HELP Committee GOP Leaders Push for Hearings on Biden’s $6 Trillion Budget

Today, the Ranking Members on all three Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittees announced they’ve sent letters to their respective subcommittee Chairs requesting appropriate hearings on the Biden Administration’s proposed $6 trillion budget for fiscal year 2022.

The letters were signed by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Children and Families, Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security.

“Most authorizing committees hold budget hearings with their respective cabinet agencies so that the members of the authorizing committee can better understand the proposed budget request,” the letters state.“ Such a hearing is at the heart of our role in oversight of the agencies under our jurisdiction and helpful to the American people for whom we work to know what our government proposes to spend and do with their taxpayer funds.” 

The letters continue, “Because current and recent Chairs of the HELP Committee, U.S. Senators Murray, Alexander, and Harkin, have also served on the Senate Appropriations Committee, holding a budget hearing for HELP’s cabinet agencies has fallen out of practice. This is a huge disservice to the rest of the members of the HELP Committee.”

You can read the letter sent by Sen. Cassidy here.

You can read the letter sent by Sen. Braun here.

You can read the letter sent by Sen. Collins here.