"Things need to change," Grassley said. He added that the Senate’s light work schedule is a major reason why lawmakers are unable to manage federal spending.
"Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised, because when the Senate goes into session at 3 o’clock on Monday and has one vote, hardly any business, and then you work all day Tuesday and all day Wednesday and adjourn at 1:45 pm on Thursday, you can’t get a lot of session work done," he said in a Senate Budget Committee hearing.
Sen. Chuck Grassley dinged Democrats on Wednesday for allowing a light Senate work schedule that isn't enough to properly oversee federal spending. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)
"Compare to when I came to the United States Senate," he added. "Started at no later than noon on Monday, debated on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, when home Friday at 4 pm."
"So, I think there needs to be some re-analysis of… the amount of time that we’re in session," Grassley said.
Grassley leveled that charge at a hearing aimed at discussing how the climate crisis could put new pressure on the federal budget. The new chairman of the committee, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., has warned about the looming climate crisis for years, and said his committee needs to consider how environmental emergencies might drive new spending.
Grassley agreed that this is a topic to be considered, but said the broader issue of overspending must be a major part of the committee’s work and said Democrats in recent years have ignored the growing national debt.
SCHUMER SAYS CHINESE ‘HUMILIATED’ BY SPY FLIGHT INCIDENT: ‘IT’S A REAL SETBACK FOR THEM'
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., sets the schedule for the Senate that has a slight 51-49 Democrat edge. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
"Republicans and Democrats have to share this blame," Grassley said. "For decades, Congress turned a blind eye as our nation walked toward a fiscal cliff. But Democrats turned that walk into a sprint."
"In March 2021, Democrats took advantage of an emergency situation to pass a $2 trillion partisan spending bill, even as our economy showed strong signs of recovery. Then as inflation soared to a 40-year high, they doubled down, spending trillions more on their liberal wishlists," he said.
Grassley also dinged Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who chaired the Budget Committee in the last Congress when the Senate failed to pass a budget or any individual federal spending bills.
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Grassley said the Budget Committee needs to do the work of passing a budget and managing federal spending. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Grassley noted that the Congressional Budget Office was warning last year that federal debt owned by the public will reach 110% of U.S. gross domestic product by 2032, and 185% by 2052, while annual budget deficits will soon hit $2 trillion.
"Mr. Chairman, your immediate predecessor refused to bring in CBO to discuss the overall budget outlook," Grassley said, referring to Sanders. "This was a mistake. So I urge under your leadership to hold a hearing with CBO on the latest outlook. Nobody benefits from just burying our heads in the sand."