Ranking Member News
Saving Social Security Shouldn’t Be Political Kryptonite
by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley
During my first term in the U.S. Senate, Congress and the White House tackled what then-House Speaker Tip O’Neill had dubbed the third rail of politics: Social Security. That’s because those who spoke up about Social Security’s finances invariably learned the topic was political kryptonite. But President Ronald Reagan and Speaker O’Neill changed the narrative. By working together in good faith and across the aisle to save Social Security from insolvency, they showed Washington can solve problem… Continue Reading
02.23.23
Grassley: Joe Biden And I Fought Deficit Disaster Together As Senators. Four Decades Later, We Need Fiscal Sanity
by Sen. Chuck Grassley
In 1984, when faced with $200 billion deficits and a national debt nearing $2 trillion, an emphatic Democrat Sen. Joe Biden warned of "economic disaster" unless Congress took "dramatic actions on deficits right now." He was advocating for a government-wide spending freeze - a bipartisan proposal that he and I led to restore fiscal restraint to the federal government. Today, our total national debt has surpassed $31 trillion - 15 times larger than 1984. Our public debt as a share of our econ… Continue Reading
04.28.21
Biden’s $90 Billion Bailout to Tehran
by By Sen. Lindsey O. Graham, Morgan D. Ortagus
Rushing back into the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also called the Iran nuclear deal, would be a singularly seismic event leading to chaos and instability in the Middle East. U.S. President Joe Biden has inherited a relatively peaceful Middle East—not without its challenges—but one marked by historic peace agreements between several Arab countries and Israel after decades without movement on the recognition of Israel. Conversely, through U.S. sanctions and Iran’s own ineptit… Continue Reading
03.09.21
Reckless immigration policies – Biden team has no one to blame but themselve
by Sen. Lindsey Graham
The current situation at our southern border is unnerving. Despite recent claims by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that there is no crisis at our southern border, there is a major crisis brewing due to the misguided policies of the Biden administration. Whether it is the Biden administration's reversal of the Remain in Mexico policy, upcoming modifications to Title 42 allowing for expulsions because of COVID concerns, putting the moratorium on deportations, or stopping construc… Continue Reading
10.22.20
Under one roof — Reforming America’s federal housing programs
by Senator Mike Enzi
The economic damage wrought by the pandemic has revealed many things, and one glaring issue is the importance of an effective federal housing assistance system. Unfortunately, as millions of Americans are learning firsthand, we don't have that. The Senate Budget Committee, which I chair, just released what we hope is a meaningful report showing how the federal government's current approach to housing assistance is failing the neediest Americans. Moreover, it demonstrates that if we started from… Continue Reading
11.05.19
The unglamorous job of federal budgeting
by Sen. Michael B. Enzi and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse
OPINION - It is no secret that a vast majority of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing. Too often our political debates are characterized by hyperpartisanship, rather than achieving meaningful outcomes for the American people. Nowhere is this problem more acute than when it comes to our inability to address our country's unsustainable fiscal course. Our current budget process is broken, as evidenced by mounting debt and deficits, a patchwork of temporary spending bills, government … Continue Reading
08.16.19
Sen. Enzi: Editorial misleads on tax cuts, federal budget woes
by Sen. Mike Enzi
The problem stems from an aging population and rising health care costs - not from the 2017 tax reform. BY MIKE ENZI SPECIAL TO THE PRESS HERALD A recent editorial ("Our View: Deficit would be zero if not for tax cuts," Aug. 11) criticizing tax relief for American families and job creators makes a number of misleading assertions and glosses over uncomfortable facts that we as a nation must confront. Our country is on an unsustainable fiscal course, but this situation d… Continue Reading
03.27.19
Senate Budget Is a First Step to Strengthen America’s Future
by By Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY)
This week the Senate Budget Committee will consider a budget plan that will reduce deficits by half a trillion dollars over the next five years. The budget does not presume to solve all of our fiscal challenges. We've seen past plans with that aspiration, all of which have been ignored within weeks. This time we are calling for Congress to try a different approach. Working together, let's start the process of taking incremental, reasonable steps to rein in deficits and debt and provide the found… Continue Reading
07.16.18
Who watches the ‘watchdog?’
by SENS. MIKE ENZI (R-WYO.), AND DAVID PERDUE (R-GA.)
Enshrined in our Constitution is one of Congress' most important responsibilities-the power of the purse. This requires lawmakers in Washington to review each and every dollar spent to ensure that the federal government is accountable to the American people. The most common way for Congress to exercise this power is through the annual appropriations process, in which lawmakers allocate money to agencies and programs. Unfortunately, there is one federal agency that operates with little or no publ… Continue Reading
03.15.17
The Biggest Bank You’ve Never Heard Of
by Senator Mike Enzi
Imagine a financial institution that loans out a trillion dollars to students and families across America, but regularly ignores government regulations and uses questionable accounting practices. On top of that, this institution is actually being run by the federal government. What you have isn't just a terrible idea, it's the largest "bank" in America that the public has never heard of, and it's inside the U.S. Department of Education. While this bank has no shareholders, its stakeholders incl… Continue Reading
07.13.16
How to Break Through America's Budget Gridlock
by By Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY)
Last year could have been a big one for Congress, because it was able to pass its first joint balanced 10-year budget resolution since 2001 - a budget blueprint that would have put the nation's finances on a sustainable fiscal path. Unfortunately, within a month it was ignored. The truth is America's budget process is broken, and this dysfunction is preventing Congress from tackling the pressing fiscal challenges facing our country. The current budget process is designed only to spend, which fa… Continue Reading
05.11.16
Wanted: A Budget That Matters
by Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY)
Probably the worst kept secret in Washington is that America's budget process is broken. As chairman of the committee tasked with putting together a budget every year, I should know. Last year was a big one for our committee, because after years without a budget, the Senate last year was able to pass its first joint balanced budget since 2001. Unfortunately, just six months later it was ignored, and as a result our deficit and debt rose significantly. America's broken budget process no longer f… Continue Reading
03.24.16
U.S. News: The Budget's Broken. It's Time to Fix It
by Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY)
The recent spending and debt deal clearly illustrates that the federal budget process is in serious need of reform. America's current budget challenges are directly related to this breakdown and fixing it can put the country on a more responsible spending path going forward. If there was any doubt that the federal budget process is broken, consider this: Congress has passed budget resolutions in less than half of the last 15 fiscal years, and prior to this year's balanced budget resolution, the… Continue Reading
05.07.15
Getting serious about balancing the budget
by Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY)
This week, Congress approved its first balanced 10-year budget since 2001, which represented an important step toward putting our country on not just another course, but a better course. This balanced budget represents a "lean in" moment for a Congress under new management, to confront rapidly growing deficits borne from our government's habitual overspending, which plagues America and its taxpayers. Make no mistake, America faces difficult odds as we work to steer our ship of state to more sus… Continue Reading
03.23.15
Washington must live within its means
by Chairman Mike Enzi (R-WY)
Last week, Congress began the monumental task of confronting our nation's chronic overspending and exploding debt, which threaten each and every American. Make no mistake, our fiscal outlook is grim and has been ignored for far too long. But we have a profound moral responsibility to help taxpayers see the true picture of our country's finances. Republicans are proposing a responsible plan that balances the budget in 10 years with no new tax hikes, protects our most vulnerable citizens, strengt… Continue Reading
