Oversight
CBO Estimate: 2024 Deficit Reaches $1.8 Trillion under Biden-Harris Spending
WASHINGTON - The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) today estimated the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 deficit was $1.8 trillion, double what the agency projected when the Biden-Harris administration took office. Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) issued the following statement on the need to reverse course. “President Biden and Vice President Harris have ignored resounding messages from Iowans and Americans nationwide, as well as alarms from global credit ratings … Continue Reading
10.04.24
Grassley: Biden-Harris Stonewalling Prevents CBO from Conducting Complete Analysis of President’s 2025 Budget
WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today issued the following statement on the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)’s report, “An Analysis of the President’s 2025 Budget.” “Biden-Harris pie-in-the-sky policy proposals are so unrealistic CBO can’t even calculate their budget impact. This administration's unprecedented lack of transparency and fiscal discipline is insulting to Congress and the taxpayer,” Grassley said. “President Biden and Vice President Harris shouldn’t count on Co… Continue Reading
10.03.24
CBO Confirms: Biden-Harris Medicare Cost-Shifting Policy Will Cost Taxpayers Billions
WASHINGTON - The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued its fiscal analysis of the Biden-Harris administration’s Medicare Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration Program. Among other findings, CBO estimates the program - which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched to artificially lower seniors’ premiums that have surged due to Democrat policymaking - could cost taxpayers more than $21 billion over three years if implemented as planned. CBO conducted it… Continue Reading
09.25.24
Grassley Calls for Continued Oversight to Address Housing Affordability
Opening Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Ranking Member, Senate Budget Committee Hearing titled, “The Costs of Inaction: Economic Risks from Housing Affordability” Wednesday, September 25, 2024 VIDEO Mr. Chairman, [Housing affordability] is an issue central for Iowans and all Americans, something they care about deeply. It’s very central to what both Republicans and Democrats call the “American Dream.” Over the past four years, Americans saw home prices and, particularly, … Continue Reading
09.11.24
Grassley Calls for Bipartisan Approach to Social Security
Opening Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Ranking Member, Senate Budget Committee Hearing titled, “Social Security Forever: Delivering Benefits and Protecting Retirement Security” Wednesday, September 11, 2024 VIDEO Before I continue my opening statement, I want to acknowledge today being the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Time can’t erase the horrors of that day. We must always remember the thousands of Americans who lost their lives to terrorism. And we are forever… Continue Reading
08.27.24
Grassley, Arrington Request CBO Analyze Fiscal Impacts of New Biden-Harris Medicare Cost-Shifting Policy
WASHINGTON - Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) are calling for a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of a demonstration program the Biden-Harris administration launched to artificially lower Medicare Part D premium payments using taxpayer dollars. This Premium Stabilization Demonstration Program is a reaction to consequences of Democrats’ Inflation “Reduction” Act (IRA), as the law has allowed insur… Continue Reading
07.31.24
Grassley: ‘There are Many Holes in the Rapid EV Transition Fantasy’
Opening Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Ranking Member, Senate Budget Committee Hearing titled, “‘Charging Ahead’ The Future of Electric Vehicles” Wednesday, July 31, 2024 VIDEO Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome to our expert witnesses. Our last hearing was with Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Swagel. The hearing was a very welcome event at this committee. Unfortunately, [it was] a rare opportunity for this committee to focus on the critical, broken budget proce… Continue Reading
07.09.24
CBO Director Says High Interest Rates Restrict Federal Policymaking, Stifle Private Sector
WASHINGTON - Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today questioned Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Phillip Swagel about the dangers of Democrats’ tax proposals, high interest rates and the Biden administration’s regulatory agenda. VIDEO Grassley’s questions, including notable excerpts, follow. Current Interest Levels: Grassley: “Recently, the Wall Street Journal published an essay discussing historical examples of fiscal mismanagement contributing to t… Continue Reading
07.09.24
At Grassley’s Urging, CBO Director Testifies on the U.S. Budget Outlook for First Time Since 116th Congress
WASHINGTON - Per Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)’s request, the Senate Budget Committee is hosting Phillip Swagel, director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), to testify on the 10-year budget and economic outlook. This Congress, Democrat committee leaders have predominantly focused on climate change and the environment; they also held a hearing on reproductive issues. Grassley has vigorously pushed back against the committee’s misguided agenda, noting the nation is at… Continue Reading
06.18.24
CBO: National Debt to Reach Record Share of GDP in Just Three Years
WASHINGTON - Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today issued a statement on the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)’s new 10-year budget and economic outlook. “Congressional Democrats and the White House ought to read this report cover to cover. After reviewing the data, it’d be unthinkable for anyone to consider continuing down the current fiscal path,” Grassley said. “The Biden administration has saddled generations of Americans with inflationary conditions and astr… Continue Reading
06.12.24
Grassley Opening Remarks on Tax Loopholes
Opening Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Ranking Member, Senate Budget Committee Hearing titled, “Making Wall Street Pay Its Fair Share: Raising Revenue, Strengthening Our Economy” Wednesday, June 12, 2024 VIDEO Mr. Chairman, Initially, I thought today’s hearing related to federal revenues was a nice change of pace, particularly when compared to the 19 hearings we’ve had in this committee on global warming. As I said last year at our first hearing concerning tax issu… Continue Reading
06.05.24
Grassley Underscores Need to Tackle $34.5 Trillion Debt, Exploding Interest Rates
Opening Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Ranking Member, Senate Budget Committee Hearing titled, “Riskier Business: How Climate is Already Challenging Insurance Markets” Wednesday, June 5, 2024 VIDEO If the federal government is going to remain ready to respond to natural disasters and national emergencies, wehave to have the capabilityof doing that.It seems that begs the need to put the nation’s fiscal house in order. Yet, even with interest on our national debt, set t… Continue Reading
05.22.24
Grassley: ‘We Iowans prefer to confront problems head on’
Opening Statement by Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa Ranking Member, Senate Budget Committee “Droughts, Dollars and Decisions: Water Scarcity in a Changing Climate” Wednesday, May 22, 2024 VIDEO Mr. Chairman,Ithank you for recognizing the tragedy that happened in Greenfield, Iowa. If you werewatching morning television that’s national, you would have seen it on television this very morning. So before we start, since the Senate is in session and I can’t be in Iowa, I want to share th… Continue Reading
05.15.24
Grassley Delivers Opening Statement on National Security Risks Posed by Ballooning Debt
Opening Statement by Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa Ranking Member, Senate Budget Committee “Budgeting for the Storm: Climate Change and the Costs to National Security” Wednesday, May 15, 2024 VIDEO Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is the Budget Committee’s 17th hearing on climate change this Congress, but it is the first with a national security angle. Everyone knows that national security is the number one responsibility of the federal government under our constitution. … Continue Reading
05.08.24
Grassley Opening Statement on Reducing Administrative Burdens, Improving Patient Access and Lowering Taxpayer Costs in Health Care
Opening Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Ranking Member, Senate Budget Committee “Reducing Paperwork, Cutting Costs: Alleviating Administrative Burdens in Health Care” Wednesday, May 8, 2024 VIDEO Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding today’s hearing on reducing administrative burdens in health care. Our country spends more than 4.5 trillion dollars annually on health care. Our spending has more than tripled as a percentage of gross domestic product since 1960. Growing health c… Continue Reading
05.02.24
Wall Street Journal Sides with Iowans: The Budget Committee Ought to Focus on the Budget
WASHINGTON - The Wall Street Journal amplified concerns Iowans are sharing at Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-Iowa) 99 county meetings regarding our nation’s budgetary crisis. In a recent column discussing the “bizarre” climate agenda set by the Senate Budget Committee’s Democrat majority, the Wall Street Journal emphasized Iowans’ rightful frustration with Washington, D.C.’s refusal to focus on budgetary reform. Grassley, the Senate Budget Committee’s Ranking Member, recently led Budget Republicans i… Continue Reading
05.01.24
Grassley Opening Statement at Budget Hearing on Big Oil
Prepared Opening Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Ranking Member, Senate Budget Committee Hearing on “Denial, Disinformation, and Doublespeak: Big Oil’s Evolving Efforts to Avoid Accountability for Climate Change” Wednesday, May 1, 2024 VIDEO Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to start by airing some disappointments I have regarding the process of this hearing and underlying documents. When I was Chairman of the Finance Committee, during my Biden investigation, I ensured that R… Continue Reading
04.15.24
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
04.12.24
What They Are Saying: Washington Wakes Up to Senate Budget Republicans’ Case for Fiscal Focus
WASHINGTON - Senate Budget Committee Republicans’ push to reorient the committee’s focus to fiscal matters is taking hold in Washington. Under Democratic leadership, the Budget Committee this Congress has held 15 hearings on the climate and just three directly on the budget. Republicans received kudos for their letter this week pushing back on the committee’s misguided trajectory. “Witness the amazing debate now under way at the Senate Budget Committee, where Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D., R.… Continue Reading
04.10.24
Grassley Provides Insight on Efforts to Snuff Out Tax Evasion
Opening Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Ranking Member, Senate Budget Committee “Sunny Places for Shady People: Offshore Tax Evasion by the Wealthy and Corporations” Wednesday, April 10, 2024 VIDEO Mr. Chairman, I appreciate your holding today’s hearing on offshore tax evasion and closing the tax gap.I have some experience in this area. Talking about the tax gap, I remember how my late friend and former Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch used to refer to the tax gap… Continue Reading
