Boyle Opening Statement at Budget Committee Member Day

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02), Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, delivered opening remarks at the Budget Committee's Member Day hearing.

Remarks as delivered and video are below:

 (Click for video of remarks as delivered)

Ranking Member Boyle's remarks as delivered:

I just want to briefly address, both on policy and on process, since I know today is more about the latter. But first, on the former, we are facing a health care crisis in the United States. Things were already too unaffordable in the United States in so many areas, including and especially health care, and then a bill was passed this summer to make the situation far worse.

The president used to call it the "One Big Beautiful Bill," but now it is so deeply unpopular he never even brings it up. The reason, of course, why it's so deeply unpopular is, according to CBO as well as other independent estimates, this bill will cause approximately 15 million Americans to lose their health care, and premiums for tens of millions more will rise. The beginning of those cuts to take effect is January 1, specifically on the Obamacare or ACA exchanges.

The average, and this is just the average expected increase in our home Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is 102% on our state's exchange. I've seen other states where it's even higher. So, we only have a few more weeks to go in order to solve this crisis and help the American people with their looming increases in health care premiums.

I believe that is what we should be doing - that should be project number one this week, and for the next few weeks, before we hit that January 1 deadline when it will be too late. There does seem to be some bipartisan momentum. Some House Republican colleagues have talked publicly about wanting to support something to basically alleviate the problems that were created by the Big, Beautiful Bill for Billionaires.

Now, we will, I think, continue over the next few weeks and months and even years to discuss and debate difference of opinion when it comes to health care, when it comes to affordability, when it comes to a whole range of issues, but the second half of the time I have, let me switch over to process since I know that is more the stated reason for our hearing today.

I believe that there can be common ground here, sincerely. I've had these conversations, I know with our acting chair. I've had conversations with Chairman Arrington. I believe that any long-lasting budget process reform will have to be bipartisan. We know that if it's partisan, the very next election, and there's a trifecta on the other side, it will be done away with.

I am hopeful that perhaps, hypothetically speaking, if there were a Democratic House and a Republican president, that there would be, in fact, the appetite for some long-lasting reform, because it is a fact that 51 years after the Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the process has broken down more often than it has succeeded over the last 51 years.

If you look at it - really, the history from '74 on the first half of that, roughly - the system worked as it was designed. But ever since the late nineties or so, it truly has not. So, I believe that looking at certain things like two-year budgeting, looking at other reforms that previous commissions have explored but failed to adopt.

I also think that this is an opportunity to address the, in my view, intolerable situation in which you have millions of workers who don't get paid during a government shutdown. We didn't even use to have government shutdowns until the last 50 years.

I think it's also an opportunity to finally reform the debt ceiling process -  a complete anachronism. Let's just say, if its stated goal was ever to bring down debt, it has failed miserably. So, I look forward to hearing the ideas from our colleagues, and let's after today attempt to work on a bipartisan basis where we can on budget process reform. But let's also not forget the current crisis facing the American people with respect to affordability and especially health care. With that, I yield back.

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