U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, delivered an opening statement on Apr. 16 during a committee oversight hearing regarding the President’s fiscal year 2027 budget request.
The hearing addressed significant changes proposed in the administration's approach to budgeting and raised concerns about constitutional responsibilities and federal spending priorities.
In his remarks, Merkley thanked Chairman Graham for convening the session and Director Vought for discussing the budget. He said, “A historic paradigm shift in the budget process is occurring.” Merkley called this shift “extraordinarily dangerous for our country,” citing repeated violations of constitutional separation of powers by the Trump administration since Vought returned as Office of Management and Budget Director.
Merkley criticized actions such as impounding funds without congressional approval, firing federal workers, dismantling agencies like USAID and most of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and pursuing policies that he said led to significant negative outcomes domestically and internationally. "You have dismantled federal agencies, including the entirety of the U.S. Agency for International l Development (USAID), which public health experts calculate has led to the deaths of at least 780,0000 people globally, two-thirds of whom are children," Merkley said.
He also highlighted what he saw as omissions in the proposed budget: "No plan to bring down gas prices. No plan to bring down grocery prices. No plan to save Social Security... No funding for aid to farmers hurt by Trump’s tariffs." He noted that deficit projections required by law were missing from this year's proposal.
Merkley pointed out increases in defense spending alongside cuts to domestic programs: "Your budget also includes a massive 42 percent – or $445 billion – increase in defense spending... Yet it does include a 10 percent cut to domestic programs American for families." He argued these decisions prioritize military expenditures over investments in areas such as housing, health care, education, infrastructure, medical research, and environmental protection.
Concluding his statement, Merkley said Congress should reject what he called an irresponsible budget: "Congress needs to reject this irresponsible budget and reassert our Constitutional powers so we can invest in working families."
