Oversight
Sessions Delivers Opening Remarks At Committee Hearing On Economic Growth
"In my view, the key to stronger economic growth starts with removing burdens we impose on work, savings, and investment." WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, delivered an opening statement today at a Committee hearing on supporting broad-based economic growth and fiscal responsibility through tax reform. His remarks, as prepared, follow: "Chairman Murray, thank you for holding this hearing today. We all agree that public policies need to s… Continue Reading
05.17.13
CBO Confirms Obama 2014 Budget Does Not Change Dangerous Debt Course
The Congressional Budget Office's Analysis of the President's 2014 Budget shows that the policies proposed by President Obama would increase taxes by $972 billion and spending by $954 billion, yielding deficits and debt that are little changed from the levels expected under current law. As a result, the President's budget never reaches balance. Over the next 10 years, CBO estimates deficits in President's budget total $5.195 trillion, an average of $520 billion per year, significantly above the … Continue Reading
05.17.13
Sessions Comments On CBO’s Analysis Of President’s FY14 Budget
WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today regarding the Congressional Budget Office's re-estimate of President Obama's FY 2014 budget submission: "The new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office confirms, once again, that President Obama's financial vision of the country is dangerously unsustainable. According to CBO his plan would add $7.6 trillion to the debt, despite increasing taxes by $972 billion. I… Continue Reading
05.14.13
Sessions Comments On CBO’s Updated Budget Projections
WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today regarding the May baseline update from the Congressional Budget Office: "CBO's baseline update, while providing some favorable change in deficit estimates, shows that the nation still faces a serious long-term problem. After temporary improvement, deficits begin a relentless rise after 2015. Revenues increase by 46 percent over the following 8 years, but spending surges… Continue Reading
05.14.13
CBO’s Revised Outlook Still Projects Unsustainable Debt Path
The Congressional Budget Office's updated budget outlook projects that, under the baseline rules the agency is required by law to follow, spending will total $46.677 trillion over the next 10 years, revenues will total $40.336 trillion, and the debt will climb to $25.228 trillion by the end of 2023. These figures assume the continuation of the spending cuts required by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) and the tax increases that took effect on January 1. Deficits And Debt Deficits over the … Continue Reading
05.06.13
Sessions Comments On New Heritage Foundation Analysis Of Gang Of Eight Plan
"At a time when our nation's major entitlements are already nearing bankruptcy, we cannot afford to add another $6.3 trillion in long-term net costs to already over-burdened state, local, and federal governments… This bill may be good for the special interests who helped write it. But it's bad for workers, bad for taxpayers, and fails to serve the national interest." WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement … Continue Reading
05.01.13
America Spent Enough On Federal Welfare Last Year To Send $60,000 To Each Household In Poverty
A congressional report from CRS recently revealed that the United States now spends more on means-tested welfare than any other item in the federal budget-including Social Security, Medicare, or national defense. Including state contributions to the roughly 80 federal poverty programs, the total amount spent in 2011 was approximately $1 trillion. Federal spending alone on these programs was up 32 percent since 2008. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that almost 110 million Americans received som… Continue Reading
04.30.13
Ranking Member Sessions: Gang Of Eight Loopholes Mean Swift Access To Public Aid For Illegal Immigrants
"I hope the Gang's members will propose or support amendments to address the legislation's enormous federal costs and to ensure that illegal immigrants will not become dependent on already-burdened state and local benefit programs." WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today regarding a number of identified loopholes in the Gang of Eight bill that will allow illegal immigrants to access public benefits far soon… Continue Reading
04.18.13
How The Gang Of Eight Proposal Would Impact U.S. Taxpayers
On April 10th, Senators Sessions and Grassley, Ranking Members of the Budget and Judiciary Committees, along with former Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Pat Roberts, wrote an as-yet unanswered letter to the Gang of Eight concerning "the long-term costs that will be imposed on taxpayers once millions of illegal immigrants eventually become eligible not only for our nation's major entitlements but approximately 80 different means-tested welfare and low-income assistance programs." The letter… Continue Reading
04.17.13
Ranking Member Sessions Asks CBO To Provide Estimate Of Long-Term Cost Of Immigration Bill
"The legislation would enable millions of illegal immigrants to access federal and state welfare and entitlement programs, with the most significant costs occurring outside the 10-year budget window when they would be eligible for green cards and ultimately citizenship. No lawmaker should vote on this legislation until we have a complete and thorough estimation of the long-term cost." WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, sent a letter today … Continue Reading
04.10.13
President Obama’s Budget Achieves Virtually No Deficit Reduction
The President's 2014 budget never reaches balance, but asks taxpayers to send more money to Washington to grow the government. Relative to current law, the President would raise taxes by $1.083 trillion to increase spending by $1.025 trillion (including the President's 2013 proposals). The actual deficit reduction in this budget is only $59 billion, barely making a dent in the gross federal debt, which is expected to grow by $8.2 trillion, from $17.2 trillion at the end of this year to $25.4 tri… Continue Reading
04.10.13
Senate Committees Sound Alarm Over Cost Concerns With Gang Immigration Proposal
"It is essential that we have answers to these questions before any legislation is unveiled so that the public can be informed and provide input… As we discovered through several oversight requests from the Agriculture, Budget, and Judiciary Committees, existing federal immigration law designed to protect taxpayers is not enforced by this administration. One of the biggest challenges facing any reform of our nation's immigration laws is the refusal of this administration to enforce the la… Continue Reading
04.10.13
Sessions: President’s Budget ‘Not Merely Reckless; It Is Unthinkable’
"This proposal goes to extraordinary lengths to shield the federal bureaucracy from any reform, even as millions of Americans are trapped in failed government programs. It grows the government at the expense of the economy. It enriches the bureaucracy at the expense of the people. And it threatens to permanently depress the American economy under a never-ending avalanche of debt." WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following sta… Continue Reading
04.10.13
The President’s Plan Takes More to Spend More
Their Budget Never Balances-Ever The House budget balances in ten years, but, like Senate Democrats, the White House says their budget never balances-ever. $8.2 Trillion in New Debt Accounting for the cost of eliminating the sequester and removing the budget gimmicks, net deficit reduction is only $119 billion. Additional deficit increase in FY2013: $61 billion Total U.S. debt in 2023: $25.4 trillion Debt increase per household: $60,980 Interest payments on the debt in 2023: $763 bi… Continue Reading
04.04.13
Major Flaw In Gang Of Eight Plan Could Cost Taxpayers Trillions
According to what has been publicly reported about the Gang of Eight's forthcoming immigration bill, there appears to be a major flaw that could allow millions of illegal immigrants to access federal welfare benefits and poverty programs. Specifically, there is nothing in the framework to apply federal public charge law to those in the country illegally before they are granted legal status. What this means is that the bill would create an end-run around federal law: individuals in the country il… Continue Reading
04.01.13
Sessions Delivers Opening Remarks As Senate Begins Debate On First Budget In Four Years
"If the American people take nothing else away from this debate, it should be that the party running this Senate, spending your dollars, refuses to ever balance the federal budget… [Their plan's] surging debt and taxes will crush American workers, close American factories, and depress American wages… This budget effectively shows no concern for Americans living in poverty, struggling to find work, trapped in a stale bureaucratic welfare state… This budget perpetuates the mi… Continue Reading
03.23.13
Sessions Comments On Passage Of Senate Majority’s First Budget In Four Years
"Now that the Senate majority has written a plan we can finally begin this conversation: Do we balance the budget and grow the economy for all Americans? Or do we continue to enrich the bureaucracy at the expense of the people?" WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement tonight after the budget plan authored by Chairman Patty Murray and the Senate Democrats failed to garner majority support, but was approved by a vot… Continue Reading
03.23.13
Senate Democrats Vote To Give Free Healthcare And Obamacare To Illegal Immigrants As Part Of Immigration Reform
"This will dramatically accelerate the insolvency of our entitlement programs and is unfair to American workers and taxpayers." WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued a statement tonight following a 43-56 vote on his amendment to ensure that illegal immigrants cannot access free and taxpayer-funded health care if they are granted legal status as part of any immigration bill: "The core legal and economic principle of immigration is that… Continue Reading
03.21.13
Sessions Comments After Senate Democrats Stunningly Oppose Balancing The Budget Through Any Means Whatsoever
WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued a statement after Senate Democrats voted against his motion to recommit the Murray budget to committee with instructions to find a way to balance the budget in 10 years. Only Sen. Joe Manchin joined with Republicans in support of balancing the federal budget. Sessions' comment follows: "Tonight the American people witnessed a remarkable and alarming event: the Senate's Democrat majority declared the… Continue Reading
03.20.13
Unmasking The $1.5T Tax Hike In Senate Democrats’ FY14 Budget
When the Budget Committee minority staff began analyzing Chairman Patty Murray's FY 2014 budget last week, they were shocked to discover that the plan called for not $975 billion in tax increases-the amount that the majority proudly and openly claimed-but instead $1.5 trillion in tax hikes. How is this possible? The answer lies in an arcane budget tool known as a "deficit neutral reserve fund" (DNRF). Because it is not possible to legislate on a budget resolution, DNRFs were created to facilita… Continue Reading
