April 15, 2026
Chairman Jodey Arrington
Ranking Member Brendan Boyle
U.S. House Committee on the Budget
204 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Chairman Arrington, Ranking Member Boyle, and Members of the Committees,
Thank you for hosting today’s important hearing with Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), on the President’s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request. Mr. Vought has played a key role in helping President Trump transform the operations of the federal government over the last year, including saving taxpayer funds by reducing the federal role in a number of unnecessary government functions. The budget proposals being presented today, to a large degree, continue the President's efforts to “drain the swamp” in Washington and help taxpayers keep more of the money they earn in their pockets—not Uncle Sam’s.
To help the Committee better assess this Budget Request, we have drafted recommended questions to ask Mr. Vought at the hearing today. These questions are listed below. Thank you for the opportunity to submit a letter for the record—we look forward to today’s hearing.
Sincerely,
David Timmons
Senior Policy Manager
***
- Program Assessment and Rating Tool (PART). Under the administration of former President George W. Bush, OMB established PART to systemically evaluate and rate the effectiveness of federal programs over several years. Unfortunately, this valuable tool was eliminated by President Obama. Will the Trump Administration consider reviving PART? Would you support working with Congress to enact PART as a statute to give it more durability?
- TSA Fee Diversion. American travelers pay a mandatory $11.20 charge for every round-trip ticket purchase that is meant to fund the Transportation Security Administration. However, Congress passed a law diverting this $4.5 billion revenue stream toward deficit reduction instead of using it for its dedicated purpose. The President’s budget rightly addresses this problem to ensure TSA workers can receive their paychecks regardless of whether the government is shut down or not. How will this measure help pay DHS federal workers and keep airports and airplanes safe?
- Permitting Reform. The President’s budget request includes numerous changes to address the bureaucratic red tape that has strangled domestic energy and infrastructure development. Specifically, the budget directs a handful of agencies to address duplicative permitting requirements, reforms the Endangered Species Act, and creates new tools for the federal government to speed up permitting approvals. While these administrative changes can make an impact, they do not negate the need for a broader comprehensive permitting reform bill to be passed by Congress. How will these changes help generate more economic activity and tax revenue?
- Major Department of War Budget Increase. This budget increases military spending by almost 50% year-over-year. While national defense is a core responsibility of the government, particularly during this period of conflict, allocating such a large share of federal resources without spending offsets elsewhere in the budget is not a prudent way to replenish our munitions stockpiles. The Department of War consistently fails to pass an annual audit, so it could be prudent to propose more taxpayer-friendly increases in spending over time, at least until the Department is able to pass an annual spending audit. How will these additional funds be offset, in light of our massive $39 trillion federal debt level?
- Reliance on Tariff Revenues. President Trump’s use of tariffs has proven to be one of the most concerning economic policies implemented during his presidency, and largely without congressional approval. This budget continues the rosy assumptions that the tariffs would raise $1.675 trillion through 2031 despite the Supreme Court ruling the majority of these import taxes to be unconstitutional. A reliance on this figure grossly overestimates the amount of revenue that would be raised, the impact on economic growth, and job creation. Why does this budget assume such high projected tariff levels?
- Deficit Spending. While the budget does not include a full discussion of federal deficits and debt levels, projections using the included budget estimates show a persistent gap between spending and revenues over the next decade. From 2027 to 2036, the overall federal debt level is expected to rise from roughly $39 trillion in 2026 to over $56 trillion by 2036. At some point, buyers of federal debt may grow wary of taking on the increased risk posed by this alarming level of debt and choose more fiscally prudent investments. If this were to occur during this Administration, what actions would you take to help stave off this potential fiscal crisis?
- Trust Funds Depletion—No Changes to Mandatory Spending. According to recent estimates, the Medicare Trust Fund is expected to deplete by 2033, the Social Security Trust Fund by 2032, and the Federal Transportation Trust Fund will hit zero in 2028. How should the President’s Budget Request address these looming insolvency dates?
- Rosy Economic Estimates. The President’s Budget Request relies on optimistic economic estimates for the next 10 years, with projected 3% growth rates. However, the Congressional Budget Office only estimates future annual growth at 1.8%, while the Federal Reserve is slightly more optimistic at 2.0%. Which economic assumptions were relied on in the development of this estimate?
- Why Alcatraz and Not the Presidio? While we applaud the thought behind the President’s proposal to reopen the federal prison at Alcatraz, at a cost to taxpayers at $152 million, it is not a realistic idea. There is not even a real water source on the tiny island. However, a few miles away from the former prison is one of the most valuable and underused federal properties in the country: the Presidio. A former military base that has been closed for over 30 years, a sale of this iconic property could generate billions in funds that could help reduce the federal debt. Has the sale of this property been considered?
- Major Savings and Reforms. In each year of President Trump’s first term, OMB published a supplemental “Major Savings and Reforms” volume to accompany the budget, outlining specific proposals to reduce waste and improve program efficiency (2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020). Other recent presidents have also included similar publications with their budget requests to Congress. Will a similar document be released this year that Congress can use to prioritize oversight and enact meaningful reforms?