US SENATE HEARING LIVE: Lawmaker Calls Out 'Trump's Assault on the Constitution'

[0:00] and appropriated, and public health experts estimate that to date 780,000 individuals died [0:09] because of that sudden shutdown, including 500,000 children. The weight of that rests on this [0:16] administration. And then there's the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, of which you are [0:23] the administrative head of, but you've basically shut it down. You know that? That bureau has [0:29] saved in refunds to American families $21 billion since 2011. $21 billion. That's not counting [0:37] the probably four to five times that amount that was saved by stopping predatory schemes in their [0:43] tracks. Everywhere I go, I see, look at all these new scandals, these new strategies to rip off our [0:52] seniors and rip off our families across the country. Why isn't the CFPB doing anything about it? Well, [0:57] because you shut them down, essentially, is the answer. And then there's the congressional power [1:03] to declare war. A reckless war. A reckless war that has strengthened the right, the hardliners, [1:14] that has weakened the reformers, that has enriched Russia after President Trump lifted the sanctions [1:20] on Russia, that has left nuclear materials and rich nuclear materials buried deep underground, [1:27] and that has shut down the Strait of Hormuz. Raising prices for American families, but let's be blunt, [1:36] also resulting in the death of our service members, the injuries to our service members, [1:43] and about a billion to $2 billion a day in national treasure. These are profoundly concerning changes [1:54] and not a paradigm shift in sync with the Constitution. But I was struck in the budget. What's missing in this budget? [2:02] No plan to bring down gas prices. No plan to bring down grocery prices. Nothing on Social Security, [2:09] even though we are just six years out from exhausting the Social Security Trust Fund. That's of great concern [2:18] to seniors across this country who will be looking at a 28% cut in their Social Security payments. [2:26] I really encourage the administration to take on this issue, and I praise the chairman of this committee [2:31] for holding a hearing on this question. I hope we can get to an actual bill now. But I'd like to see [2:38] the administration participating in that effort to save Social Security. No funding for aid to farmers [2:44] hurt by Trump's tariffs. No additional funding to deal with unexpected disasters, despite the enormous [2:51] increase in wildfires, floods, and hurricanes. No credible plan to reduce the debt. After adding [2:58] $30 trillion last year, we're now at over 100% of GDP, that is, debt-to-GDP ratio. And we have an [3:08] entrenched 6% of GDP deficit between the roughly 17% of GDP that we're raising in revenue and the roughly [3:18] 23% that we are spending. And in this budget, I didn't see any deficit projections. Now, the law [3:28] requires the budget to have those deficit projections. Section 31 of the U.S. Code 1105 says there have to [3:35] include at least five years of deficit and debt projections. But you chose not to put them in. [3:40] That is breaking both the spirit and the letter of the law. What the budget does include are [3:50] projections that President Tariffs will raise an eye-popping $1.6 trillion in revenue more than CBO [3:57] estimates. And CBO estimates were made before the Supreme Court ruled Trump's tariffs unconstitutional. [4:04] So you would think these revenue projections would actually be smaller than CBO's projection, not [4:10] larger. So those projections really are fictional. And then we have this massive increase in defense [4:20] spending and certainly a difference of opinion that I have with the chair. What we're looking at right [4:29] now, based on last year's HR1 bill and what's in this budget, is a massive 42% increase in defense [4:41] spending. And that means that we would be spending more in constant dollars, 2027 dollars now than we [4:52] spent in any single year in World War II when our whole entire national economy was driven by a world war. [5:01] This budget doesn't include the billions or $1, $2 billion a day we're spending in Iran. It does include [5:12] a reduction in domestic programs for American families. And those cuts continue to compound. [5:21] Your budget proposes a 45% cut in non-defense spending as compared to CBO's current law baseline [5:29] projection. It has less for education, less for health care, less for housing. Its families lose, [5:36] and billionaires win. And that is not a good path for our nation to be on. To put it bluntly, [5:46] billionaires have enough money. Running this government by and for billionaires and oligarchs, [5:52] huge assault on the vision of government by and for the people. Let's remember the vision of this [5:58] country was not a country by and for the powerful or the oligarchs or the richest, yet that's what [6:04] this budget is designed to do. You know, President Trump, when he campaigned, he said, we're going to make [6:13] this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people. We're going to take care [6:17] of our country first. But what do we see? American families last. Americans' richest class, the Epstein [6:28] class, first. That is just wrong. This budget is a betrayal of every working family. It's an extraordinarily [6:39] dangerous change to the vision for our nation. And the debt that you all are running up is going to [6:49] haunt this nation for a generation to come in terms of its ability to invest in health care, housing, [6:56] and education. So I think it's important for Congress to recognize and ensure that this budget is dead on [7:05] arrival. And I look forward to today's discussion. My colleague to my left, and I have worked on a number [7:16] of projects together, but there's many points that we haven't. Sure, that's where I sit, right? Yeah, okay, good. [7:23] We may have a very different perspective on, and certainly I know you mentioned reforming ICE. I think [7:30] that's incredibly important and was the key to being able to go forward because ICE is operating like [7:38] secret police. In a great irony, they've adopted the tactics of Sabak, the secret police of Iran, of showing up in [7:46] unmarked vans, and unmarked uniforms, and failing to get judicial warrants to knock down doors, and detaining [7:54] people without access to attorneys and family. People were being disappeared into the system. Those are [8:00] all the types of factors that made the Sabak so hated in Iran that contributed to the 1979 revolution. [8:10] And yet now we have those same practices exercised right here. And that is a terrible, terrible mark [8:19] on our democratic republic. You're a very important man, Mr. Avot. You were a central architect of Project [8:29] 2025. And now in your role as head of OMB, you are the chief engineer of the Trump administration's train. [8:36] Virtually nothing happens that doesn't go through OMB. So this is the first chance we've had to have you before the [8:43] committee since the president came into office. And I think that's important for you to be here. [8:50] You note in your opening message on your budget that I quote, a historic paradigm shift in the budget process is [8:59] occurring. And I certainly agree with that. Because this is an extraordinary families lose, billionaires win budget. [9:10] We saw that in the major HR1 piece of legislation last year that cut health care and salvage nutrition to fund tax [9:19] breaks for the very richest Americans. And which added, by CBO's estimate, $30 trillion to our debt over the next 30 years. [9:28] Or if the interest rates are 1% higher than they had in their model, $50 trillion in additional debt over the next 30 years. [9:37] To savage programs for families in order to run up debt and make billionaires even richer? [9:47] Well, that is a paradigm shift and not a good one. And there is another paradigm shift underway that is deeply disturbing. [9:57] The Constitution assigns three powers to Congress. The power of taxation, the power of the purse, [10:07] and the power of war. And President Trump has violated all three of those allocations in the Constitution. [10:18] Trying to take and say, those belong to the executive branch. I'm going to take those. [10:23] And that is simply a huge assault on our Constitution. You know, the very first bill the Senate ever [10:31] considered after it convened was an issue of tariffs. And for three weeks, the senator sat around and said, [10:38] how much should it be on molasses? And how should it be on a keg of nails? And so forth. And every [10:43] president has understood the power of taxation belongs to Congress until this president said, no, I'm just [10:48] going to willy-nilly assign 50% over here, 100% over there, or tomorrow raise it to 20% without any [10:56] congressional authorization to do so. And we certainly see under the power of the purse, the [11:02] cessation of programs that have been duly authorized and appropriated by this executive branch. And that is [11:11] a direct violation of the law and a direct violation of our Constitution as well. The Agency for [11:20] International Development is certainly one of those agencies that was shut down despite being [11:26] authorized and appropriated. And public health experts estimate that, to date, 780,000 individuals [11:36] died because of that sudden shutdown, including 500,000 children. The weight of that rests on this [11:43] administration. And then there's the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, of which you are the [11:50] administrative head of. But you've basically shut it down. You know that, that bureau has saved in [11:57] refunds to American families $21 billion since 2011. $21 billion. That's not counting the probably four [12:05] to five times that amount that was saved by stopping predatory schemes in their tracks. Everywhere I go, [12:12] I see, look at all these new scandals that, these new strategies to rip off our seniors and rip off our [12:19] families across the country. Why isn't the CFPB doing anything about it? Well, because you shut them [12:25] down, essentially, is the answer. And then there's the congressional power to declare war. A reckless [12:34] war. A reckless war that has strengthened the right, the hardliners, that has weakened the reformers, [12:43] that has enriched Russia after President Trump lifted the sanctions on Russia, that has left nuclear [12:51] materials and rich nuclear materials buried deep underground, and that has shut down the Strait [12:56] of Hormuz, raising prices for American families. But let's be blunt, also resulting in the death [13:06] of our service members, the injuries to our service members, and about $1 billion to $2 billion a day [13:13] in national treasure. These are profoundly concerning changes and not a paradigm shift in sync with the [13:25] Constitution. But I was struck in the budget, what's missing in this budget. No plan to bring down [13:30] gas prices. No plan to bring down grocery prices. Nothing on Social Security, even though we are just [13:38] six years out from exhausting the Social Security Trust Fund. That's of great concern to seniors across [13:48] this country, who will be looking at a 28% cut in their Social Security payments. I really encourage the [13:54] administration to take on this issue, and I praise the chairman of this committee for holding a hearing [14:00] on this question. I hope we can get to an actual bill now. But I'd like to see the administration [14:05] participating in that effort to save Social Security. No funding for aid to farmers hurt by Trump's [14:12] terrorists. No additional funding to deal with unexpected disasters, despite the enormous increase in [14:19] wildfires, floods and hurricanes. No credible plan to reduce the debt. After adding $30 trillion last year, [14:27] we're now at over 100% of GDP, that is debt to GDP ratio. And we have an entrenched 6% of GDP deficit [14:40] between the roughly 17% of GDP that we're raising in revenue, and the roughly 23% that we are spending. [14:47] And in this budget, I didn't see any deficit projections. Now the law requires the budget to [14:56] have those deficit projections. Section 31 of the U.S. Code 1105 says there have to include at least five [15:03] years of deficit and debt projections, but you chose not to put them in. That is breaking both the spirit [15:12] and the letter of the law. What the budget does include are projections that President Tariffs will [15:19] raise an eye-popping $1.6 trillion in revenue more than CBO estimates. And CBO estimates were made [15:27] before the Supreme Court ruled Trump's tariffs unconstitutional. So you would think these revenue [15:32] projections would actually be smaller than CBO's projection, not larger. So those projections really [15:41] are fictional. And then we have this massive increase in defense spending, and certainly a difference [15:49] of opinion that I have with the chair. What we're looking at right now, based on last year's H.R. 1 bill, [16:02] and what's in this budget, is a massive 42% increase in defense spending. And that means that we would be [16:13] spending more in constant dollars, 2027 dollars now, than we spent in any single year in World War II, [16:22] when our whole entire national economy was driven by a world war. This budget doesn't include the [16:33] billions or one, two billion dollars a day we're spending in Iran. It does include a reduction in [16:40] domestic programs for American families, and those cuts continue to compound. Your budget proposes a 45% [16:50] cut in non-defense spending as compared to CBO's current law baseline projection. It has less for [16:58] education, less for health care, less for housing. Its families lose and billionaires win. And that is not [17:09] a good path for our nation to be on. To put it bluntly, billionaires have enough money running this [17:16] government by and for billionaires and oligarchs. Huge assault on the vision of government by and for [17:22] the people. Let's remember, the vision of this country was not a country by and for the powerful, or the [17:29] oligarchs, or the richest, yet that's what this budget is designed to do. You know, President Trump, when he [17:39] campaigned, he said, we're going to make this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its [17:43] people. We're going to take care of our country first. But what do we see? American families last. [17:50] Americans' richest class, the Epstein class, first. That is just wrong. This budget is a betrayal of [18:03] every working family. It's an extraordinarily dangerous change to the vision for our nation. [18:12] And the debt that you all are running up is going to haunt this nation for a generation to come, [18:20] in terms of its ability to invest in health care, housing, and education. So I think it's important [18:27] for Congress to recognize and ensure that this budget is dead on arrival. And I look forward to [18:33] today's discussion. My colleague to my left, and I have worked on a number of projects together, [18:44] but there's many points that we have... Make sure that's where I sit, right? Yeah. Okay, good. [18:49] We have a... May have a very different perspective on... And certainly, I know you mentioned reforming [18:56] ICE. I think that's incredibly important and was the key to being able to go forward because ICE is [19:04] operating like secret police. In a great irony, they've adopted the tactics of Sabak, the secret [19:10] police of Iran, of showing up in unmarked vans, and unmarked uniforms, and failing to get judicial [19:18] warrants to knock down doors, and detaining people without access to attorneys and family. People [19:25] were being disappeared into the system. Those are all the types of factors that made the Sabak so hated [19:33] in Iran that contributed to the 1979 revolution. And yet, now we have those same practices exercised [19:41] right here. And that is a terrible, terrible mark on our democratic republic. You're a very important [19:52] man, Mr. Vogt. You were a central architect of project 2025. And now, in your role as head of OMB, [20:00] you are the chief engineer of the Trump administration's train. Virtually nothing happens that doesn't go [20:05] through OMB. So this is the first chance we've had to have you before the committee since the president [20:12] came into office. And I think that's important for you to be here. You note in your opening message [20:20] on your budget, then I quote, a historic paradigm shift in the budget process is occurring. And I [20:29] certainly agree with that. Because this is an extraordinary families lose, billionaires win [20:36] budget. We saw that in the major HR1 piece of legislation last year that cut healthcare and [20:44] savage nutrition to fund tax breaks for the very richest Americans. And which added, by CBO's estimate, [20:51] $30 trillion to our debt over the next 30 years, or if the interest rates are 1% higher than they had [20:58] in their model, $50 trillion in additional debt over the next 30 years. To savage programs for families [21:06] in order to run up debt and make billionaires even richer, well, that is a paradigm shift and not a good [21:17] one. And there is another paradigm shift underway that is deeply disturbing. The Constitution assigns three [21:27] powers to Congress. The power of taxation, the power of the purse, and the power of war. And President Trump [21:37] has violated all three of those allocations in the Constitution, trying to take and say, [21:46] those belong to the executive branch. I'm going to take those. And that is simply a huge assault [21:54] on our Constitution. You know, the very first bill the Senate ever considered after it convened [22:00] was a issue of tariffs. And for three weeks, the Senator sat around and said, how much should it be on [22:06] molasses? And how should it be on a keg of nails? And so forth. And every president has understood the [22:12] power of taxation belongs to Congress until this president said, no, I'm just going to willy-nilly [22:16] assign 50% over here, 100% over there, or tomorrow I'll raise it to 20% without any congressional [22:23] authorization to do so. And we certainly see under the power of the purse the cessation of programs that [22:30] have been duly authorized and appropriated by this executive branch. And that is a direct violation [22:39] of the law and a direct violation of our Constitution as well. The Agency for International Development [22:48] is certainly one of those agencies that was shut down despite being authorized and appropriated. [22:55] And public health experts estimate that to date, 780,000 [23:01] individuals died because of that sudden shutdown, including 500,000 children. The weight of that [23:09] rests on this administration. And then there's the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, of which you [23:16] are the administrative head of, but you've basically shut it down. You know that? That bureau has saved in [23:24] refunds to American families $21 billion since 2011. $21 billion. That's not counting the probably four [23:32] to five times that amount that was saved by stopping predatory schemes in their tracks. Everywhere I go, [23:39] I see, look at all these new scandals, these new strategies to rip off our seniors and rip off our [23:46] families across the country. Why isn't the CFPB doing anything about it? Well, because you shut them down, [23:52] essentially, is the answer. And then there's the congressional power to declare war, a reckless war, [24:03] a reckless war that has strengthened the right, the hardliners, that has weakened the reformers, [24:10] that has enriched Russia after President Trump lifted the sanctions on Russia, that has left [24:17] nuclear materials and rich nuclear materials buried deep underground, and that has shut down the Strait of Hormuz, [24:24] raising prices for American families. But let's be blunt, also resulting in the death [24:31] of our service members, the injuries to our service members, and about a billion to two billion dollars [24:39] a day in national treasure. These are profoundly concerning changes and not a paradigm shift [24:50] in sync with the Constitution. But I was struck in the budget. What's missing in this budget? No plan [24:56] to bring down gas prices. No plan to bring down grocery prices. Nothing on Social Security, even though we are [25:04] just six years out from exhausting the Social Security Trust Fund. That's of great concern to [25:14] seniors across this country who will be looking at a 28 percent cut in their Social Security payments. [25:20] I really encourage the administration to take on this issue, and I praise the chairman of this committee [25:26] for holding a hearing on this question. I hope we can get to an actual bill now. But I'd like to see the [25:32] administration participating in that effort to save Social Security. No funding for aid to farmers [25:38] hurt by Trump's terrorists. No additional funding to deal with unexpected disasters, despite the enormous [25:45] increase in wildfires, floods, and hurricanes. No credible plan to reduce the debt after adding 30 trillion [25:52] dollars last year. We're now at over 100 percent of GDP, that is debt to GDP ratio. And we have an entrenched [26:03] 6 percent of GDP deficit between the roughly 17 percent of GDP that we're raising in revenue [26:11] and the roughly 23 percent that we are spending. And in this budget, I didn't see any deficit projections. [26:21] Now the law requires the budget to have those deficit projections. Section 31 of the U.S. Code 1105 [26:28] says there have to include at least five years of deficit and debt projections. But you chose not to put [26:33] them in. That is breaking both the spirit and the letter of the law. What the budget does include [26:44] are projections that President tariffs will raise an eye-popping 1.6 trillion in revenue more than CBO [26:51] estimates. And CBO estimates were made before the Supreme Court ruled Trump's tariffs unconstitutional. [26:58] So you would think these revenue projections would actually be smaller than CBO's projection, not larger. [27:06] So those projections really are fictional. And then we have this massive increase in defense spending, [27:14] and certainly a difference of opinion that I have with the chair. What we're looking at right now, [27:24] based on last year's H.R. 1 bill and what's in this budget, is a massive 42 percent increase in defense [27:35] spending. And that means that we would be spending more in constant dollars, 2027 dollars, now than we [27:45] spent in any single year in World War II when our whole entire national economy was driven by a world war. [27:55] This budget doesn't include the billions or one, two billion dollars a day we're spending in Iran. [28:04] It does include a reduction in domestic programs for American families. And those cuts continue [28:13] to compound. Your budget proposes a 45 percent cut in non-defense spending as compared to CBO's [28:21] current law baseline projection. It has less for education, less for health care, less for housing. [28:29] It's families lose and billionaires win. And that is not a good path for our nation to be on. To put it [28:39] bluntly, billionaires have enough money. Running this government by and for billionaires and oligarchs, [28:46] huge assault on the vision of government by and for the people. Let's remember the vision of this [28:52] country was not a country by and for the powerful or the oligarchs or the richest, yet that's what this [28:58] budget is designed to do. You know, President Trump, when he campaigned, he said, we're going to make this [29:07] into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people. We're going to take care of [29:11] our country first. But what do we see? American families last. Americans' richest class, the Epstein [29:22] class, first. That is just wrong. This budget is a betrayal of every working family. It's an extraordinarily [29:33] dangerous change to the vision for our nation. And the debt that you all are running up is going to [29:43] haunt this nation for a generation to come in terms of its ability to invest in health care, housing, [29:50] and education. So I think it's important for Congress to recognize and ensure that this budget is dead [29:58] on arrival. And I look forward to today's discussion. My colleague to my left and I have worked on a number [30:10] of projects together, but there's many points that we have. Make sure that's where I sit, right? [30:15] Yeah. Okay, good. We have a, may have a very different perspective on and, and certainly, I know you [30:22] mentioned reforming ICE. I, I think that's incredibly important and was the key to being able to go, go [30:29] forward because ICE is operating like secret police. In a great irony, they've adopted the tactics of [30:36] Sabak, the secret police of Iran, of showing up in unmarked vans and unmarked uniforms and failing to [30:44] get judicial warrants to knock down doors and detaining people without access to attorneys and [30:50] family. People were being disappeared into the system. Those are all the types of, of factors [30:56] that made the Sabak so hated in Iran that contributed to the 1979 revolution. And yet now we have those [31:05] same practices exercised right here. And that is a terrible, terrible mark on our democratic republic. [31:15] You're a very important man, Mr. Avot. You were a central architect of project 2025. And now in your role [31:25] as head of OMB, you are the chief engineer of the Trump administration's train. Virtually nothing [31:31] happens that doesn't go through OMB. So this is the first chance we've had to have you before the [31:36] committee since the president came into office. And I think that's important for you to, to be here. [31:44] You note in your opening message on your budget, then I quote, a historic paradigm shift in the budget [31:51] process is occurring. And I certainly agree with that because this is an extraordinary families lose, [32:01] billionaires win budget. We saw that in the major HR1 piece of legislation last year that cut health [32:10] care and salvage nutrition to fund tax breaks for the very richest Americans. And which added by CBO's [32:18] estimate, $30 trillion to our debt over the next 30 years, or if the interest rates are 1% higher than [32:25] they had in their model, $50 trillion in additional debt over the next 30 years. To savage programs for [32:32] families in order to run up debt and make billionaires even richer, well, that is a paradigm shift and not [32:43] a good one. And there is another paradigm shift underway that is deeply disturbing. The Constitution [32:52] assigns three powers to Congress. The power of taxation, the power of the purse, and the power of war. [33:03] And President Trump has violated all three of those allocations in the Constitution, trying to take and [33:13] say, those belong to the executive branch, I'm going to take those. And that is simply a huge assault on [33:22] our Constitution. You know, the very first bill the Senate ever considered after it convened was a issue [33:28] of tariffs. And for three weeks, the senator sat around and said, how much should it be on molasses? [33:33] And how should it be on a keg of nails? And so forth. And every president has understood the power of [33:39] taxation belongs to Congress until this president said, no, I'm just going to willy-nilly assign 50 [33:44] percent over here, 100 percent over there, or tomorrow I'll raise it to 20 percent without any [33:49] congressional authorization to do so. And we certainly see under the power of the purse, [33:55] the cessation of programs that have been duly authorized and appropriated by this executive [34:03] branch. And that is a direct violation of the law and a direct violation of our Constitution as well. [34:13] The Agency for International Development is certainly one of those agencies that was shut [34:18] down despite being authorized and appropriated. And public health experts estimate that to date, [34:26] 780,000 individuals died because of that sudden shutdown, including 500,000 children. The weight of [34:36] that rests on this administration. And then there's the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, of which you [34:43] are the administrative head of. But you've basically shut it down. You know that? That bureau has saved in [34:50] refunds to American families $21 billion since 2011. $21 billion. That's not counting the probably four [34:59] to five times that amount that was saved by stopping predatory schemes in their tracks. Everywhere I go, [35:06] I see, look at all these new scandals that these new strategies to rip off our seniors and rip off our [35:13] families across the country. Why isn't the CFPB doing anything about it? Well, because you shut them down, [35:19] essentially, is the answer. And then there's the congressional power to declare war. A reckless war. [35:30] A reckless war that has strengthened the right, the hardliners, that has weakened the reformers, [35:37] that has enriched Russia after President Trump lifted the sanctions on Russia, that has left nuclear [35:44] materials and rich nuclear materials buried deep underground, and that has shut down the Strait [35:50] of Hormuz. Raising prices for American families, but let's be blunt, also resulting in the death of our [36:00] service members, the injuries to our service members, and about a billion to two billion dollars a day [36:06] in national treasure. These are foundly concerning changes and not a paradigm shift in sync with the [36:18] Constitution. But I was struck in the budget. What's missing in this budget? No plan to bring down gas [36:24] prices. No plan to bring down grocery prices. Nothing on Social Security, even though we are just six [36:32] years out from exhausting the Social Security Trust Fund. That's of great concern to seniors across this [36:42] country who will be looking at a 28 percent cut in their Social Security payments. I really encourage [36:48] the administration to take on this issue, and I praise the chairman of this committee for holding a hearing on this [36:54] question. I hope we can get to an actual bill now. But I'd like to see the administration participating in that effort to save [37:01] Social Security. No funding for aid to farmers hurt by Trump's terrorists. No additional funding to deal with unexpected [37:09] disasters, despite the enormous increase in wildfires, floods, and hurricanes. No credible plan to reduce the debt after adding 30 [37:18] trillion dollars last year. We're now at over 100 percent of GDP, that is debt to GDP ratio. And we have an entrenched [37:30] six percent of GDP deficit between the roughly we are spending. And in this budget, I didn't see any deficit [37:42] projections. Now the law requires the budget to have those deficit projections. Section 31 of the U.S. Code 1105 says there [37:50] have to include at least five years of deficit and debt projections. But you chose not to put them in. [37:57] That is breaking both the spirit and the letter of the law. What the budget does include are projections [38:07] that President tariffs will raise an eye-popping 1.6 trillion in revenue more than CBO estimates. And CBO [38:14] estimates were made before the Supreme Court ruled Trump's tariffs unconstitutional. So you would think these [38:20] revenue projections would actually be smaller than CBO's projections, not larger. So those projections [38:29] really are fictional. And then we have this massive increase in defense spending, and certainly a [38:37] difference of opinion that I have with the chair. What we're looking at right now, based on last year's [38:47] H.R. 1 bill, and what's in this budget, is a massive 42 percent increase in defense spending. And that means [39:00] that we would be spending more in constant dollars, 2027 dollars, now than we spent in any single year [39:09] in World War II when our whole entire national economy was driven by a world war. This budget doesn't [39:21] include the billions or 1-2 billion dollars a day we're spending in Iran. It does include a reduction [39:29] in domestic programs for American families. And those cuts continue to compound. Your budget proposes a [39:37] 45 percent cut in non-defense spending as compared to CBO's current law baseline projection. It has less for [39:47] education, less for health care, less for housing. It's families lose and billionaires win. And that is [39:58] not a good path for our nation to be on. To put it bluntly, billionaires have enough money running this [40:05] government by and for billionaires and oligarchs. Huge assault on the vision of government by and for the [40:11] people. Let's remember the vision of this country was not a country by and for the powerful or the oligarchs [40:18] or the riches. Yet that's what this budget is designed to do. You know President Trump when he [40:27] campaigned he said we're going to make this into an incredible country that can afford to take care [40:31] of its people. We're going to take care of our country first. But what do we see? American families [40:38] last. Americans richest class. The Epstein class first. That is just wrong. This budget is a betrayal [40:51] of every working family. It's an extraordinarily dangerous change to the vision for our nation. [40:59] And the debt that you all are running up is going to haunt this nation for a generation to come [41:08] in terms of its ability to invest in health care, housing, and education. So I think it's important [41:16] for Congress to recognize and ensure that this budget is dead on arrival. And I look for today's discussion. [41:24] My colleague to my left and I have worked on a number of projects together, but there's many [41:33] points that we have. Make sure that's where I sit, right? Yeah. Okay, good. We may have a very [41:40] different perspective on and certainly I know you mentioned reforming ICE. I think that's incredibly [41:46] important and was the key to being able to go forward because ICE is operating like secret police. [41:54] In a great irony, they've adopted the tactics of Sabak, the secret police of Iran, of showing up in [42:02] unmarked vans and unmarked uniforms and failing to get judicial warrants to knock down doors and detaining [42:10] people without access to attorneys and family. People were being disappeared into the system. Those are [42:16] all the types of factors that made the Sabak so hated in Iran that contributed to the 1979 revolution. [42:26] And yet now we have those same practices exercised right here. And that is a terrible, terrible mark [42:35] on our democratic republic. You're a very important man, Mr. Avot. You were a central architect of Project [42:45] 2025. And now in your role as head of OMB, you are the chief engineer of the Trump administration's [42:52] train. Virtually nothing happens that doesn't go through OMB. So this is the first chance we've had [42:57] to have you before the committee since the president came into office. And I think that's important for [43:04] you to be here. You note in your opening message on your budget that I quote, a historic paradigm shift in [43:13] the budget process is occurring. And I certainly agree with that because this is an extraordinary [43:22] families lose, billionaires win budget. We saw that in the major HR1 piece of legislation last year [43:31] that cut healthcare and savage nutrition to fund tax breaks for the very richest Americans. And which [43:38] added, by CBO's estimate, 30 trillion dollars to our debt over the next 30 years. Or if the interest [43:45] rates are one percent higher than they had in their model, 50 trillion in additional debt over the next [43:51] 30 years. To savage programs for families in order to run up debt and make billionaires even richer, [44:02] well, that is a paradigm shift and not a good one. And there is another paradigm shift underway that [44:11] is deeply disturbing. The Constitution assigns three powers to Congress, the power of taxation, [44:20] the power of the purse, and the power of war. And President Trump has violated all three of those [44:31] allocations in the Constitution, trying to take and say those belong to the executive branch. [44:37] I'm going to take those. And that is simply a huge assault on our Constitution. [44:45] You know, the very first bill the Senate ever considered after it convened was an issue of [44:50] tariffs. And for three weeks, the Senator sat around and said, how much should it be on molasses? And how [44:55] should it be on a keg of nails? And so forth. And every president has understood the power of taxation [45:01] belongs to Congress until this president said, no, I'm just going to willy-nilly assign 50 percent over [45:06] here, 100 percent over there, or tomorrow I'll raise it to 20 percent without any congressional authorization [45:13] to do so. And we certainly see under the power of the purse the cessation of programs that have been [45:20] duly authorized and appropriated by this executive branch. And that is a direct violation of the law [45:28] and a direct violation of our Constitution as well. The Agency for International Development [45:37] is certainly one of those agencies that was shut down despite being authorized and appropriated. [45:44] And public health experts estimate that, to date, 780,000 individuals died because of that sudden [45:52] shutdown, including 500,000 children. The weight of that rests on this administration. [46:00] And then there's the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, of which you are the administrative head [46:07] of. But you've basically shut it down. You know that? That bureau has saved in refunds to American [46:14] families $21 billion since 2011. $21 billion. That's not counting the probably four to five times [46:21] that amount that was saved by stopping predatory schemes in their tracks. Everywhere I go, I see, [46:29] look at all these new scandals, these new strategies to rip off our seniors and rip off our families [46:35] across the country. Why isn't the CFPB doing anything about it? Well, because you shut them down, [46:41] essentially, is the answer. And then there's the congressional power to declare war. A reckless [46:50] war. A reckless war that has strengthened the right, the hardliners, that has weakened the reformers, [46:58] that has enriched Russia after President Trump lifted the sanctions on Russia, that has left [47:06] nuclear materials and rich nuclear materials buried deep underground, and that has shut down the Strait [47:12] of Hormuz. Raising prices for American families, but let's be blunt, also resulting in the death [47:20] of our service members, the injuries to our service members, and about a billion to $2 billion a day [47:28] in national treasure. These are profoundly concerning changes and not a paradigm shift in sync with the [47:40] Constitution. But I was struck in the budget. What's missing in this budget? No plan to bring down gas [47:45] prices. No plan to bring down grocery prices. Nothing on Social Security, even though we are just six years [47:54] out from exhausting the Social Security Trust Fund. That's of great concern to seniors across this [48:03] country who will be looking at a 28% cut in their Social Security payments. I really encourage the [48:10] administration to take on this issue, and I praise the chairman of this committee for holding a hearing [48:15] on this question. I hope we can get to an actual bill now. But I'd like to see the administration [48:21] participating in that effort to save Social Security. No funding for aid to farmers hurt by Trump's [48:27] terrorists. No additional funding to deal with unexpected disasters, despite the enormous increase [48:34] in wildfires, floods, and hurricanes. No credible plan to reduce the debt after adding $30 trillion last [48:42] year. We're now at over 100% of GDP, that is debt to GDP ratio. And we have an entrenched 6% [48:52] of GDP deficit between the roughly 17% of GDP that we're raising in revenue and the roughly 23% that [49:01] we are spending. And in this budget, I didn't see any deficit projections. Now, the law requires the [49:11] budget to have those deficit projections. Section 31 of the U.S. Code 1105 says there have to include at [49:18] least five years of deficit and debt projections, but you chose not to put them in. That is breaking both [49:25] the spirit and the letter of the law. What the budget does include are projections that President [49:34] tariffs will raise an eye-popping $1.6 trillion in revenue more than CBO estimates. And CBO estimates [49:42] were made before the Supreme Court ruled Trump's tariffs unconstitutional. So you would think these [49:47] revenue projections would actually be smaller than CBO's projection, not larger. So those projections [49:56] really are fictional. And then we have this massive increase in defense spending and certainly a [50:04] difference of opinion that I have with the chair. What we're looking at right now based on last year's [50:15] H.R. 1 bill and what's in this budget is a massive 42% increase in defense spending. And [50:26] that means that we would be spending more in constant dollars, 2027 dollars now than we spent in any [50:35] single year in World War II when our whole entire national economy was driven by a world war. This budget [50:47] doesn't include the billions or one, two billion dollars a day we're spending in Iran. It does include [50:54] a reduction in domestic programs for American families and those cuts continue to compound. Your budget [51:04] proposes a 45% cut in non-defense spending as compared to CBO's current law baseline projection. It has less [51:14] for education, less for health care, less for housing. Its families lose and billionaires win. And that is not [51:25] a good path for our nation to be on. To put it bluntly, billionaires have enough money running this [51:32] government by and for billionaires and oligarchs. Huge assault on the vision of government by and for [51:38] the people. Let's remember the vision of this country was not a country by and for the powerful [51:44] or the oligarchs or the richest. Yet that's what this budget is designed to do. You know President [51:54] Trump when he campaigned he said we're going to make this into an incredible country that can afford to [51:57] take care of its people. We're going to take care of our country first. But what do we see? American [52:04] families last. Americans richest class, the Epstein class first. That is just wrong. This budget is a [52:17] betrayal of every working family. It's an extraordinarily dangerous change to the vision for our nation. [52:26] And the debt that you all are running up is going to haunt this nation for a generation to come in [52:35] in terms of its ability to invest in health care, housing, and education. So I think it's important [52:42] for Congress to recognize and ensure that this budget is dead on arrival. And I look forward to [52:49] today's discussion. My colleague to my left and I have worked on a number of projects together, but [53:00] there's many points that we have. Make sure that's where I sit, right? Yeah. Okay, good. [53:04] We may have a very different perspective on and certainly I know you mentioned reforming ICE. I [53:12] think that's incredibly important and was the key to being able to go forward because ICE is operating [53:20] like secret police. In a great irony, they've adopted the tactics of Sabak, the secret police of Iran, [53:28] of showing up in unmarked vans and unmarked uniforms and failing to get judicial warrants to knock down [53:35] doors and detaining people without access to attorneys and family. People were being disappeared into the [53:41] system. Those are all the types of factors that made the Sabak so hated in Iran that contributed to the [53:51] 1979 revolution. And yet now we have those same practices exercised right here. And that is a [53:59] terrible, terrible mark on our democratic republic. You're a very important man, Mr. Vought. You were [54:10] a central architect of project 2025. And now in your role as head of OMB, you are the chief engineer [54:17] of the Trump administration's train. Virtually nothing happens that doesn't go through OMB. So this is the [54:23] first chance we've had to have you before the committee since the president came into office. [54:29] And I think that's important for you to be here. You note in your opening message on your budget [54:37] that I quote, a historic paradigm shift in the budget process is occurring. And I certainly agree with that [54:46] because this is an extraordinary families lose, billionaires win budget. We saw that in the major [54:55] HR one piece of legislation last year that cut healthcare and savage nutrition to fund tax breaks [55:02] for the very richest Americans, and which added by CBO's estimate, $30 trillion to our debt over the [55:09] next 30 years, or if the interest rates are 1% higher than they had in their model, $50 trillion in [55:16] additional debt over the next 30 years. To savage programs for families in order to run up debt and [55:27] make billionaires even richer, well, that is a paradigm shift and not a good one. And there is another [55:35] paradigm shift underway that is deeply disturbing. The Constitution assigns three powers to Congress, [55:45] the power of taxation, the power of the purse, and the power of war. And President Trump has violated [55:54] all three of those allocations in the Constitution, trying to take and say those belong to the executive [56:03] branch. I'm going to take those. And that is simply a huge assault on our Constitution. You know, the very [56:13] first bill the Senate ever considered after it convened was an issue of tariffs. And for three [56:19] weeks, the Senator sat around and said, how much should it be on molasses, and how should it be on [56:23] a keg of nails, and so forth. And every President has understood the power of taxation belongs to [56:29] Congress until this President said, no, I'm just going to willy-nilly assign 50% over here, 100% over [56:34] there, or tomorrow I'll raise it to 20% without any congressional authorization to do so. And we certainly see [56:42] under the power of the purse the cessation of programs that have been duly authorized and appropriated [56:50] by this executive branch. And that is a direct violation of the law and a direct violation of [56:57] our Constitution as well. The Agency for International Development is certainly one of those agencies [57:06] that was shut down despite being authorized and appropriated. And public health experts estimate [57:14] that to date 780,000 individuals died because of that sudden shutdown, including 500,000 children. [57:23] The weight of that rests on this administration. And then there's the Consumer Financial Protection [57:30] Bureau, of which you are the administrative head of, but you've basically shut it down. You know that [57:38] that bureau has saved in refunds to American families $21 billion since 2011. $21 billion. That's not [57:46] counting the probably four to five times that amount that was saved by stopping predatory schemes in [57:52] their tracks. Everywhere I go, I see, look at all these new scandals, these new strategies to rip off [58:01] our seniors and rip off our families across the country. Why isn't the CFPB doing anything about it? Well, [58:07] because you shut them down, essentially, is the answer. And then there's the congressional power to [58:13] declare war. A reckless war. A reckless war that has strengthened the right, the hardliners, that has [58:24] weakened the reformers, that has enriched Russia after President Trump lifted the sanctions on Russia, that [58:32] has left nuclear materials and rich nuclear materials buried deep underground, and that has shut down the [58:38] Strait of Hormuz. Raising prices for American families, but let's be blunt, also resulting in the death of [58:48] our service members, the injuries to our service members, and about $1 billion to $2 billion a day [58:55] in national treasure. These are foundly concerning changes and not a paradigm shift in sync with the [59:07] Constitution. But I was struck in the budget. What's missing in this budget? No plan to bring down gas prices. [59:13] No plan to bring down grocery prices. Nothing on Social Security, even though we are just six years [59:21] out from exhausting the Social Security Trust Fund. That's of great concern to seniors across this [59:30] country who will be looking at a 28% cut in their Social Security payments. I really encourage the [59:37] administration to take on this issue, and I praise the chairman of this committee for holding a hearing [59:42] on this question. I hope we can get to an actual bill now. But I'd like to see the administration [59:48] participating in that effort to save Social Security. No funding for aid to farmers hurt by Trump's [59:54] terrorists. No additional funding to deal with unexpected disasters, despite the enormous increase [1:00:01] increase in wildfires, floods and hurricanes. No credible plan to reduce the debt. After adding $30 [1:00:08] trillion last year, we're now at over 100% of GDP, that is debt to GDP ratio. And we have an entrenched [1:00:18] 6% of GDP deficit between the roughly 17% of GDP that we're raising in revenue, and the roughly 23% that we are [1:00:29] spending. And in this budget, I didn't see any deficit projections. Now, the law requires the [1:00:38] budget to have those deficit projections. Section 31 of the U.S. Code 1105 says there have to include [1:00:45] at least five years of deficit and debt projections, but you chose not to put them in. That is breaking [1:00:52] both the spirit and the letter of the law. What the budget does include are projections that President [1:01:01] tariffs will raise an eye-popping $1.6 trillion in revenue more than CBO estimates. And CBO estimates [1:01:09] were made before the Supreme Court ruled Trump's tariffs unconstitutional. So you would think these [1:01:14] revenue projections would actually be smaller than CBO's projection, not larger. So those projections [1:01:23] really are fictional. And then we have this massive increase in defense spending, and certainly a [1:01:31] difference of opinion that I have with the chair. What we're looking at right now, based on last year's [1:01:42] H.R. 1 bill, and what's in this budget, is a massive 42% increase in defense spending. And [1:01:53] that means that we would be spending more in constant dollars, 2027 dollars, now than we spent in any single [1:02:02] year in World War II when our whole entire national economy was driven by a world war. This budget [1:02:14] doesn't include the billions or 1-2 billion dollars a day we're spending in Iran. It does include a [1:02:22] reduction in domestic programs for American families. And those cuts continue to compound. Your budget [1:02:30] proposes a 45% cut in non-defense spending as compared to CBO's current law baseline projection. [1:02:40] It has less for education, less for health care, less for housing. Its families lose and billionaires [1:02:47] win. And that is not a good path for our nation to be on. To put it bluntly, billionaires have enough [1:02:56] money. Running this government by and for billionaires and oligarchs, huge assault on the vision of [1:03:04] government by and for the people. Let's remember, the vision of this country was not a country by and [1:03:10] for the powerful, or the oligarchs, or the richest. Yet that's what this budget is designed to do. [1:03:16] You know, President Trump, when he campaigned, he said, we're going to make this into an incredible [1:03:23] country that can afford to take care of its people. We're going to take care of our country first. [1:03:28] But what do we see? American families last. Americans' richest class, the Epstein class, first. [1:03:41] That is just wrong. This budget is a betrayal of every working family. It's an extraordinarily [1:03:49] dangerous change to the vision for our nation. And the debt that you all are running up is going [1:03:58] to haunt this nation for a generation to come in terms of its ability to invest in health care, [1:04:05] housing, and education. So I think it's important for Congress to recognize and ensure that this budget [1:04:13] is dead on arrival. And I look forward to today's discussion. My colleague to my left, and I have [1:04:24] worked on a number of projects together, but there's many points that we have... [1:04:28] Make sure that's where I sit, right? Yeah. Okay, good. [1:04:31] We may have a very different perspective on, and certainly, I know you mentioned reforming ICE. [1:04:39] I think that's incredibly important and was the key to being able to go forward because ICE is [1:04:46] operating like secret police. In a great irony, they've adopted the tactics of Sabak, the secret [1:04:53] police of Iran, of showing up in unmarked vans and unmarked uniforms, and failing to get judicial [1:05:00] warrants to knock down doors, and detaining people without access to attorneys and family. [1:05:07] People were being disappeared into the system. Those are all the types of factors that made the [1:05:13] Sabak so hated in Iran that contributed to the 1979 revolution. And yet, now we have those same [1:05:21] practices exercised right here. And that is a terrible, terrible mark on our democratic republic. [1:05:33] You're a very important man, Mr. Avot. You were a central architect of project 2025, and now in your [1:05:41] role as head of OMB, you are the chief engineer of the Trump administration's train. Virtually nothing [1:05:46] happens that doesn't go through OMB. So this is the first chance we've had to have you before the [1:05:52] committee since the president came into office. And I think that's important for you to be here. [1:06:00] You note in your opening message on your budget that I quote, a historic paradigm shift in the budget [1:06:07] process is occurring. And I certainly agree with that because this is an extraordinary families lose, [1:06:16] billionaires win budget. We saw that in the major HR1 piece of legislation last year that cut health [1:06:26] care and savage nutrition to fund tax breaks for the very richest Americans. And which added, by CBO's [1:06:33] estimate, $30 trillion to our debt over the next 30 years. Or if the interest rates are 1% higher than [1:06:40] they had in their model, $50 trillion in additional debt over the next 30 years. To savage programs for [1:06:48] families in order to run up debt and make billionaires even richer? Well, that is a paradigm shift and not [1:06:59] a good one. And there is another paradigm shift underway that is deeply disturbing. The Constitution assigns three [1:07:09] powers to Congress. The power of taxation, the power of the purse, and the power of war. And President [1:07:19] Trump has violated all three of those allocations in the Constitution, trying to take and say those belong [1:07:29] to the executive branch. I'm going to take those. And that is simply a huge assault on our Constitution. [1:07:39] You know, the very first bill the Senate ever considered after it convened was an issue of [1:07:44] tariffs. And for three weeks, the Senator sat around and said, how much should it be on molasses? [1:07:49] And how should it be on a keg of nails? And so forth. And every president has understood the [1:07:54] power of taxation belongs to Congress until this president said, no, I'm just going to willy-nilly [1:07:58] assign 50% over here, 100% over there, or tomorrow I'll raise it to 20% without any congressional [1:08:06] authorization to do so. And we certainly see under the power of the purse, the cessation of programs [1:08:13] that have been duly authorized and appropriated by this executive branch. And that is a direct [1:08:21] violation of the law and a direct violation of our Constitution as well. The Agency for International [1:08:29] Development is certainly one of those agencies that was shut down despite being authorized and [1:08:36] unappropriated. And public health experts estimate that to date, 780,000 individuals died because of [1:08:46] that sudden shutdown, including 500,000 children. The weight of that rests on this administration. [1:08:54] And then there's the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, of which you are the administrative head of, [1:09:01] but you've basically shut it down. You know that? That bureau has saved in refunds to American [1:09:07] families $21 billion since 2011. $21 billion. That's not counting the probably four to five times [1:09:15] that amount that was saved by stopping predatory schemes in their tracks. Everywhere I go, I see, [1:09:22] look at all these new scandals, these new strategies to rip off our seniors and rip off our families [1:09:29] across the country. Why isn't the CFPB doing anything about it? Well, because you shut them down, [1:09:35] essentially, is the answer. And then there's the congressional power to declare war. A reckless [1:09:44] war. A reckless war that has strengthened the right, the hardliners, that has weakened the reformers, [1:09:52] that has enriched Russia after President Trump lifted the sanctions on Russia, that has left [1:09:59] nuclear materials and rich nuclear materials buried deep underground, and that has shut down the Strait of [1:10:05] Hormuz. Raising prices for American families, but let's be blunt, also resulting in the death of our [1:10:15] service members, the injuries to our service members, and about a billion to two billion dollars a day [1:10:22] in national treasure. These are profoundly concerning changes and not a paradigm shift in sync with the [1:10:34] Constitution. But I was struck in the budget. What's missing in this budget? No plan to bring down gas prices. [1:10:40] No plan to bring down grocery prices. Nothing on Social Security, even though we are just six years [1:10:48] out from exhausting the Social Security Trust Fund. That's of great concern to seniors across this [1:10:57] country who will be looking at a 28 percent cut in their Social Security payments. I really encourage [1:11:04] the administration to take on this issue, and I praise the chairman of this committee for holding a hearing [1:11:09] on this question. I hope we can get to an actual bill now. But I'd like to see the administration [1:11:15] participating in that effort to save Social Security. No funding for aid to farmers hurt by Trump's [1:11:21] terrorists. No additional funding to deal with unexpected disasters despite the enormous increase in [1:11:28] wildfires, floods, and hurricanes. No credible plan to reduce the debt after adding 30 trillion dollars last [1:11:36] year. We're now at over 100 percent of GDP. That is debt to GDP ratio. And we have an entrenched six percent [1:11:46] of GDP deficit between the roughly 17 percent of GDP that we're raising in revenue and the roughly 23 percent [1:11:55] that we are spending. And in this budget, I didn't see any deficit projections. Now the law requires the [1:12:05] budget to have those deficit projections. Section 31 of the U.S. Code 1105 says there have to include at [1:12:12] least five years of deficit and debt projections, but you chose not to put them in. That is breaking both [1:12:19] the spirit and the letter of the law. What the budget does include are projections that President [1:12:28] tariffs will raise an eye-popping 1.6 trillion in revenue more than CBO estimates. And CBO estimates [1:12:35] were made before the Supreme Court ruled Trump's tariffs unconstitutional. So you would think these [1:12:41] revenue projections would actually be smaller than CBO's projection, not larger. So those projections [1:12:50] really are fictional. And then we have this massive increase in defense spending, and certainly a [1:12:57] difference of opinion that I have with the chair. What we're looking at right now, based on last year's [1:13:09] H.R. 1 bill and what's in this budget, is a massive 42 percent increase in defense spending. And [1:13:20] that means that we would be spending more in constant dollars, 2027 dollars, now than we spent in any single [1:13:29] year in World War II when our whole entire national economy was driven by a world war. This budget [1:13:41] doesn't include the billions or 1-2 billion dollars a day we're spending in Iran. It does include a [1:13:48] reduction in domestic programs for American families. And those cuts continue to compound. Your budget [1:13:57] proposes a 45 percent cut in non-defense spending as compared to CBO's current law baseline projection. [1:14:07] It has less for education, less for health care, less for housing. Its families lose and billionaires [1:14:14] win. And that is not a good path for our nation to be on. To put it bluntly, billionaires have enough money [1:14:25] running this government by and for billionaires and oligarchs. Huge assault on the vision of government by and for [1:14:32] the people. Let's remember the vision of this country was not a country by and for the powerful [1:14:38] or the oligarchs or the richest. Yet that's what this budget is designed to do. You know, President [1:14:47] Trump, when he campaigned, he said, we're going to make this into an incredible country that can afford [1:14:51] to take care of its people. We're going to take care of our country first. But what do we see? [1:14:57] American families last. Americans' richest class, the Epstein class, first. That is just wrong. This budget [1:15:11] is a betrayal of every working family. It's an extraordinarily dangerous change to the vision [1:15:18] for our nation. And the debt that you all are running up is going to haunt this nation for a [1:15:27] generation to come in terms of its ability to invest in health care, housing, and education. So I think [1:15:36] it's important for Congress to recognize and ensure that this budget is dead on arrival. And I look for [1:15:43] today's discussion. My colleague to my left and I have worked on a number of projects together, but [1:15:53] there's many points that we haven't. Make sure that's where I sit, right? Yeah. Okay, good. [1:16:00] We have a, may have a very different perspective on and, and certainly I know you mentioned reforming [1:16:05] ICE. I, I think that's incredibly important and was the key to being able to go, go forward, [1:16:12] because ICE is operating like secret police. In a great irony, they've adopted the tactics of [1:16:18] SAVAK, the secret police of Iran, of showing up in unmarked vans and unmarked uniforms and failing to [1:16:26] get judicial warrants to knock down doors and detaining people without access to attorneys and family. [1:16:33] People were being disappeared into the system. Those are all the types of, of factors, uh, that, uh, [1:16:40] made the SAVAK so hated in Iran that contributed to the 1979 revolution. And yet now we have those [1:16:48] same practices exercised, uh, right here. And that is a terrible, terrible mark on our democratic republic. [1:16:57] You're a very important man, Mr. Avot. You were a central architect of project 2025. And now in your role [1:17:08] as head of OMB, you are the chief engineer of the Trump administration's train. Virtually nothing happens [1:17:14] that doesn't go through OMB. So this is the first chance we've had to have you before the committee, uh, since [1:17:20] the president came in to office. And I think that's important for you to, to be here. You note in your opening [1:17:29] message on your budget, then I quote, a historic paradigm shift in the budget process is occurring. And I [1:17:38] certainly agree with that because this is an extraordinary families lose billionaires win [1:17:45] budget. We saw that in the major HR one piece of legislation last year that cut health care and [1:17:53] savage nutrition to fund tax breaks for the very richest Americans. And which added by CBO's estimate [1:18:01] 30 trillion dollars to our debt over the next 30 years, or if the interest rates are one percent higher [1:18:07] than they had in their model, 50 trillion in additional debt over the next 30 years. To savage [1:18:14] programs for families in order to run up debt and make billionaires even richer? Well, that is a paradigm [1:18:24] shift and not a good one. And there is another paradigm shift underway that is deeply disturbing. The [1:18:34] constitution assigns three powers to Congress, the power of taxation, the power of the purse, [1:18:43] and the power of war. And president Trump has violated all three of those allocations in the [1:18:52] constitution, trying to take and say those belong to the executive branch. I'm going to take those. [1:18:59] And that is simply a huge assault on our constitution. You know, the very first bill the Senate ever [1:19:08] considered after it convened was a issue of tariffs. And for three weeks, the senator sat around and [1:19:14] said, how much should it be on molasses? And how should it be on a keg of nails? And so forth. [1:19:19] And every president has understood the power of taxation belongs to Congress until this president [1:19:23] said, no, I'm just going to willy-nilly assign 50 percent over here, 100 percent over there, or tomorrow [1:19:28] I'll raise it to 20 percent without any congressional authorization to do so. And we certainly see under the [1:19:36] power of the purse the cessation of programs that have been duly authorized and appropriated by this [1:19:44] executive branch. And that is a direct violation of the law and a direct violation of our constitution [1:19:52] as well. The Agency for International Development is certainly one of those agencies that was shut down [1:20:00] despite being authorized and appropriated. And public health experts estimate that to date 780,000 [1:20:11] individuals died because of that sudden shutdown, including 500,000 children. The weight of that [1:20:18] rests on this administration. And then there's the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, of which you are [1:20:26] the administrative head of, but you've basically shut it down. You know that that bureau has saved in [1:20:33] refunds to American families $21 billion since 2011. $21 billion. That's not counting the probably [1:20:41] four to five times that amount that was saved by stopping predatory schemes in their tracks. [1:20:47] Everywhere I go, I see, look at all these new scandals that these new strategies to rip off our seniors and [1:20:55] rip off our families across the country. Why isn't the CFPB doing anything about it? Well, because you shut [1:21:01] them down, essentially, is the answer. And then there's the congressional power to declare war. A reckless [1:21:10] war. A reckless war that has strengthened the right, the hardliners, that has weakened the reformers, [1:21:19] that has enriched Russia after President Trump lifted the sanctions on Russia, that has left nuclear [1:21:27] materials and rich nuclear materials buried deep underground, and that has shut down the Strait of [1:21:32] Hormuz. Raising prices for American families, but let's be blunt, also resulting in the death of our [1:21:42] service members, the injuries to our service members, and about a billion to two billion dollars a day [1:21:49] in national treasure. These are profoundly concerning changes and not a paradigm shift in sync with the [1:22:01] Constitution. But I was struck in the budget. What's missing in this budget? No plan to bring down gas [1:22:06] prices. No plan to bring down grocery prices. Nothing on Social Security, even though we are just six [1:22:14] years out from exhausting the Social Security Trust Fund. That's of great concern to seniors across this [1:22:24] country who will be looking at a 28 percent cut in their Social Security payments. I really encourage the [1:22:31] administration to take on this issue, and I praise the chairman of this committee for holding a hearing [1:22:36] on this question. I hope we can get to an actual bill now. But I'd like to see the administration [1:22:42] participating in that effort to save Social Security. No funding for aid to farmers hurt by Trump's [1:22:48] terrorists. No additional funding to deal with unexpected disasters, despite the enormous increase in [1:22:55] wildfires, floods and hurricanes. No credible plan to reduce the debt. After adding 30 trillion dollars [1:23:02] last year, we're now at over 100 percent of GDP, that is debt to GDP ratio. And we have an entrenched [1:23:12] six percent of GDP deficit between the roughly 17 percent of GDP that we're raising in revenue [1:23:20] and the roughly 23 percent that we are spending. And in this budget, I didn't see any deficit projections. [1:23:30] Now the law requires the budget to have those deficit projections. Section 31 of the U.S. Code 1105 [1:23:37] says there have to include at least five years of deficit and debt projections. But you chose not to [1:23:42] put them in. That is breaking both the spirit and the letter of the law. What the budget does include [1:23:53] are projections that president tariffs will raise an eye-popping 1.6 trillion in revenue more than CBO [1:24:00] estimates. And CBO estimates were made before the Supreme Court ruled Trump's tariffs unconstitutional. [1:24:07] So you would think these revenue projections would actually be smaller than CBO's projection, not larger. [1:24:15] So those projections really are fictional. And then we have this massive increase in defense spending and [1:24:24] certainly a difference of opinion that I have with the chair. What we're looking at right now, [1:24:33] based on last year's H.R. 1 bill and what's in this budget, is a massive 42 percent increase in defense [1:24:44] spending. And that means that we would be spending more in constant dollars, 2027 dollars, now than we spent [1:24:55] in any single year in World War II when our whole entire national economy was driven by a world war. [1:25:05] This budget doesn't include the billions or one, two billion dollars a day we're spending in Iran. [1:25:14] It does include a reduction in domestic programs for American families. And those cuts continue to [1:25:22] compound. Your budget proposes a 45 percent cut in non-defense spending as compared to CBO's current [1:25:31] law baseline projection. It has less for education, less for health care, less for housing. Its families [1:25:39] lose and billionaires win. And that is not a good path for our nation to be on. To put it bluntly, [1:25:49] billionaires have enough money. Running this government by and for billionaires and oligarchs, [1:25:55] huge assault on the vision of government by and for the people. Let's remember, the vision of this [1:26:01] country was not a country by and for the powerful or the oligarchs or the richest, yet that's what [1:26:07] this budget is designed to do. You know, President Trump, when he campaigned, he said, we're going [1:26:16] to make this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people. We're going to take [1:26:20] care of our country first. But what do we see? American families last. Americans' richest class, [1:26:29] the Epstein class first. That is just wrong. This budget is a betrayal of every working family. [1:26:41] It's an extraordinarily dangerous change to the vision for our nation. And the debt that you all [1:26:50] are running up is going to haunt this nation for a generation to come in terms of its ability to invest [1:26:57] in health care, housing, and education. So I think it's important for Congress to recognize [1:27:05] and ensure that this budget is dead on arrival. And I look forward to today's discussion. [1:27:10] My colleague to my left, and I have worked on a number of projects together, but there's many [1:27:21] points that we haven't- Make sure that's where I sit, right? Yeah. Okay, good. [1:27:25] We may have a very different perspective on it. And certainly, I know you mentioned reforming ICE. [1:27:32] I think that's incredibly important and was the key to being able to go forward because ICE is [1:27:40] operating like secret police. In a great irony, they've adopted the tactics of Sabak, the secret [1:27:46] police of Iran, of showing up in unmarked vans and unmarked uniforms and failing to get judicial warrants to [1:27:55] knock down doors and detaining people without access to attorneys and family. People were being [1:28:01] disappeared into the system. Those are all the types of factors that made the Sabak so hated [1:28:09] in Iran that contributed to the 1979 revolution. And yet now we have those same practices exercised [1:28:17] right here. And that is a terrible, terrible mark on our democratic republic. You're a very important [1:28:28] man, Mr. Vogt. You were a central architect of Project 2025. And now in your role as head of OMB, [1:28:36] you are the chief engineer of the Trump administration's train. Virtually nothing happens [1:28:40] that doesn't go through OMB. So this is the first chance we've had to have you before the committee [1:28:46] since the president came into office. And I think that's important for you to be here. [1:28:53] You note in your opening message on your budget that, I quote, a historic paradigm shift in the [1:29:00] budget process is occurring. And I certainly agree with that because this is an extraordinary [1:29:09] families lose, billionaires win budget. We saw that in the major HR1 piece of legislation last year [1:29:18] that cut healthcare and savage nutrition to fund tax breaks for the very richest Americans. And which added, [1:29:26] by CBO's estimate, $30 trillion to our debt over the next 30 years. Or if the interest rates are 1% higher [1:29:34] than they had in their model, $50 trillion in additional debt over the next 30 years. To savage programs for [1:29:41] families in order to run up debt and make billionaires even richer, well, that is a paradigm shift and not [1:29:53] a good one. And there is another paradigm shift underway that is deeply disturbing. The Constitution assigns [1:30:02] three powers to Congress, the power of taxation, the power of the purse, and the power of war. And [1:30:12] President Trump has violated all three of those allocations in the Constitution, trying to take [1:30:22] and say, those belong to the executive branch. I'm going to take those. And that is simply a huge [1:30:30] assault on our Constitution. You know, the very first bill the Senate ever considered after it convened [1:30:36] was a issue of tariffs. And for three weeks, the Senator sat around and said, how much should it be on [1:30:42] molasses? And how should it be on a keg of nails? And so forth. And every president has understood the [1:30:48] power of taxation belongs to Congress until this president said, no, I'm just going to willy-nilly [1:30:52] assign 50% over here, 100% over there, or tomorrow I'll raise it to 20% without any congressional [1:30:59] authorization to do so. And we certainly see under the power of the purse the cessation of programs that [1:31:07] have been duly authorized and appropriated by this executive branch. And that is a direct violation [1:31:15] of the law and a direct violation of our Constitution as well. The Agency for International Development [1:31:24] is certainly one of those agencies that was shut down despite being authorized and appropriated. And [1:31:31] public health experts estimate that to date, 780,000 individuals died because of that sudden shutdown, [1:31:41] including 500,000 children. The weight of that rests on this administration. And then there's the [1:31:49] Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, of which you are the administrative head of. But you've basically [1:31:57] shut it down. You know that? That bureau has saved in refunds to American families $21 billion [1:32:03] since 2011. $21 billion. That's not counting the probably four to five times that amount that was saved [1:32:10] by stopping predatory schemes in their tracks. Everywhere I go, I see, look at all these new scandals that [1:32:18] these new strategies to rip off our seniors and rip off our families across the country. Why isn't the CFPB [1:32:25] doing anything about it? Well, because you shut them down, essentially, is the answer. And then there's [1:32:32] the congressional power to declare war. A reckless war. A reckless war that has strengthened the right, [1:32:42] the hardliners, that has weakened the reformers, that has enriched Russia after President Trump lifted [1:32:49] the sanctions on Russia, that has left nuclear materials and rich nuclear materials buried deep [1:32:57] underground, and that has shut down the Strait of Hormuz. Raising prices for American families. But let's be [1:33:05] blunt, also resulting in the death of our service members, the injuries to our service members, [1:33:13] and about a billion to two billion dollars a day in national treasure. These are foundly concerning [1:33:24] changes and not a paradigm shift in sync with the Constitution. But I was struck in the budget. What's [1:33:30] missing in this budget? No plan to bring down gas prices. No plan to bring down grocery prices. [1:33:36] Nothing on Social Security, even though we are just six years out from exhausting the Social Security [1:33:45] Trust Fund. That's of great concern to seniors across this country who will be looking at a 28% [1:33:54] cut in their Social Security payments. I really encourage the administration to take on this issue, [1:33:59] and I praise the chairman of this committee for holding a hearing on this question. I hope we can get to an [1:34:04] actual bill now, but I'd like to see the administration participating in that effort to save Social [1:34:11] Security. No funding for aid to farmers hurt by Trump's tariffs. No additional funding to deal with [1:34:18] unexpected disasters, despite the enormous increase in wildfires, floods, and hurricanes. No credible plan [1:34:26] to reduce the debt. After adding $30 trillion last year, we're now at over 100% of GDP, that is debt to GDP [1:34:36] ratio. And we have an entrenched 6% of GDP deficit between the roughly 17% of GDP that we're raising in [1:34:46] revenue and the roughly 23% that we are spending. And in this budget, I didn't see any deficit projections. [1:34:57] Now the law requires the budget to have those deficit projections. Section 31 of the U.S. Code 1105 [1:35:04] says there have to include at least five years of deficit and debt projections. But you chose not [1:35:09] to put them in. That is breaking both the spirit and the letter of the law. What the budget does include [1:35:20] are projections that President Terrace will raise an eye-popping $1.6 trillion in revenue more than CBO [1:35:27] estimates. And CBO estimates were made before the Supreme Court ruled Trump's tariffs unconstitutional. [1:35:34] So you would think these revenue projections would actually be smaller than CBO's projection, not [1:35:41] larger. So those projections really are fictional. And then we have this massive increase in defense [1:35:50] spending, and certainly a difference of opinion that I have with the chair. What we're looking at right [1:35:59] now, based on last year's H.R. 1 bill and what's in this budget, is a massive 42% increase in defense [1:36:11] spending. And that means that we would be spending more in constant dollars, 2027 dollars, now than we [1:36:22] spent in any single year in World War II when our whole entire national economy was driven by a world war. [1:36:31] This budget doesn't include the billions or one, two billion dollars a day we're spending in Iran. [1:36:40] It does include a reduction in domestic programs for American families. And those cuts continue to [1:36:49] compound. Your budget proposes a 45% cut in non-defense spending as compared to CBO's current law [1:36:58] baseline projection. It has less for education, less for health care, less for housing. Its families lose, [1:37:07] and billionaires win. And that is not a good path for our nation to be on. To put it bluntly, [1:37:16] billionaires have enough money. Running this government by and for billionaires and oligarchs, [1:37:22] huge assault on the vision of government by and for the people. Let's remember the vision of this [1:37:28] country was not a country by and for the powerful or the oligarchs or the richest, yet that's what this [1:37:34] budget is designed to do. You know, President Trump, when he campaigned, he said, we're going to make [1:37:43] this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people. We're going to take care [1:37:47] of our country first. But what do we see? American families last. Americans richest class, the Epstein [1:37:58] class, first. That is just wrong. This budget is a betrayal of every working family. It's an extraordinarily [1:38:09] dangerous change to the vision for our nation. And the debt that you all are running up is going to [1:38:19] haunt this nation for a generation to come in terms of its ability to invest in health care, housing, and [1:38:26] education. So I think it's important for Congress to recognize and ensure that this budget is dead on [1:38:35] arrival. And I look forward to today's discussion. My colleague to my left and I have worked on a [1:38:46] number of projects together, but there's many points that we have. Make sure that's where I sit, [1:38:51] right? Yeah. Okay, good. We have a, may have a very different perspective on and, and certainly, [1:38:57] I know you mentioned reforming ICE. I think that's incredibly important and was the key to being able to [1:39:04] go, go forward because ICE is operating like secret police. In a great irony, they've adopted the [1:39:11] tactics of Sabak, the secret police of Iran, of showing up in unmarked vans and unmarked uniforms [1:39:19] and failing to get judicial warrants to knock down doors and detaining people without access to [1:39:25] attorneys and family. People were being disappeared into the system. Those are all the types of factors [1:39:32] that made the Sabak so hated in Iran that contributed to the 1979 revolution. And yet, [1:39:41] now we have those same practices exercised right here. And that is a terrible, terrible mark on our [1:39:49] democratic republic. You're a very important man, Mr. Avot. You were a central architect of Project 2025. [1:40:00] And now in your role as head of OMB, you are the chief engineer of the Trump administration's train. [1:40:06] Virtually nothing happens that doesn't go through OMB. So this is the first chance we've had to have [1:40:12] you before the committee since the president came into office. And I think that's important for you to, [1:40:19] to be here. You note in your opening message on your budget, then I quote, [1:40:25] a historic paradigm shift in the budget process is occurring. And I certainly agree with that. [1:40:33] Because this is an extraordinary families lose, billionaires win budget. We saw that in the major [1:40:43] HR1 piece of legislation last year that cut health care and savage nutrition to fund tax breaks for the [1:40:49] very richest Americans. And which added, by CBO's estimate, $30 trillion to our debt over the next 30 [1:40:57] years. Or if the interest rates are 1% higher than they had in their model, $50 trillion in additional debt [1:41:04] over the next 30 years. To savage programs for families in order to run up debt and make billionaires [1:41:15] even richer. Well, that is a paradigm shift and not a good one. And there is another paradigm shift [1:41:24] underway that is deeply disturbing. The Constitution assigns three powers to Congress. The power of [1:41:33] taxation, the power of the purse, and the power of war. And President Trump has violated all three of [1:41:44] those allocations in the Constitution, trying to take and say, those belong to the executive branch. [1:41:51] I'm going to take those. And that is simply a huge assault on our Constitution. You know, the very first [1:42:00] bill the Senate ever considered after it convened was a issue of tariffs. And for three weeks, the [1:42:07] Senator sat around and said, how much should it be on molasses? And how should it be on a keg of nails? [1:42:11] And so forth. And every president has understood the power of taxation belongs to Congress until this [1:42:17] president said, no, I'm just going to willy-nilly assign 50% over here, 100% over there, or tomorrow [1:42:22] I'll raise it to 20% without any congressional authorization to do so. And we certainly see [1:42:29] under the power of the purse the cessation of programs that have been duly authorized and appropriated [1:42:37] by this executive branch. And that is a direct violation of the law and a direct violation of [1:42:44] our Constitution as well. The Agency for International Development is certainly one of those agencies [1:42:53] that was shut down despite being authorized and appropriated. And public health experts estimate [1:43:01] that, to date, 780,000 individuals died because of that sudden shutdown, including 500,000 children. [1:43:11] The weight of that rests on this administration. And then there's the Consumer Financial Protection [1:43:18] Bureau, of which you are the administrative head of, but you've basically shut it down. You know that [1:43:25] that bureau has saved in refunds to American families $21 billion since 2011. $21 billion. That's not [1:43:34] counting the probably four to five times that amount that was saved by stopping predatory schemes in their [1:43:39] tracks. Everywhere I go, I see, look at all these new scandals that these new strategies to rip off our [1:43:48] seniors and rip off our families across the country. Why isn't the CFPB doing anything about it? Well, [1:43:54] because you shut them down, essentially, is the answer. And then there's the congressional power to [1:44:01] declare war. A reckless war. A reckless war that has strengthened the right, the hardliners, that has [1:44:11] weakened the reformers, that has enriched Russia after President Trump lifted the sanctions on Russia, [1:44:18] that has left nuclear materials and rich nuclear materials buried deep underground, and that has shut [1:44:25] down the Strait of Hormuz. Raising prices for American families, but let's be blunt, also resulting [1:44:33] in the death of our service members, the injuries to our service members, and about a billion to two [1:44:41] billion dollars a day in national treasure. These are profoundly concerning changes and not a paradigm shift [1:44:53] in sync with the Constitution. But I was struck in the budget. What's missing in this budget? No plan [1:44:59] to bring down gas prices. No plan to bring down grocery prices. Nothing on Social Security, even [1:45:06] though we are just six years out from exhausting the Social Security Trust Fund. That's of great concern [1:45:16] to seniors across this country who will be looking at a 28 percent cut in their Social Security payments. [1:45:23] I really encourage the administration to take on this issue, and I praise the chairman of this committee [1:45:28] for holding a hearing on this question. I hope we can get to an actual bill now. But I'd like to see [1:45:35] the administration participating in that effort to save Social Security. No funding for aid to farmers [1:45:41] hurt by Trump's tariffs. No additional funding to deal with unexpected disasters, despite the enormous [1:45:48] increase in wildfires, floods and hurricanes. No credible plan to reduce the debt. After adding 30 trillion [1:45:55] dollars last year, we're now at over 100 percent of GDP, that is debt to GDP ratio. And we have an entrenched [1:46:06] 6 percent of GDP deficit between the roughly 17 percent of GDP that we're raising in revenue and the roughly 23 [1:46:15] percent that we are spending. And in this budget, I didn't see any deficit projections. Now the law [1:46:24] requires the budget to have those deficit projections. Section 31 of the U.S. Code 1105 says there have to [1:46:32] include at least five years of deficit and debt projections. But you chose not to put them in. [1:46:38] That is breaking both the spirit and the letter of the law. What the budget does include are projections [1:46:48] that President tariffs will raise an eye-popping 1.6 trillion in revenue more than CBO estimates. [1:46:55] And CBO estimates were made before the Supreme Court ruled Trump's tariffs unconstitutional. So you [1:47:01] would think these revenue projections would actually be smaller than CBO's projection, not larger. So those [1:47:10] projections really are fictional. And then we have this massive increase in defense spending. And certainly [1:47:18] a difference of opinion that I have with the chair. What we're looking at right now, based on last [1:47:27] year's H.R. 1 bill and what's in this budget, is a massive 42 percent increase in defense spending. And [1:47:41] that means that we would be spending more in constant dollars, 2027 dollars, now than we spent in any single [1:47:50] year in World War II when our whole entire national economy was driven by a world war. This budget [1:48:02] doesn't include the billions or 1-2 billion dollars a day we're spending in Iran. It does include a [1:48:09] reduction in domestic programs for American families. And those cuts continue to compound. Your budget [1:48:18] proposes a 45 percent cut in non-defense spending as compared to CBO's current law baseline projection. [1:48:27] It has less for education, less for health care, less for housing. Its families lose and billionaires [1:48:35] win. And that is not a good path for our nation to be on. To put it bluntly, billionaires have enough [1:48:44] money running this government by and for billionaires and oligarchs. Huge assault on the vision of government [1:48:51] by and for the people. Let's remember, the vision of this country was not a country by and for the [1:48:58] powerful or the oligarchs or the richest. Yet that's what this budget is designed to do. You know, [1:49:08] President Trump, when he campaigned, he said, we're going to make this into an incredible country that [1:49:11] can afford to take care of its people. We're going to take care of our country first. But what do we see? [1:49:18] American families last. Americans' richest class, the Epstein class, first. That is just wrong. This budget is a [1:49:32] betrayal of every working family. It's an extraordinarily dangerous change to the vision for our nation. [1:49:42] And the debt that you all are running up is going to haunt this nation for a generation to come in terms of its [1:49:50] ability to invest in health care, housing, and education. So I think it's important for Congress [1:49:57] to recognize and ensure that this budget is dead on arrival. And I look forward to today's discussion. [1:50:05] My colleague to my left, and I have worked on a number of projects together, but there's many points [1:50:15] that we have... Make sure that's where I sit, right? Yeah. Okay, good. [1:50:19] We may have a very different perspective on... And certainly, I know you mentioned reforming ICE. [1:50:26] I think that's incredibly important and was the key to being able to go forward because ICE is operating [1:50:34] like secret police. In a great irony, they've adopted the tactics of Sabaq, the secret police of Iran, [1:50:42] of showing up in unmarked vans and unmarked uniforms and failing to get judicial warrants to [1:50:48] knock down doors and detaining people without access to attorneys and family. People were being [1:50:55] disappeared into the system. Those are all the types of factors that made the Sabaq so hated in Iran [1:51:04] that contributed to the 1979 revolution. And yet, now we have those same practices exercised [1:51:11] right here. And that is a terrible, terrible mark on our democratic republic. You're a very important man, [1:51:22] Mr. Vogt. You were a central architect of project 2025. And now in your role as head of OMB, you are the [1:51:30] chief engineer of the Trump administration's train. Virtually nothing happens that doesn't go through [1:51:36] OMB. So this is the first chance we've had to have you before the committee since the president came in [1:51:42] to office. And I think that's important for you to be here. You note in your opening message on your [1:51:50] budget, then I quote, a historic paradigm shift in the budget process is occurring. And I certainly [1:51:59] agree with that. Because this is an extraordinary families lose, billionaires win budget. We saw that [1:52:08] in the major HR1 piece of legislation last year that cut health care and savage nutrition to fund tax [1:52:16] tax breaks for the very richest Americans. And which added, by CBO's estimate, 30 trillion dollars to [1:52:23] our debt over the next 30 years. Or if the interest rates are one percent higher than they had in their [1:52:28] model, 50 trillion in additional debt over the next 30 years. To savage programs for families in order to [1:52:39] run up debt and make billionaires even richer? Well, that is a paradigm shift and not a good one. And there is [1:52:49] another paradigm shift underway that is deeply disturbing. The Constitution assigns three powers [1:52:58] to Congress. The power of taxation, the power of the purse, and the power of war. And President Trump [1:53:07] has violated all three of those allocations in the Constitution, trying to take and say those belong to [1:53:17] the executive branch. I'm going to take those. And that is simply a huge assault on our Constitution. [1:53:26] You know, the very first bill the Senate ever considered after it convened was an issue of tariffs. [1:53:32] And for three weeks, the Senator sat around and said, how much should it be on molasses? And how [1:53:36] should it be on a keg of nails? And so forth. And every president has understood the power of taxation [1:53:42] belongs to Congress until this president said, no, I'm just going to willy-nilly assign 50% over here, [1:53:47] 100% over there, or tomorrow I'll raise it to 20% without any congressional authorization to do so. [1:53:55] And we certainly see under the power of the purse, the cessation of programs that have been duly [1:54:01] authorized and appropriated by this executive branch. And that is a direct violation of the law [1:54:09] and a direct violation of our Constitution as well. The Agency for International Development [1:54:18] is certainly one of those agencies that was shut down despite being authorized and appropriated. [1:54:25] And public health experts estimate that to date, 780,000 individuals died because of that sudden [1:54:33] shutdown, including 500,000 children. The weight of that rests on this administration. [1:54:41] And then there's the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, of which you are the administrative head of. [1:54:48] But you've basically shut it down. You know that? That bureau has saved in refunds to American [1:54:55] families $21 billion since 2011. $21 billion. That's not counting the probably four to five times [1:55:03] that amount that was saved by stopping predatory schemes in their tracks. Everywhere I go, I see, [1:55:10] look at all these new scandals, these new strategies to rip off our seniors and rip off our families [1:55:17] across the country. Why isn't the CFPB doing anything about it? Well, because you shut them down, [1:55:22] essentially, is the answer. And then there's the congressional power to declare war. A reckless war. [1:55:33] A reckless war that has strengthened the right, the hardliners, that has weakened the reformers, [1:55:39] that has enriched Russia after President Trump lifted the sanctions on Russia, that has left [1:55:47] nuclear materials and rich nuclear materials buried deep underground, and that has shut down the Strait [1:55:53] of Hormuz. Raising prices for American families, but let's be blunt, also resulting in the death [1:56:01] of our service members, the injuries to our service members, and about a billion to two billion dollars [1:56:09] a day in national treasure. These are profoundly concerning changes and not a paradigm shift in [1:56:20] sync with the Constitution. But I was struck in the budget. What's missing in this budget? No plan to [1:56:26] bring down gas prices. No plan to bring down grocery prices. Nothing on Social Security, even though we are [1:56:34] just six years out from exhausting the Social Security Trust Fund. That's of great concern to [1:56:43] seniors across this country who will be looking at a 28 percent cut in their Social Security payments. [1:56:50] I really encourage the administration to take on this issue, and I praise the chairman of this committee [1:56:55] for holding a hearing on this question. I hope we can get to an actual bill now. But I'd like to see the [1:57:01] administration participating in that effort to save Social Security. No funding for aid to farmers [1:57:08] hurt by Trump's terrorists. No additional funding to deal with unexpected disasters, despite the enormous [1:57:15] increase in wildfires, floods, and hurricanes. No credible plan to reduce the debt after adding 30 [1:57:22] trillion dollars last year. We're now at over 100 percent of GDP, that is debt to GDP ratio, and we have an [1:57:32] entrenched six percent of GDP deficit between the roughly 17 percent of GDP that we're raising in revenue [1:57:41] and the roughly 23 percent that we are spending. And in this budget, I didn't see any deficit projections. [1:57:51] Now, the law requires the budget to have those deficit projections. Section 31 of the U.S. Code 1105 [1:57:58] says there have to include at least five years of deficit and debt projections. But you chose not to put [1:58:03] them in. That is breaking both the spirit and the letter of the law. What the budget does include [1:58:13] are projections that President tariffs will raise an eye-popping 1.6 trillion in revenue more than CBO [1:58:21] estimates. And CBO estimates were made before the Supreme Court ruled Trump's tariffs unconstitutional. [1:58:27] So you would think these revenue projections would actually be smaller than CBO's projection, not larger. [1:58:36] So those projections really are fictional. And then we have this massive increase in defense spending, [1:58:44] and certainly a difference of opinion that I have with the chair. What we're looking at right now, [1:58:53] based on last year's H.R. 1 bill and what's in this budget, is a massive 42 percent increase in defense [1:59:04] spending. And that means that we would be spending more in constant dollars, 2027 dollars now than we spent [1:59:16] in any single year in World War II when our whole entire national economy was driven by a world war. [1:59:25] This budget doesn't include the billions or one, two billion dollars a day we're spending in Iran. [1:59:33] It does include a reduction in domestic programs for American families. And those cuts continue to [1:59:43] compound. Your budget proposes a 45 percent cut in non-defense spending as compared to CBO's current [1:59:51] law baseline projection. It has less for education, less for health care, less for housing. Its families lose, [2:00:00] and billionaires win. And that is not a good path for our nation to be on. To put it bluntly, [2:00:10] billionaires have enough money. Running this government by and for billionaires and oligarchs, [2:00:15] huge assault on the vision of government by and for the people. Let's remember the vision of this [2:00:22] country was not a country by and for the powerful or the oligarchs or the richest, yet that's what this [2:00:28] budget is designed to do. You know, President Trump, when he campaigned, he said, we're going to make [2:00:36] this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people. We're going to take care [2:00:41] of our country first. But what do we see? American families last. Americans richest class, the Epstein [2:00:52] class, first. That is just wrong. This budget is a betrayal of every working family. It's an extraordinarily [2:01:03] dangerous change to the vision for our nation. And the debt that you all are running up is going to haunt this nation.