Chairman's Press
Whitehouse Launches Investigation into Citizens Property Insurance Amid Questions About Company’s Long-Term Solvency
Washington, D.C.—Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, launched an investigation into Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. The Committee seeks documents and information about Citizens’ plans to address increased underwriting losses from climate-related extreme weather events and other disasters such as tropical cyclones, intense precipitation events, droughts, heatwaves, sea level rise, and wildfires. This probe builds on two previous, and ongo… Continue Reading
11.15.23
Whitehouse Slams Republicans for Again Seeking to Reward Wealthy Tax Cheats
Washington, D.C.—Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement after Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) insisted the Senate vote on his amendment to cut $30 billion from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and 15 percent from all discretionary spending except veterans and defense as a condition of keeping the government open. A new, informal estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found the IRS rescissions would re… Continue Reading
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
