As the U.S. Senate prepares to take up debate on the Democrat-sponsored “Build Back Better Act,” a $1.75 trillion climate and social spending bill, Republicans are taking issue with the legislation’s expensive undertaking.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the bill, which is widely seen as a major legislative priority for President Joe Biden, would increase the national deficit by $367 billion over 10 years. However, the president has maintained that his signature legislation would prove to be of no cost to the American taxpayer.
“The fact of the matter is, my Build Back Better Agenda costs $0,” Biden contended in an October tweet.
In a recent appearance on Newsmax TV’s “Cortes & Pellegrino,” U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) voiced his concerns over the bill’s price tag. During the interview, the congressman seemingly called into question Biden’s mental soundness over his refusal to acknowledge the bill’s cost.
“[O]f course, the President of the United States has had some mental lapses on occasion – some are quite remarkable – and that might explain why he does not understand that this is a very costly bill,” asserted Brooks.
The people in the White House have no concept of how a free-enterprise economy is supposed to work. But that should surprise no one given that they're Socialists. WATCH my clip with @newsmax's @CortesSteve & @JennPellegrino ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/CHr5Nwm3gw
— Mo Brooks (@RepMoBrooks) November 23, 2021
The North Alabama congressman then took aim at Democrats’ tax increase proposals included within the bill, which he indicated would prove to further aggravate the nation’s inflation woes.
“Let me emphasize something – I don’t give the bill any credit by the fact that this legislation dramatically increases taxes on our job creators,” continued Brooks. “What that’s going to do is suppress economic activity because it’s going to increase the cost of doing business in the United States of America, which in turn is going to force those products to have price increases, which in turn is going to cause consumers not to buy them. Rather instead, they’re going to be buying cheaper foreign-made products and that’s going to cost us jobs in the United States of America.”
He added, “So while the Democrats are saying ‘hey look at us, look at us, we’re paying for a lot of this,’ yeah, they’re paying for it by using the federal government at the point of a gun taking money from individuals and from businesses who have earned it. That’s not a good thing. But to the extent there is a deficit or debt associated with this particular legislation, you’ve seen the estimates, they’re all over the map – what that’s going to do is decrease the value of America’s currency, the dollar, which in turn has an inflationary impact.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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