Oversight
Sessions: DHS Must Remove Welfare Promotions For New Immigrants
"Federal law prohibits the granting of visas to those likely to be welfare reliant, yet DHS actively promotes these benefits to millions of new arrivals every year. DHS knows this, which is perhaps why they refuse to comply with an oversight request on this very issue from the Ranking Members of four Senate Committees… DHS should remove any sections of its website, and any portions of its materials for new arrivals, that promote or encourage welfare reliance." WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff… Continue Reading
11.16.12
Sessions Rebukes Secret Fiscal Cliff Talks; Warns Against 11th Hour Deal That Bypasses American People
"Secrecy cements the status quo: more spending, more debt, more runaway government. It is the enemy of accountability, change, and reform… That is why I am calling upon our leaders to guarantee that any plan to avert the fiscal cliff has one full week on the Senate floor with open amendment and debate." WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today cautioning that any plan to avert the fiscal cliff that is … Continue Reading
11.15.12
Ranking Member Sessions Congratulates Murray On Chairmanship; Calls For Action On Budget
"I hope to work with Senator Murray to find common ground… The Senate is supposed to be the world's great deliberative body… Enough secret meetings and last-minute backroom deals. The Budget Committee should do its job, as the law requires, in the full, open, and public light of day. I hope Senator Murray will make that commitment." WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today about the announcement … Continue Reading
11.14.12
Sessions Reacts To President On Fiscal Cliff, Stresses Importance Of Welfare Reform In Fixing Entitlements
"Real entitlement reform requires welfare reform. A modest reduction in growth, along with improved standards and work requirements, can produce substantial savings and ensure resources are targeted to those in need." WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today in response to comments by President Obama regarding the upcoming "fiscal cliff": "I was pleased to hear the President's call for budget ideas from bo… Continue Reading
11.13.12
Sessions: Welfare Reform Must Be Part Of Fiscal Reform
"Experts on both sides of the aisle agree that we need a bare minimum of $4 trillion in deficit reduction over ten years… There is the potential to achieve one quarter of [these savings] through welfare reform… Amazingly, welfare-the largest budget item-has been largely exempt from discussions of fiscal reform. A modest reduction in growth, along with improved standards and work requirements, can produce substantial savings." WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Mem… Continue Reading
11.02.12
Under Obama, Food Stamp Growth 75 Times Greater Than Job Creation
In January 2009, there were 133.56 million Americans with jobs and 31.98 million on food stamps. Today, there are 133.76 million Americans with jobs and 46.68 million on food stamps. The employment rolls have thus grown by 0.15 percent and the food stamp rolls have grown by 46 percent, meaning that for every one American who found a job, 75 Americans signed up for food stamps. Meanwhile, during that time, our nation's debt has risen $5.63 trillion. Total spending on food stamps is now more than… Continue Reading
11.02.12
Sessions Comments On Budget Committee Finding On Jobs And Food Stamps Growth
WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today about new October jobs figures and a Committee analysis that for every one person added to the jobs rolls since the President took office, 75 people were added to the food stamp rolls: "Simply put, the President's policies have not produced jobs. During his time in office, 14.7 million people were added to the food stamp rolls. Over that same time, only 194,000 jobs wer… Continue Reading
10.26.12
Sessions Comments On New GDP Figures, Significance Of White House Projections
"All of [President Obama's] signature policies were implemented-and $5 trillion was added to our debt-and it yielded only one-third of the growth it was supposed to deliver." WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today about new figures that show annualized GDP growth so far this year at 1.77%: "GDP growth is arguably the most important indicator in assessing the health of the economy. Today's figure of 2.0% bri… Continue Reading
10.26.12
Economic Growth In 2012 Only One-Third What President Said His Policies Would Deliver
Data released this morning from the Bureau of Economic Analysis reveals that GDP growth in third quarter of this year was just 2.0%. On an annualized basis, this amounts to 1.77%. As a comparison, annualized GDP growth at this point in President Reagan's term was 6.33%. Soon after he took office, President Obama's Office of Management and Budget submitted to Congress his budget, which included projections of future economic growth under the President's plan. Specifically, OMB projected that ann… Continue Reading
10.23.12
Sessions Analyzes Release Of President’s ‘Plan’: ‘One Of The Greatest Financial Misrepresentations Ever Made’
"This is surely one of the greatest financial misrepresentations ever made to the American people. His budget achieves one-tenth of the pledged deficit reduction and, instead of cutting spending, he surges it dramatically… It is not only a question of leadership but a question of character-and duty. At this point, the greatest obstacle to preventing a debt crisis is a President who won't tell the truth about his budget and our financial dangers, and a Democrat Senate that refuses to even… Continue Reading
10.19.12
Following News About Historic Welfare Surge, Vilsack Misses Oversight Deadline On Food Stamp-Mexico Partnership
"We have learned this week from the Congressional Research Service that the United States now spends more on welfare than any other federal program… [Yet] the Administration continues a vast array of controversial promotions to further expand enrollment, when the focus should be on expanding economic growth and opportunity… Such activities cannot be justified to the American people, which probably explains why the Administration has been unwilling to provide answers." WASHINGTON-U… Continue Reading
10.18.12
CRS Report: Welfare Spending The Largest Item In The Federal Budget
Ranking Member Sessions and the minority staff of the Senate Budget Committee requested from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) an overview of cumulative means-tested federal welfare spending in the United States in the most recent year for which data is available (fiscal year 2011). The results are staggering. CRS identified 83 overlapping federal welfare programs that together represented the single largest budget item in 2011-more than the nation spends on Social Security, M… Continue Reading
10.18.12
Sessions Comments On Congressional Report Showing Welfare Is Single Largest Federal Expense
"No longer should we measure compassion by how much money the government spends on poverty but by how many people we help to rise out of poverty… This is about more than rescuing our finances. It's about creating a more optimistic future for millions of struggling Americans." WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued a statement today about a new report he requested from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) about federal welfare … Continue Reading
10.15.12
Sessions Comments On Committee Finding That Far More People Exiting Labor Force Than Entering
WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued a statement today as the Committee released a new chart showing that since January 2009, for every 1 person who entered the labor force, 10 people were added to those not in the labor force. To view the chart, please click here. Sessions' statement follows: "The essential point of this chart is not simply how many people are employed or unemployed, but to illustrate that more and more people… Continue Reading
10.15.12
Hatch, Sessions Request Complete Information From Treasury On Debt Limit, Contingency Planning
In letter to Secretary Geithner, lawmakers write, "Just over a year [since the debt limit was last raised], we've already exhausted 87 percent of the $2.1 trillion increase in federal borrowing authority, averaging more than $4 billion in borrowing a day… With more complete information about when the debt limit may next be reached, we hope to aid decision-makers and preempt any need for such a contingency plan in the future." WASHINGTON-In a letter today, U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch (R-… Continue Reading
10.12.12
Sessions Comments On Treasury’s FY 2012 Year-End Report
"The report confirms that the United States has experienced its fourth straight deficit in excess of a trillion dollars… Disturbingly, the report from Secretary Geithner also repeats the fraudulent claim that the President's February budget achieves $4 trillion in deficit reduction. But, according to the President's own budget tables, his plan would increase debt nearly $11 trillion… Surely the Treasury Secretary knows these facts. Yet instead of telling the truth he misleads the c… Continue Reading
10.11.12
Serial Deception: White House Spending Claim Off By $6 Trillion
President Obama's FY 2013 budget proposal has two primary impacts on fiscal policy: a $1.8 trillion increase in taxes and a $1.4 trillion increase in spending above current growth projections-netting less than $400 billion in deficit reduction, or just one-tenth of the pledged $4 trillion. As a result, America's gross debt under the President's plan, as reported by his own Office of Management and Budget (OMB), will climb to $25.4 trillion in 2022-$10.6 trillion above where it stood at the end o… Continue Reading
10.10.12
Sessions To Vilsack: More Detail Needed On Food Stamp Partnership With Mexico; Controversial Promotions Must Cease
"Your letter asserts that 'we do not pressure any eligible person to accept benefits, nor is our goal to simply increase the number of program participants.' But the content of USDA's advertisements and promotion campaigns demonstrate otherwise… There is even a promotional guide suggesting those targeted for enrollment harm their communities by not accepting benefits… I would therefore ask that you at once eliminate all materials, training and recruitment efforts that contradict yo… Continue Reading
10.05.12
Sessions Comments On $1.1 Trillion Deficit For FY 2012
"The greatest obstacle to preventing a debt crisis is a president who won't tell the truth about his financial plan and a Senate Majority determined to avoid presenting one at all." WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today after a report from the Congressional Budget Office revealed that the FY 2012 budget deficit was $1.1 trillion, the fourth consecutive deficit of more than $1 trillion: "Never before has a… Continue Reading
10.04.12
‘Serial Misrepresentations’: President’s Budget Claims Disproven By Own Budget Document
"All we have to do is review the President's own budget document, as submitted to Congress, and look up the figures in the tables provided… The biggest obstacle we face in preventing [a debt] crisis is a president who refuses tell the truth about his plan and a Democrat Senate that refuses to produce any plan at all." WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today about President Obama's "serial misrepresent… Continue Reading
