Chairman's Press
New Joint Bicameral Staff Report Reveals Big Oil’s Campaign of Climate Denial, Disinformation, and Doublespeak
Washington, D.C. (April 30, 2024)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, released a joint staff report, entitled “Denial, Disinformation, and Doublespeak: Big Oil’s Evolving Efforts to Avoid Accountability for Climate Change.” Today’s report marks a major milestone in a multi-year investigation—initiated by House Oversight Committee Democrats and now a joint investigat… Continue Reading
04.10.24
Whitehouse: Offshore Tax Evasion by Big Corporations, the Wealthy Cheats American People
Washington, D.C.—In advance of Tax Day on Monday, 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 “Sunny Places for Shady People: Offshore Tax Evasion by the Wealthy and Corporations.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: On Tax Day Monday, the vast majority of Americans will have paid the taxes they owe. That’s because most Americans have taxes taken out of every payc… Continue Reading
03.25.24
Chairman Whitehouse Responds to Committee Republicans’ Complaints, Details How Climate-Related Economic Risks Discussed in Committee Hearings Are Already Beginning to Occur
Washington, D.C.— Amid mounting warnings of economic and budgetary catastrophes caused by climate change, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, sent a letter to the Committee’s Republican members detailing how many of these warnings are already beginning to come true and imploring them to act to stave off climate-related systemic risks to the economy. “[W]hen at least $10 trillion of our national debt stems from two exogenous shocks to the economy—namely, t… Continue Reading
03.20.24
Whitehouse: Climate Change is Threatening the Outdoor Recreation Industry
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’shearing, titled “Recreation at Risk: The Nature of Climate Costs.” According to the latest data from the Department of Commerce, the outdoor industry generates $1.1 trillion in economic output, accounts for nearly five million jobs, and makes up 2.2% of U.S. GDP. But climate change is radically reshaping the outdoors and the outdoor industry… Continue Reading
03.19.24
Whitehouse Presses Citizens Property Insurance for Answers about Company’s Solvency
Washington, DC—Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent a letter on Monday to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation renewing all requests for information and documents set out in the Committee’s November letter related to the company’s plans to address increased underwriting losses from climate-related extreme weather events and other disasters. The letter follows new comments from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to CNBC that Citizens “is not solvent,” a statement that al… Continue Reading
03.12.24
Whitehouse Statement at Hearing on the President’s Budget
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 “The President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Proposal.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: Good morning to our Committee members, and a special welcome to our witness, Shalanda Young, Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Director Young, it’s always a pleasure to have you here before our Committ… Continue Reading
03.11.24
Whitehouse Statement on the President’s FY 2025 Budget Proposal
Washington, D.C.—Today, Senator Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement after President Biden released his Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2025: “President Biden has released a fiscally responsible budget that puts the middle class first and lays out a vision for a stronger, safer, and more prosperous America. “From lowering health care and prescription drug costs for tens of millions of Americans, to ensuring Medicare solvency forever and pro… Continue Reading
03.06.24
Whitehouse Holds Hearing Highlighting How Strengthening Primary Care Would Improve Patient Health, Reduce Costs
Washington, D.C.—This morning, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, held a hearing titled “How Primary Care Improves Health Care Efficiency,” to highlight how strengthening primary care can deliver better health care, lower costs, and improve outcomes for patients. The U.S. spends more on health care as a share of its GDP than peer countries, but U.S. life expectancy is below that of its peers—and it is falling. At the hearing, Chairman Whiteh… Continue Reading
03.06.24
Whitehouse Advances Bipartisan REEF Act to Protect Railroad Workers’ Unemployment and Sickness Insurance Benefits
Washington, D.C.—This morning, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, held a legislative markup of S. 1274, the Railroad Employee Equity and Fairness (REEF) Act. The bipartisan legislation would permanently exempt railroad workers’ unemployment and sickness insurance benefits from mandated sequestration cuts. It was introduced by Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), with original co-sponsors Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). The Bud… Continue Reading
03.05.24
Chairman Whitehouse Announces Markup of Bipartisan REEF Act
Washington, D.C.—Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) announced today that the Committee will hold a markup of the bipartisan Railroad Employee Equity and Fairness (REEF) Act on Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at 9:30 AM in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 608. The legislation was introduced by Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) with original co-sponsors Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). What: Markup of S. 1274, The Railroad Employee Equity and Fairness (… Continue Reading
02.29.24
Republicans’ IRS cuts to add $24 billion to the deficit, finds CBO
Washington, D.C.—While holding hostage the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, MAGA Republicans demanded $20 billion in cuts to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) now finds will add $24 billion to the deficit—even more than previously reported. According to a new CBO report, prepared at the request of Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), the net increase to the deficit is 24% larger than CBO had previousl… Continue Reading
02.28.24
WHITEHOUSE: “Reproductive justice is economic justice”
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 “No Rights to Speak of: The Economic Harms of Restricting Reproductive Freedom.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: I call this hearing to order. Today we will discuss women’s rights — their right to bodily autonomy, their right to set the course of their own life, and their right to economic freedom. … Continue Reading
02.07.24
Chairman Whitehouse Statement on CBO Baseline
Washington, D.C.—Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, issued a statement following the annual release of the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) Budget and Economic Outlook: “Today’s CBO baseline confirms that Democrats’ investments to jumpstart our recovery and promote a stronger economy worked: CBO is now projecting faster economic growth, lower deficits, and lower unemployment. “Despite coordinated obstruction from the fossil fuel industry and … Continue Reading
01.31.24
WHITEHOUSE: Expanding Housing Affordability Drives Economic Growth
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 “A Blueprint for Prosperity: Expanding Housing Affordability.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: Welcome back, Senator Johnson. This morning, we’ll discuss how investments in expanding housing affordability can drive economic growth. For decades, the United States has faced a housing affordability pr… Continue Reading
01.24.24
WHITEHOUSE: Warming Oceans Pose Economy-Wide Risks
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 “Warming Seas, Cooling Economy: How the Climate Crisis Threatens Ocean Industries.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: These hearings on the economic and budgetary costs of climate change press the point that caring about debt and deficits requires caring about climate change. From creeping climate inf… Continue Reading
01.10.24
WHITEHOUSE: Climate change is threatening the municipal bond market
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 “Investing in the Future: Safeguarding Municipal Bonds from Climate Risk.” Chairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: Welcome to the first hearing of the Senate Budget Committee in 2024 and our twelfth hearing on the looming fiscal dangers of climate change. In the year since we started, climate economic warn… Continue Reading
01.05.24
CBO Report Shows Devastating Impact of Republicans Walking Away from Debt Limit Agreement
This afternoon, CBO released a letter that showed just how devastating sequestration cuts to nondefense discretionary (NDD) programs would be under the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) if funding remained at the amount specified in the current continuing resolution (CR) and Republicans are allowed to walk away from the bipartisan spending deal. Because the analysis is based only on the statutory caps, it excludes the additional $69 billion in NDD resources (the “side deal”) that the debt limit … Continue Reading
12.19.23
Whitehouse Calls Out Republican Hypocrisy on Deficit Reduction
Washington, D.C.—Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, released a letter calling out Congressional Republicans for their hypocrisy when it comes to deficit reduction. The letter, responding to a letter dated December 5, 2023, from Ranking Member Grassley and Republican members of the Budget Committee, highlights Republicans’ support for budget-busting tax cuts for the wealthy, their lack of proposals to address Medicare’s and Social Security’s impend… Continue Reading
12.07.23
Senate Budget Committee Digs into Impact of Private Equity Ownership in America’s Hospitals
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today opened a bipartisan investigation into the effects of private equity ownership on our nation’s hospitals. Senators Whitehouse and Grassley sent letters to the chief executive officers (CEOs) of Leonard Green & Partners, Prospect Medical Holdings, Medical Properties Trust, Apollo Global Management, Lifepoint Health, and Ottumwa Regional Health Center, a for-profit … Continue Reading
12.05.23
Credit Suisse Reinstates Independent Ombudsperson to Review Nazi-Linked Accounts as a Result of Budget Committee Investigation
WASHINGTON, D.C. - As a result of an ongoing bipartisan Senate Budget Committee investigation, Credit Suisse has agreed to reinstate Independent Ombudsperson Neil Barofsky to oversee the bank’s internal investigation into its historic servicing of previously undisclosed Nazi-linked accounts. Credit Suisse was approached in 2020 with credible information that it had held potential Nazi-linked accounts that had notbeen previously identified or disclosed. The bank retained Neil Barofsky of Jenner… Continue Reading
