During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) grilled OMB Director Russell Vought over President Trump's rescissions request.
00:04And I want to also thank you for mentioning the importance of therapeutic foods for children across the globe.
00:13We have a production company, Odyssea, in Rhode Island, and they have witnessed stop and go, funds cut off, supplies waiting in the air warehouse, rather,
00:28while children are sobbing, and that's not something to take pride in, Mr. Vote, but that's been the result of your activities.
00:37I also want to make a point that my colleagues have made, too, to get our appropriations for you, you need 60 votes.
00:46You need a bipartisan coalition of people, and if we do that, we can't turn around and then on a partisan basis of 50 votes, undercut it.
00:58Because we have to maintain, for our own, I think, congressional integrity and continuity, we have to maintain what we put together in a difficult process.
01:14And I think that's a point that Senator Collins and Senator Murray have both made.
01:18And then what we see emerging, Mr. Vote, frankly, is whatever we do will be, you know, sort of suggestive, but not controlling, as I believe the Constitution requires,
01:35because you'll have rescission packages that come up here every other week, taking out everything you want and, you know, allowing things that you don't want to survive.
01:46So, I think it's the wrong approach, and I'll make that point up front.
01:54And let me ask a very brief, and I hope a sharp response is for you.
01:59How much are you proposing to cut from the non-defense discretionary budget in FY2026?
02:06$163 billion, 20% reduction, the lowest level since fiscal year 17.
02:13And how many federal workers will be eliminated because of those cuts?
02:18We don't have a rack-up for that.
02:20It's an ongoing assessment as we figure out where we are throughout the fiscal year.
02:27Well, I mean, public sources indicate over 100,000 people in non-defense agencies.
02:33Now, what's the budget request to OMB this year?
02:37We have about a $120 million budget request.
02:44I think you're getting at that it's an increase, and we believe that's absolutely vital.
02:49You look at us from the standpoint of the work that we do, the extent to which the debt continues to grow,
02:55the extent to which we are putting forth recommendations and in charge of the deregulatory agenda.
03:04In the same way that we are trying to plus up Coast Guard and try to plus up ICE agents,
03:11we also believe it's important to plus up those examiners, career examiners.
03:16Cutting to the chase, my numbers are $146 million.
03:19I don't have it in front of me.
03:21This wasn't an OMB budget appropriations, but I'm happy to get you our specific level.
03:27You're here telling us we have to cut all these programs while at the same time we have to significantly increase the budget of OMB,
03:37adding 20 full-time employees while we cut hundreds of thousands of the rest of the government.
03:43And really, from what you've been saying today, this is not about budget analysis.
03:48You haven't produced any cost-benefit analysis.
03:51You haven't talked about these programs in the sense, well, it's not working because the goal is to reduce AIDS.
03:59No, it's ideological.
04:01It's your preferences that you're imposing upon this government.
04:06And the whole essence of Congress is we come together to represent the entire American population and work it out, argue a lot, but that's the process.
04:17And it's just ironic that you're building a backroom empire in OMB as you decry that constantly in the public sphere.
04:30I think it's a fact.
04:31Now, let me, I've, yeah, fine.
04:33I've got time as well.
04:34Now, you are running the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, correct?
04:40I am, but I'd like to respond to the last question in the sense that we're talking about 20 career examiners,
04:45as if that is somehow going to break the bank.
04:48And in particular, in your area, Senator, we had one resource management organization that covers the entirety of the Department of Defense,
04:56the entirety of state and foreign aid, the entirety of the intel community, the entirety of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
05:06That type of resource management organization needs more career examiners to be able to continue to do the job that it does.
05:13Look at General Accounting Office.
05:15I don't think they provide very much value, I'd be honest with you.
05:18They are massive.
05:20They are absolutely massive.
05:21We don't want to have anywhere near that level of FTEs, but it's important.
05:24I suspect if I asked any one of your colleagues, if they needed more people to do their job, they'd say the same thing.
05:32So it's not particularly compelling.
05:33But I want to get at a point, and, excuse me, you are running the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
05:40You have reduced the manpower in the service members affairs division, correct?
05:47I am trying to.
05:48I am in traditional.
05:49You are trying to.
05:49So you're putting more people in OMB, but you're taking away the people who are dedicated, in fact, the only place in the government,
05:57to protecting the finances of men and women in the uniform of the United States,
06:02that everybody rolls the flag up and says they're great, they're great, they're great.
06:07But when they're taken advantage of by multiple companies, you've taken away the people that are going to fight for them.
06:14Senator, that's actually not true.
06:15I specifically made military lending a priority in the enforcement guidance that I put out.
06:19I am trying to reduce the overall footprint of the agency.
06:22I'm in judicial receivership where I can't even cancel a contract, let alone do a reduction in force,
06:29because I have to go and litigate this in district court.
06:33We are waiting on that opinion, hopefully that will be coming soon, to see how I might be able to answer your question specifically as to the number of employees that will result in the enforcement division.
06:44But we ultimately believe that the Consumer Protection Bureau has not actually protected consumers.
06:51And I will tell you, as we have delved deep, we have found the extent to which these examiners have gone out and tried to weaponize the agencies against hardworking Americans across the country.
07:04Well, they're trying to protect soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, and space guardians.
