As expected, U.S. Senator’s Jim Inhofe and James Lankford voted against both the bi-partisan negotiated infrastructure bill and the Democrats $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation resolution. Both passed the U.S. Senate on Tuesday. The infrastructure bill, H.R. 3684, is approximately $1 trillion.
Inhofe and Lankford scorned the Democrats for “reckless spending.”
“Instead of working to build a real, substantive infrastructure bill, these sideshow negotiations produced a grab-bag of bad policy decisions that weren’t vetted: adding a quarter of a trillion dollars to the deficit, stacking the deck in favor of electric vehicles and focusing on transit over roads and highways, just to name a few. It didn’t have to be this way,” Inhofe said, who contends there was a better way forward.
“Earlier this year, the EPW Committee overwhelmingly approved a highway bill and a drinking water bill that were chock full of provisions I authored and supported. The legislative process was working. But instead of continuing that process that we have used-myself included-for decades to build successful, bipartisan infrastructure bills, the White House cast it aside for a rushed process that sidestepped regular order and opened up the ‘infrastructure’ bill to a host of unrelated and not fully debated positions,” added Inhofe.
Lankford said the infrastructure bill only stacks more debt on taxpayers to make way for partisan issues.
“Infrastructure and debt should not be partisan issues. This bill is the first step toward the Green New Deal, and it adds billions to our national debt on top of last year’s emergency COVID spending. Infrastructure is important, but it’s not a crisis. The better infrastructure policy would prioritize building the multitude of projects we can pay for without additional debt. I cannot support this bill,” said Lankford.
Early Wednesday morning, the Senate Democrats managed to pass their $3.5 trillion budget resolution by a vote of 50 to 49.
Lankford contends the Democrats are going to reverse the effect the Republican tax reform had on the economy.
“In 2017, Republicans passed the single largest tax cut for Americans, and we watched the economy take off. Now, Democrats are in control, and they’re trying to pass a huge tax increase on American families and small businesses, which will certainly slow our economy. Democrats’ $3.5 trillion wish list on new entitlements, climate change, and amnesty is a reckless spending spree that will accelerate the national debt. This is not what Oklahomans want, and this is not what our nation needs.”
While voting against the full resolution, Lankford still managed to get the Hyde Amendment attached to the resolution. The Hyde Amendment restricts federal tax dollars from funding abortions.
Inhofe tried to get an amendment on the resolution which would have provided military upgrades to keep up with China and Russia. The amendment failed. In fact, all of Inhofe’s proposed amendments were blocked by Senate Democrats.
“In the last six months, Democrats under Joe Biden have already spent more than $3.1 trillion. Now, with more than 70 percent of Americans concerned that Democrat spending will cause spiraling inflation, they want to add another $3.5 trillion. That’s not only irresponsible – it is reckless. Overall inflation has risen at the fastest rate in over a decade and core inflation is at the highest level in nearly 30 years, but instead of cutting back, Democrats want to double down.
“The Democrats have been clear about what they will enact with this budget resolution: the Green New Deal, amnesty for illegal immigrants and tax cuts for the wealthiest in Democrat-led states. This $3.5 trillion is clearly just a blank check for the radical left’s agenda,” said Inhofe.
The infrastructure bill now heads to the U.S. House. The Senate Democrats will begin work on the language for their $3.5 trillion spending plan.
