09.25.24

Whitehouse Blasts Paul’s Budget

“This Budget Exists in Fiscal Fantasyland,” says the Budget Chairman

Washington, D.C.— U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, delivered the following remarks from the Senate Floor in opposition to Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) proposed budget, which would extend the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy—costing $4.6 trillion—while cutting $20 trillion in federal spending and omitting all details about what he would cut.

Senator Paul introduced his budget despite there already being a two-year budget deal in place—one that was negotiated by President Biden and then-Speaker McCarthy, passed by bipartisan votes in both houses, and signed into law on June 3, 2023—that is valid until September 30, 2025.

Senator Paul’s budget would cut all federal programs by 35 percent in its final year, and any plan that purports to balance the budget in five years, make permanent the Trump tax giveaways to the wealthy, and avoid cuts to Medicare, Social Security, veterans’ programs, and defense—all without raising new revenue—is arithmetically delusional. Prior analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found it would be mathematically impossible to do it in 10 years.

By a vote of 39-56, Senator Paul’s budget was defeated.

***WATCH: Video of Chairman Whitehouse’s floor speech available here***

Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery:

I rise today to speak in opposition to a budget resolution put forward by my colleague from Kentucky.

Last year, President Biden and then-Speaker McCarthy came to an agreement on top-line appropriations levels for the current fiscal year as well as the fiscal year beginning on October 1.  This bipartisan agreement—which included a 2-year budget deal—was passed by bipartisan votes in both houses and was signed into law by the President.

Let me say that again for my colleagues in the back: as of June 3, 2023, we have a bipartisan budget deal that is good for 2 years, until September 30, 2025.


And yet, just days before a government shutdown, House Republicans spent most of this month trying to figure out how much of the deal they could renege on to get votes from their fractured caucus.

Here in the Senate, this proposal also breaks the agreement, proposing $20 trillion in federal spending cuts over 10 years.

But not a single detail about where it would cut.

Republicans try to hide these cuts because they don’t want to reveal to the American people the likely results: cuts to Medicare; to veterans’ programs; to border security, national parks, law enforcement, TSA, affordable housing, education, and Medicaid; and of course the “drill, baby, drill” climate deniers would cut climate and clean air and water programs. 

In its final year, this budget cuts all those federal programs by 35 percent.

While this Republican budget attacks basic federal programs in the name of fiscal responsibility, Republicans plan to blow up the deficit by cutting taxes for their megadonors and big corporations.

Under one hat, Republicans pretend to be fiscally conservative and cut programs to reduce the national debt; under their other hat, they pursue more Trump tax cuts for the wealthy, increasing the debt by $4.6 trillion.

Last year, I asked CBO if it were mathematically possible to balance the budget within 10 years, extend the Trump tax cuts, and fully fund Social Security, Medicare, defense, and veterans’ programs. 

The answer from CBO?  No.

This budget exists in Fiscal Fantasyland.   

My Republican colleagues don’t want to hear it, but more than a third of our national debt stems not from deficits, but from economic shocks—the 2008 financial crisis and Covid.

As we’ve heard over and over again in the Budget Committee, the economic shocks from climate change will likely dwarf those we experienced during the financial crisis; say, one caused by a climate-driven insurance crisis that crashes mortgage markets and property values nationwide.

What we should do, in bipartisan fashion, is de-corrupt the tax code, so that big corporations and billionaires are no longer a favored, free-riding elite.

The Bush and Trump tax cuts—skewed to the wealthy and big corporations—are another third, $10 trillion, of the national debt.  Without those tax cuts, the debt-to-GDP ratio—our best fiscal safety metric—would be declining in perpetuity. 

Helping the wealthy avoid taxes is such an infatuation that House Republicans brought the United States to the brink of default to prevent the IRS from cracking down on wealthy tax cheats. 

If we want to address the national debt, preventing massive economic shocks, de-corrupting the tax code, and serious health care reform are the ways to go about it.

This is not.