Ranking Member Press
Merkley: Families Lose, Billionaires Win Under Republican Budget Resolution
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley - Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee - released the following statement after Senate Republicans passed a FY25 budget resolution: “Families lose and billionaires win. That’s the heart of the Republicans budget resolution. “This Republican budget proposes $1 trillion cuts to programs for working families by the end of this fiscal year. The only way to cut $1 trillion by September 30 is to gut entire agencies and all of their serv… Continue Reading
02.13.25
Merkley: Republicans Are Running Up Massive Debt at Betrayal of America’s Working Families
WASHINGTON, D.C. -Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley - Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee - released the following statement after Republicans passed a FY25 budget resolution through committee:? “This Republican budget opens the door to massive cuts for families. Democrats on the committee offered amendment after amendment to protect health care, housing, and education - all of the foundations working families need to thrive - and Republicans blocked every single one of them, all to… Continue Reading
02.13.25
Merkley, Murray, Peters Seek Clarity on Scope, Reach of OMB Funding Cuts, Who Authored Disastrous Memo
WASHINGTON, DC - Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-MI) continued their Congressional oversight responsibilities of the Trump Administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) by seeking clarity on the scope and reach of the January 27th memo directing federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities relat… Continue Reading
02.12.25
Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member: House Republican Budget Proposal is “One Big, Awful Pile of Junk”
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) released the following statement after House Republicans released their version of a FY 2025 budget resolution: “This is one big, awful pile of junk. The House Republican FY 2025 Budget Resolution tees up a reconciliation bill that would eviscerate Medicaid, cut critical nutrition assistance for low-income families, and pull the rug out from under American students, all to pay for the Republicans’ massive tax gi… Continue Reading
02.07.25
Budget Committee Ranking Member Merkley: Proposed Budget Resolution is Bait and Switch for Working Families
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) released the following statement on the FY25 budget resolution: "Republicans are taking a blatant first step to give tax breaks to the already richest Americans—and our families will pay the price,” said Ranking Member Jeff Merkley. “The proposed budget resolution is a bait and switch. While Republicans claim it focuses on border security, in reality, it envisions massive cuts to programs that help families thri… Continue Reading
02.05.25
Budget Committee Ranking Member Merkley: Vought Dangerously Unfit to Lead OMB
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee—released the following statement as Senate Democrats speak on the Senate floor all night in opposition to the nomination of Russell Vought to serve as Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB): “Russell Vought is dangerously unfit to serve in government. As OMB Director, he would be the chief engineer of the Trump Train that will run over working families and the programs they … Continue Reading
01.28.25
Budget Committee Democrats, Leader Schumer Press to Delay Vought’s OMB Nomination
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Democratic members of the Senate Budget Committee along with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) demanded that Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) delay Russell Vought’s nomination to serve as Director of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) until he satisfactorily answers questions regarding his advice to the President relating to the illegal impoundment of Congressionally appropriated funds - questions that have taken on greater urgency in light of OMB’s directi… Continue Reading
01.28.25
Budget Committee Ranking Member Merkley Slams Illegal Federal Funding Freezes
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley - Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee - blasted the Trump administration’s late-night announcement freezing all federal funds, a clear violation of law and Congress’s constitutional duty to appropriate funds: “The President is not a king, and the laws Congress passes are not suggestions. The Trump administration must follow the law and immediately reverse this shameful order. “Federal funds are the foundations for our schoo… Continue Reading
01.22.25
Merkley Statement at Vought Nomination Hearing
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley - Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee - released the following statement as prepared for delivery for a hearing on the nomination of Russell Vought to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget: “Good morning, Chairman Graham, and congratulations on your new role leading this Committee. I look forward to continuing to work with you this Congress in these new roles. And to the new Members of this Committee - Senator C… Continue Reading
01.17.25
Budget Committee Ranking Member Merkley Statement on CBO Baseline
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley - Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee - issued the following statement following the annual release of the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) Budget and Economic Outlook: “America’s working families are stretched thin. Over the past few years, inflation pushed the price of basic necessities like groceries and rent or mortgage payments sky high, and for many, wages are simply not keeping pace. Additionally, today’s CBO repor… Continue Reading
01.07.25
Private Equity in Health Care Shown to Harm Patients, Degrade Care, and Drive Hospital Closures
Washington, D.C. - Today, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), in their respective capacities as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee during the 118th Congress, released a bipartisan staff report on the findings of their investigation into the ways in which private equity investment in health care has negative consequences for patients and providers. The Committee focused on two private equity firms—including the single-largest private equity in… Continue Reading
01.04.25
Senate Budget Committee Investigation into Nazi-Linked Credit Suisse Accounts Yields Extensive New Findings, Reveals Bank’s Historic Pattern of Obstruction
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Tens of thousands of documents uncovered as a result of a Senate Budget Committee investigation into Credit Suisse’s World War II-era accounts indicate extensive new evidence of previously unknown or only partially known Nazi-linked account holders. The bank failed to disclose these accounts during prior investigations. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) spearheaded the investigation in their capacities as Budget Committee Ranking Member and Chair… Continue Reading
12.23.24
CBO Backs Key Committee Findings on Economic Costs, Systemic Risks of Climate Change
Washington, D.C.— Climate change is poised to increase prices for families, erode property values, and destabilize the entire economy, confirmed the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). In a new, wide-ranging report, published at the request of Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), CBO backed key findings from the Committee’s examination of the costs that climate change is imposing on consumers, the federal budget, and the economy. Climate upheaval is already raising costs for American… Continue Reading
12.18.24
Trump’s Tariffs Would Boost Inflation, Shrink the Economy, CBO Finds
Washington, D.C. - Trump’s tariffs, which he proposed on the campaign trail, would hike prices on everyday goods and shrink the economy, according to a new estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The estimate was requested by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR). CBO examined the effects of a 10 percent across-the-board tariff on all imports and a 60 … Continue Reading
12.18.24
New Data Reveal Climate Change-Driven Insurance Crisis is Spreading
Washington, D.C.—Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, released a first-of-its kind public dataset and accompanying staff report that expose the scale of the climate change-driven crisis in homeowners’ insurance. With this release, the Committee makes publicly available—for the first time—an accounting of insurance non-renewals at the county level from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, covering the years 2018 through 2023. “Climate change … Continue Reading
12.17.24
Budget Committee Releases Sweeping New Report Highlighting Economic, Budgetary Costs of Climate Change
Washington, D.C.—Today, the Senate Budget Committee released a new report examining the economic dangers and budgetary costs of climate change. Across 19 hearings during the 118th Congress, the Budget Committee heard testimony from economists, central bankers, actuaries, insurance industry analysts, scientists, health care providers, farmers, academics, state and local government leaders, national security experts, and even conservative political leaders that remained consistent: climate change… Continue Reading
12.12.24
Democrats’ Health Care Proposals Would Make Sure 400,000 Additional Kids Receive Health Care, Boost Economic Growth, CBO Finds
Washington, D.C.—According to a new estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Democrats’ proposals to expand health care for children would extend Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage to 400,000 more children each year and increase U.S. gross domestic product by $31 billion in the long term. In 2024, Medicaid provided health coverage for 100 million people, including more than half of all children, and it covered more than 40 percent of all U.S… Continue Reading
12.11.24
Debt Ceiling Process Needlessly Exposes United States to Substantial Default Risk, Warns GAO
Washington, D.C. - The current debt ceiling process “exposes the country to an unnecessary risk of default,” concluded a new report published today by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Because spending and revenue decisions are separated from Treasury’s borrowing authority, and because Republicans frequently play political games with the debt ceiling, the United States faces substantial risk of catastrophic economic consequences from default. The report, prepared for Senator Sheldon W… Continue Reading
12.04.24
Extending Trump’s Tax Cuts for the Wealthy Will Shrink the Economy, CBO Finds
Washington, D.C. - In a new dynamic estimate of the Trump tax law, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that another round of Trump’s tax cuts for the ultrarich will shrink the United States economy over the long term. As Congress gears up for the 2025 tax debate, Republicans are pushing for even more giveaways to the wealthy and big corporations, which, according to CBO’s previous work, would add $4.6 trillion to the deficit. The new analysis shows that by adding so much to… Continue Reading
10.31.24
Whitehouse, Pallone Join Forces to Press Big Oil for Answers About Suspected Collusion with OPEC
Washington, D.C. — Today, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) announced they are joining forces to turn up the heat on fossil fuel companies suspected of illegally conspiring with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the international oil cartel, or representatives of its member countries to artificially raise prices on Americans and increase their own profits. Chair… Continue Reading