Owens Statement on Infrastructure and Social Spending Votes

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04) released the following statement following tonight’s votes on the Democrats’ socialist tax-and-spend package:

“We need to invest in the roads, bridges, airports, and mass transit systems that improve the quality of life for fast-growing states like Utah, but this fiscally irresponsible tax-and-spending spree operating under the guise of infrastructure is not the way forward. The White House and Congressional Democrats’ multi-trillion-dollar plan ushers in unprecedented spending, wage reductions for middle-class Americans, a historic $2.1 trillion tax increase, and stifling burdens for Main Street U.S.A. As one of the most expensive spending packages ever to be considered before Congress, this bill will place a staggering debt on the next generation of Americans, increase inflation, and leave our economy worse off.”

Background:

• As the New York Times reports, “budget experts, along with some moderate Democrats, say the true cost of the legislation will be closer to $4 trillion because of the way the programs are structured and accounted for in the budgetary process.” For comparison, the total U.S. annual GDP is about $23 trillion.
• Speaker Pelosi is rushing through the package without a detailed score from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), making it impossible to know how much it will cost. In the past, Democrats including Speaker Pelosi, Vice President Harris, and Leader Hoyer have opposed passing legislation without a CBO score, claiming that it would be “reckless,” “shameful,” and “irresponsible.”
• Specifically, the bill would:
  • Spend $80 billion to hire 87,000 new agents for increased IRS enforcement to bring civil and criminal cases against Americans.
  • Add back $500 million for schools of medicine prioritizing funding based on racial demographics and require faculty to be hired and students to be recruited based on prioritizing racial and demographic characteristics.
  • Include a $2.5 billion slush fund that would send taxpayer dollars to radical environmental groups to plant trees and advance “tree equity.”
  • Block the ability of many faith-based providers from participating in the childcare system and will lead to many of their closures.
  • Increase OSHA penalties on businesses that fail to implement the mandate up to $700,000 per violation, including nearly a billion dollars in funding for the Department of Labor to increase enforcement of these penalties.

###