Oversight
Sessions Announces Opposition To Controversial Budget Nominee
WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today in opposition to the nomination of Heather Higginbottom to be Deputy Director at the Office of Management and Budget: "Ms. Higginbottom has no real budget experience. She would be the least qualified nominee to hold this post in decades. During her hearing she struggled to defend the administration's indefensible claim that the president's debt-doubling budget would no… Continue Reading
10.18.11
Sessions Unveils Amendments Combat Billions In Waste, Gimmicks As He Challenges President To Do The Same
WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, spoke on the Senate floor today as he announced the filing of the following three amendments to the pending "mini-bus" appropriations package: No CHiMPs that don't save money-This amendment would create a 60-vote point of order against any appropriations bill if it includes CHiMPs that do not reduce outlays over the ten-year window. The current bill includes $7.5 billion in phony CHiMPs savings. Since 20… Continue Reading
10.17.11
SBC White Paper On Education In America: It’s Not About The Money
"Money does not necessarily correlate with student achievement… in this country in the last 30 years, we have more than doubled the amount of money we are spending per child… and the results have gotten worse, not better." - Michelle Rhee, former D.C. Public Schools Chancellor, February 9, 2011 As the United States concludes its third consecutive year of deficits over $1 trillion, mounting more debt on future generations, the Obama Administration continues to call for increase… Continue Reading
10.14.11
Sessions On CLASS Act Termination: ‘Very Troubling Questions Remain’
"Very troubling questions remain about why this crucial information was not disclosed prior to the bill's passage and I continue to believe that the Senate Budget Committee's majority should hold a hearing with Secretary Sibelius at once." WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today regarding the notification from the Obama Administration that it was dismantling the controversial CLASS Act program, the sustainabi… Continue Reading
10.14.11
Bipartisan Senate Budget Committee Leaders Submit Recommendations On Process Reform To Deficit Reduction Joint Committee
WASHINGTON-Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) today submitted bipartisan recommendations to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. The two Budget Committee leaders urged the panel to strengthen the congressional budget process and to switch to a two-year, or biennial, budget cycle. Upon release of the letter, the text of which is pasted below, Sessions issued the following statement: "I'm pleased that Chairman Conrad and I have… Continue Reading
10.14.11
Sessions, Ryan: 900 Days Since Senate Democrats Offered Budget Plan Is ‘National Disgrace’
WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Chairman of the House Budget Committee, issued the following joint statement today to mark the 900th day since Senate Democrats last adopted a formal budget plan as required by the Congressional Budget Act: "America is greatly in need of strong, competent leadership. Our nation's total debt is now larger than our entire economy. Unemployment is painfully high and growth is … Continue Reading
10.12.11
2011 Medicare/Social Security Trustees’ Report Analysis
[To read Ranking Member Hatch's press statement click here]. Today the Social Security and Medicare Trustees issued their annual reports on the financial status of the two programs. The following are the major highlights from the 2011 Trustees' reports: Social Security Social Security is now permanently cash negative. Absent intra-governmental payments to the Trust Fund, Social Security is unable to pay benefits funded solely by the payroll tax. The Social Security Trust Fund 75-year unf… Continue Reading
10.12.11
By The Numbers: Dem Leaders’ Failure To Confront Fiscal Danger Brings Us To Edge Of Shutdown
Experts warn that our uncontrolled spending threatens our whole economy. But as House Republicans have put forward bills to both fund the government responsibly in the short term and confront our fiscal challenges in the long term, Democrat leaders in Washington have not put forward a single serious proposal to cut spending. Instead, they have offered only excuses, objections, and resistance every step of the way. Asked in an interview on FOX News last night why Democrats did not pass a budget… Continue Reading
10.12.11
Action Alert: Controversial Budget Nominee Headed For Vote Today
STUNNINGLY INEXPERIENCED NOMINEE UP FOR KEYBUDGET POST; DEMONSTRATED TROUBLING LACK OF CANDOR AND KNOWLEDGE IN TESTIMONY A critical position at a critical agency at a critical time: This afternoon, the Senate Budget Committee is scheduled to vote on the controversial nomination of Heather Higginbottom to be President Obama's deputy budget director at the Office of Management and Budget. Ms. Higginbottom would assume this key post at a time when our nation faces a historic financial threat. Th… Continue Reading
10.12.11
Borrowing The Future: A Summary Of President Obama’s FY12 Education Budget Request
The president tells the American people that his FY 2012 budget "asks Washington to live within its means," but his request for the Department of Education shows how far this rhetoric is from reality. After spending nearly $300 billion on education over the last three years, the president is requesting $77.4 billion for the department, an 11-percent increase from the current funding level. By the end of the decade, surging federal spending will require annual interest payments of $844 billion, … Continue Reading
10.12.11
The President's Budget Spends, Taxes, And Borrows Too Much - Stifling Job Growth Today And Threatening Our Economic Future
In challenging times, a chief executive must lead. But President Obama has failed to confront the fiscal and economic challenges before us. Instead, he continues down the same unsustainable path: growing the government, weakening the economy, and increasing the burden of debt on each and every American. Spends Too Much: $8.7 Trillion In New Spending Despite this year's $1.6 trillion deficit, the president still refuses to change course and reduce spending. Under his budget, the size of governm… Continue Reading
10.12.11
Under President Obama’s Spending “Freeze,” The Debt Will Grow $4 Trillion In 5 Years
The president's "freeze" would continue dramatically increased spending levels at a time when we have a $1.5 trillion deficit, producing an estimated $3.8 trillion in accumulated deficits over the next 5 years.[1] It maintains inflated levels of non-defense discretionary spending while allowing for ongoing increases in the rest of the budget. The "freeze" pushes us down the path to a total debt[2] of $21.2 trillion by 2016-well over 100 percent of GDP. The levels locked in by the "freeze" foll… Continue Reading
10.12.11
Democrats Take Heat For Skipping Budget As Spending And Debt Spiral Out Of Control
"…Democrats still run the Senate... When it comes to their core responsibility under the law of passing a budget resolution, they are A.W.O.L." Wall Street Journal (Cool Hand Harry) "While Mr. Obama has tried to set parameters for budget negotiations, his party has yet to settle on a plan for Medicare or the broader budget issues. And failure to address the nation's fiscal problems aggressively could carry its own risk for Democrats..." New York Times (Democrats Put G.O.P. On Spot As Med… Continue Reading
10.11.11
Sessions: President’s Jobs Bill Rejected Over Substance, Not Politics
WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today as voting continued on proceeding to President Obama's second stimulus bill, with members on both sides of the aisle voting in opposition: "The president has demanded a jobs bill vote and he got it. The Senate tonight is set to reject his latest tax-and-spend plan that would dig our debt hole nearly $500 billion deeper and increase taxes. This bill was not rejected for… Continue Reading
10.06.11
Budget Republicans Call For Hearing To Uncover Why CLASS Act Warnings Were Not Made Public
"Transparency is crucial… There are a number of important questions that remain unanswered." WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, and U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, were joined today by Republican Members of the Senate Budget Committee in sending a letter to Chairman Kent Conrad to request a hearing on the CLASS Act, a long-term care program created as part of the president's health care law. … Continue Reading
10.05.11
Sessions, Snowe Unveil ‘Honest Budget Act’ To Strip Away Washington’s Most Outrageous Gimmicks
WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, and U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, today announced the introduction of the Honest Budget Act, a nine-plank legislative package that targets Washington's most dishonest budget gimmicks and accounting tricks: "Washington relies on an astonishing array of dishonest budget gimmicks to enable and conceal countless billions in federa… Continue Reading
10.04.11
The Deficit Of Leadership: President’s Disappointing Speech Only Raises More Questions
Deficit ReductionThe president claimed deficit reduction of $1.2 trillion dollars over 10 years in his last budget. CBO said it would increase deficits by $2.7 trillion. Is the president's new claim based on the same discredited assumptions in his last budget? Non-Security SpendingThe president says he will now freeze non-security discretionary spending in 2012 at the 2011 level. He claims this will reduce deficits by $600 billion over 10 years. What programs will be cut? Will the president red… Continue Reading
10.04.11
The Spending Binge Continues: GAO Exposes Billions In Waste, Duplication
Today, GAO identified massive duplication, fragmentation, and other inefficiencies that cost taxpayers billions of dollars every year in waste and degraded service-all while President Obama's budget surges federal spending across the board and adds $13 trillion to the debt. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued its first annual report on government duplication today. The report identifies 34 broad areas of duplication as well as 47 additional areas of potential savings. In all, GAO … Continue Reading
10.04.11
CBO Confirms: Obama’s Budget Assumptions Were Detached From Reality
The budget that the Obama Administration presented to Congress on February 14th pushes our nation further down an unsustainable path: growing the government, weakening the economy, and increasing the burden of debt on each and every American. Now, the Congressional Budget Office has confirmed that the president's budget conceals an additional $2.3 trillion in deficits. In nearly every major area, CBO gave the president's plan a lower grade than the Administration gave itself. The Administrati… Continue Reading
10.04.11
Swift Action Needed On Spending Reduction As Experts Warn Of Rising Debt
"Bill Gross, who runs the world's biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co., eliminated government-related debt from his flagship fund last month as the U.S. projected record budget deficits." - Bloomberg, "Pimco's Gross Eliminates Government Debt From Total Return Fund," March 10, 2011 "We believe that if we do not take decisive action our nation faces the most predictable economic crisis in its history." - written testimony of Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, Budget Committee hea… Continue Reading
