Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA-03) tonight released the following statement following President Biden’s address to a joint session of Congress:
“The goals President Biden outlined like improved roads, better internet for rural folks, more accessible child care are worthy and they’re items I’ve pushed for since I got to Congress, but as the President proposes another massive new increase in federal spending, we have to be honest about the consequences.
“To review the past year: Americans needed urgent help last March, so Congress passed a $2.2 trillion aid bill. And then last December, when people were still hurting, we authorized another $900 billion in additional aid. And when Biden became president, Congress passed another COVID aid bill that cost another $1.9 trillion. Since then, Biden unveiled an infrastructure package with a $2.3 trillion price tag. And tonight, he unveiled a new child care bill that includes tax hikes and costs $1.8 trillion. That’s roughly $9.3 trillion in new spending on top of the roughly $4.8 trillion the federal government already shells out, all in a little more than a year.
“When we print and spend so much new money so quickly, we risk creating the sort of massive inflation we haven’t seen in this country in four decades and budget deficits on a scale we’ve never seen. Politicians and the Federal Reserve fight deficits and inflation by raising taxes and raising interest rates, which stifle economic growth and can send us into a recession or even a depression. Politicians have to slow down their spending spree before they do major damage to our jobs and our kids’ futures.”