Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, today joined Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and their Republican colleagues on the Budget Committee in calling for committee chairman Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) to focus hearing topics on the committee’s jurisdiction, namely, fiscal matters.
This Congress, the Democratic majority has convened just three hearings on the budget and held 15 on climate policy. Republicans raised their concerns earlier this Congress by writing to Whitehouse.
On March 25, the chairman wrote Republicans, defending the committee’s obsession with climate policy. Below are excerpts from Republicans’ response to Whitehouse’s most recent letter.
“Your frustration with our complaints regarding the committee’s climate change hearings would be understandable if such hearings were commensurate with the time spent on core committee responsibilities. After fifteen climate change hearings in a span of thirteen months, our request that the committee turn its attention to the nation’s dire fiscal outlook is more than reasonable,” the senators wrote.
“Publicly-held debt is projected to soar from 99 percent of total GDP this year to 166 percent by 2054. Net interest costs have nearly doubled since President Biden took office, and they are expected to increase another 147 percent by 2034. Starting this year, the cost of paying the interest due on our debts will surpass what we spend on national defense. By 2025, interest is expected to make up a larger share of U.S. GDP than any other year on record and an additional $20 trillion will be added to our national debt over the next ten years. It would be folly for this committee not to focus attention on the immediate dangers that fall under the committee’s prime responsibility, our fiscal house,” they continued.
The senators also addressed Whitehouse’s references to climate-related bills that Democratic senators on the committee introduced.
“We acknowledge the multiple bills introduced by Budget Committee Democrats listed in your letter, none of which have been referred to the Committee on the Budget or processed in their respective Democrat-controlled committees this Congress. None of these bills have been brought up for consideration by the Democrat Majority Leader. Not only does this reveal the nonexistent role of the Senate Budget Committee in legislating climate change policy, but the evident lack of popularity of these climate change proposals,” the senators concluded.
