Oversight
Merkley, Wyden Call on Oz to Resolve Chaos as States Implement Trumpcare
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, and Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, called on the leadership of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to help states preserve key protections in Medicaid for children, seniors, and people with disabilities that were not repealed as a part of Trumpcare, amid confusion about how the massive Republican cuts will be implemented across the country. “… Continue Reading
10.11.25
Schumer, Merkley, Murray, Peters Call On Trump Budget Chief Russ Vought To Resign
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and US Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice-Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released the following joint statement calling for the resignation of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought. “Even before his first day… Continue Reading
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