U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued a statement on Apr. 3 following the release of President Trump's proposed budget for fiscal year 2027.
Merkley said the proposed budget does not address pressing issues such as high prices for gas and groceries, increasing national debt, or concerns about Social Security's future solvency. He also criticized what he described as a significant increase in defense spending and ongoing expenditures related to military actions in Iran.
“This budget request fails to meet the needs of working Americans. This budget request doesn’t address how to tackle the high price of gas or groceries that Americans are facing every day, our skyrocketing debt, or the looming Social Security insolvency. All Trump’s budget does is explode the Department of Defense’s budget to an eye-popping $1.5 TRILLION while Trump continues to spend billions of dollars a day on his illegal war with Iran that is putting servicemembers at risk and jacking up energy prices here at home,” Merkley said.
He went on to note that past presidents have provided Congress with detailed budgets outlining tax policy approaches and plans for major programs like Medicare and Social Security over ten years. “This budget doesn’t do any of that. It’s just an out-of-touch plea for more money for guns and bombs, and less for the things people need, like housing, health care, education, roads, scientific research, and environmental protection. This proposal is dead on arrival,” Merkley said.
Merkley concluded by stating his intention to work with colleagues across party lines: “As Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee and a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, I will push my colleagues to reject this budget work together in a bipartisan manner, and enact legislation that makes it easier for working families to get ahead.”
The release signals potential debate in Congress regarding funding priorities as lawmakers consider next steps in addressing economic challenges faced by American families.
