River Bend Times

Ranking Member Chuck Grassley from Iowa has raised concerns over the Biden-Harris Administration's handling of its 2025 budget proposal, citing a lack of transparency that he claims is preventing the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) from conducting a complete analysis.

In a statement regarding the CBO’s report titled “An Analysis of the President’s 2025 Budget,” Grassley remarked, "Biden-Harris pie-in-the-sky policy proposals are so unrealistic CBO can’t even calculate their budget impact. This administration's unprecedented lack of transparency and fiscal discipline is insulting to Congress and the taxpayer." He further noted, "President Biden and Vice President Harris shouldn’t count on Congress to go along with their plan to stick Americans with the bill for a bunch of unclear initiatives – especially today, when households are facing 20 percent higher prices than they were four years ago."

The CBO, which has been analyzing presidential budget proposals since the 1970s, reportedly faced challenges in estimating the budgetary effects of many Biden-Harris policies due to limited detail. Grassley had previously requested White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young to ensure that CBO received all necessary information for this year’s report to Congress. Director Young responded by stating, “We will provide CBO what they need to do this independent assessment.” Despite this assurance, both the CBO and Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) lacked sufficient information from OMB to independently estimate more than 60 Biden-Harris budget proposals.

Grassley's remarks highlight ongoing tensions between congressional Republicans and the current administration over fiscal transparency and economic strategy.