


07.30.25

After Republicans Passed The Largest Healthcare Cut In History And On The 60th Anniversary Of The Creation Of Medicaid And Medicare, Ranking Member Merkley, Leader Schumer, And Senate Democrats Introduce Legislation To Reverse Devastating Healthcare Cuts In Republicans’ “Big, Ugly Betrayal”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - After Republicans passed legislation earlier this month that would kick more than 15 million people off their health insurance and totals more than one trillion dollars in healthcare cuts, Senate Democrats are fighting back and pushing to reverse these devastating cuts and extend tax credits to make health care affordable. Today, Ranking Member of the Budget Committee, Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), along with Ranking Member of the Finance … Continue Reading


07.23.25

Merkley, Boyle, Durbin, Kaine Introduce Legislation to Prevent Future Debt Ceiling Hostage Taking

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, and U.S. Representative Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA-2), Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, introduced legislation that would end the political brinkmanship around the debt ceiling and allow for a process to suspend the debt ceiling, subject to a congressional override. In addition to Senator Merkley and Congressman Boyle, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) are cospo… Continue Reading


07.23.25

Merkley Statement on GAO’s Determination Showing the Trump Administration Again Violated the Impoundment Control Act by Withholding Funding for Head Start

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published an additional finding that the Trump Administration has violated the Impoundment Control Act by withholding appropriated funding for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Head Start program, which promotes school readiness, nutrition, and health of children from low-income families, including infants, toddlers, and pregnant women. U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Commit… Continue Reading


07.21.25

CBO Reports the Final “One Big, Beautiful Bill” Tally Will Add $3.4 Trillion to Deficits Over 10 Years

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the below statement following analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) showing that the final version of the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” that was signed into law will increase the debt by $3.4 trillion over the next 10 years, not including the increased interest costs of servicing the larger debt. “This law is devastating for our national debt and our country’… Continue Reading


07.18.25

Merkley, Sanders, Pallone, Boyle Statement on CBO’s Analysis Showing That Trump’s Proposed Cuts to NIH, FDA Will Mean Fewer Medications

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee; and U.S. Representatives Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA), Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, released the below statement following new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) showi… Continue Reading


07.17.25

Merkley Statement on Senate Republicans Rubber Stamping the Trump Administration’s Disastrous DOGE Cuts

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee and a senior member of the Senate Appropriations and Senate Foreign Relations Committees, released the following statement after Senate Republicans capitulated to the disastrous cuts proposed by the Trump Administration and intended to appease Elon Musk and the “Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).” This package will dismantle America’s foreign assistance infrastructure, including by effectiv… Continue Reading


07.03.25

Merkley: House Republicans Stand with Billionaires, Continue the Great Betrayal of Working Families

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the below statement after the House of Representatives passed the “One Big, Beautiful Bill.” “After Senate Republicans refused to stand with working families, House Republicans followed their lead and passed this disastrous bill where families lose, and billionaires win,” said Ranking Member Jeff Merkley. “Trump campaigned on fighting for working families, but Congressional Republic… Continue Reading

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