ICYMI
House Budget’s Health Care Task Force Calls for Investigation into Cost of Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation
The House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) and Health Care Task Force Chair, Michael C. Burgess, M.D. sent a letter to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting an investigation on the cost of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) and their fiscal impact on the federal budget. Established by Obamacare with the intent of saving taxpayer money, CMMI has failed to create budgetary savings and instead has … Continue Reading
May 02, 2024
Winston Group Survey Says: Inflation Fears Flare Again
The worse-than-expected economic indicators for the first quarter of 2024 sent shockwaves through the economy and for consumers, shattering widespread hope for an imminent cut to interest rates, previously teased by Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell. The Winston Group (WG), a strategic planning and survey research firm, issued their findings from a survey that revealed “60% of respondents now believe inflation is worsening,” a sharp increase from just a few months ago. Here is … Continue Reading
May 02, 2024
President Biden’s Student Loan Scheme Could Cost Taxpayers $1.4 Trillion
President Biden’s continued student loan “cancellation” scheme not only incentivizes skyrocketing tuition but also punishes working-class taxpayers, exacerbating our nation’s debt and deficit crisis in the process. A new analysis from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) projects that President Biden’s student loan cancellation plans could cost taxpayers a combined $870 billion to $1.4 trillion.[1] Word on the Street: Via CRFB: “To put $870 billion to $1.4 trillion in … Continue Reading
April 29, 2024
The Perils of Drug Price Controls
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey C. Arrington (R-TX) and the House Budget Committee’s Health Care Task Force (HCTF) Chair Michael C. Burgess M.D. (R-TX) have long cautioned against expanding the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Medicare drug price controls before understanding the true impact of these policies on patient access to new cures and therapies. Responding to the House Budget Committee HCTF’s work, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published a blog post requesting … Continue Reading
April 24, 2024
WSJ Editorial Board: States Push Back on Biden’s Student Loan ‘Forgiveness’ Schemes
Since taking office, President Biden has attempted to “cancel” more than $1 trillion worth of student loan debt - all without approval from Congress. One of these cancellation schemes, the so-called “SAVE Plan,” was unveiled after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Biden Administration’s $330 billion student loan bailout as unconstitutional last summer. Implementation of the “SAVE Plan” is now being legally challenged by 18 states. The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board breaks down this … Continue Reading
April 22, 2024
Bipartisan, Former HHS Secretaries: Congress Should Adopt Site Neutral Payments for Health Care
Last week, former Secretaries of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and Kathleen G. Sebelius, who served under Presidents Trump and Obama respectively, wrote a piece in STAT News calling on Congress to pass site neutral payment reform in Medicare, which would save taxpayers billions and reduce out-of-pocket costs for patients. Currently, Medicare reimburses hospital outpatient departments at a higher rate than independent physician offices for the same health care services. Site neutral … Continue Reading
April 19, 2024
Policy Leaders for Former Presidents Reagan, Obama Call on Congress to Pass the Preventive Health Savings Act
On March 19, 2024, the House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 766: The Dr. Michael C. Burgess Preventive Health Savings Act. This bill marked the first time in history that a bipartisan bill with sole Budget Committee jurisdiction passed the House under suspension of the rules. Recently, Dan Crippen, Domestic Policy Advisor and Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy in the Reagan Administration and former Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and Nancy-Ann … Continue Reading
April 18, 2024
Chairman Arrington Speaks on 50th Anniversary of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act
Yesterday, House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) joined the Bipartisan Policy Center to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the landmark Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act. H.R. 7130, which became law in 1974, and established a congressional budget process that remains the framework we use today. The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act: Created the Congressional Budget Office, which produces analyses and estimates of economic and budgetary … Continue Reading
April 10, 2024
FAFSA Fumbles Continued: President Biden’s Student Aid Overhaul Leaves Students Stranded
The Biden administration’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) overhaul has continued to yield one disappointing blunder after another. Via UWorld College Prep Despite a two-year preparation period, this rollout has been plagued by a litany of errors, delays, and setbacks, which have severely hampered the ability of students and families to plan for college. A recent Washington Examiner article outlines how this botched execution underscores the urgent need for … Continue Reading
April 09, 2024
Chairman Arrington Sounds the Alarm with the Daily Caller: Fiscal Responsibility Begins by Ending Beltway Budget Gimmicks
The House Budget Committee, under the leadership of Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX), is leading the way on budget process reform to get America’s fiscal house in order. This week, Chairman Arrington laid out in the Daily Caller the problem with beltway budget gimmicks and the steps needed to bring transparency and accountability to the budget process. Read his full letter below: Word on the Street, Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) Via Daily Caller: Congress recently passed two mammoth … Continue Reading
April 08, 2024
President Biden's Green Agenda: A Nearly Trillion-Dollar Burden on Americans
President Joe Biden’s environmental policy agenda comes with a price tag that our country simply cannot afford. A daunting analysis conducted by U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Republicans shows that the cost of just a few of President Biden’s environmental proposals would clock in at more than $845 billion. U.S. consumers and businesses will face severe challenges due to these regulations, and the weight of their price will continue to cripple American taxpayers … Continue Reading
April 02, 2024
Biden’s Corporate Welfare Bonanza
During his State of the Union address, President Biden used his time to lambast businesses for allegedly not paying “their fair share.” Specifically, he called for eliminating individual and business “tax breaks” to “make the tax code fair.” Unsurprisingly, President Biden’s policies don’t match his rhetoric. While he complains about supposed “unfair tax breaks” his administration has unleashed a gush of corporate welfare, including crony tax breaks and subsidies for his preferred … Continue Reading
April 02, 2024
FAFSA Fumbles: Biden's Failed Rewrite of Student Aid Programs
The Biden administration’s rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) keeps getting rockier. On March 22, the Department of Education announced that roughly 200,000 student financial aid records sent to schools included errors in the data, resulting in lower aid estimates for those students than they were qualified to receive. The issue comes after several delays in FAFSA processing wreaked havoc on the college admissions cycle, forcing many institutions to push … Continue Reading
April 01, 2024
Biden's New EPA Tailpipe Rule Penalizes American Energy Independence
On March 20, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a tailpipe vehicle emissions rule - a de facto ban on the sale of gas-powered and traditional hybrid vehicles - forcing automakers to sell more electric vehicles (EVs). Experts and lawmakers agree: the Biden administration’s new rule will increase the cost of vehicles for the majority of Americans, only benefiting high-income earners. Word on the Street via New York Times: “Nearly three years in the making, the new … Continue Reading
March 27, 2024
President Biden's Budget Proposal Threatens Small Businesses
On March 11—five weeks after the statutory deadline—President Joe Biden submitted his Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) budget request to Congress. His proposal quadruples down on the unbridled spending and failed economic policies included in his three previous budget proposals. The Biden administration proposed targeting the lifeblood of the American economy: small businesses. Rather than shrinking the size and scope of an already bloated federal government, the President’s budget proposes … Continue Reading
March 27, 2024
Applications for IRS Jobs ‘Far Below’ Agency Goals says Government Executive
In August 2022, President Biden and Congressional Democrats rushed to enact their reckless tax and spending spree, the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), into law. One of the more problematic provisions included in the IRA allocated $80 billion dollars in taxpayer dollars to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in hopes of supercharging the volume of financial audits imposed on lower and middle-income Americans and small businesses. A recent report from the Treasury Inspector General … Continue Reading
March 22, 2024
House Budget Committee Holds Biden Administration Accountable at Hearing on the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request with OMB Director Shalanda Young
On Thursday, March 21, House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) and members of the House Budget Committee held a hearing titled “The President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request.” Yesterday marked an important step in Congressional oversight and holding the Biden administration accountable for its unbridled spending. OMB Director Shalanda Young provided testimony and members questioned her on contents of the President’s budget proposal. There couldn’t be a clearer contrast … Continue Reading
March 22, 2024
The Reality Behind the Rhetoric: Voters See Through Biden’s Talking Points
Members of the House Budget Committee have long been sounding the alarm on the realities of our bleak economy due to the Biden administration’s reckless spending and failed economic policies. A WG Discussion Points article from last week sheds light on the dissonance between the White House’s economic messaging and the reality faced by the American people. Word on the Street: Via WG: “If a message is not believable, it will not have standing with voters, and this is why much of the … Continue Reading
March 15, 2024
Biden's Health Proposals Would Expand Washington's Control and Spending
On Monday, President Joe Biden released his Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request, which calls for a significant expansion of federal health care spending. He ignores the fact that mandatory federal health care programs are the primary drivers of the nation’s out-of-control $34 trillion debt. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) baseline shows spending on major health care programs will exceed $3.2 trillion in 2034, three times larger than the amount projected to be spent on national defense in … Continue Reading
March 12, 2024
America’s Fiscal Crisis Unveiled: CATO Calls for Urgent Fiscal Reform
The United States continues to face a looming challenge ahead: federal spending and deficits are growing faster than revenue is coming in, far outpacing the much-needed growth of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). The U.S. economy remains sluggish and unpredictable, consumer confidence continues to falter, and deficits ballooned by nearly $2 trillion in 2023 alone, all while the Biden Administration proposes another tranche of regressive economic policies in their FY25 budget. House … Continue Reading
