“This budget, in my view, will destroy the ability to create new jobs in this country.”
Today, Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) made an opening statement at a hearing on President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget proposal in which he warned that Biden’s budget would “create a tax and spend policy in perpetuity and make it very hard for the next generation of Americans to grow their own business, start their own business and raise their families with some hope of acquiring wealth.”
President Biden’s $6 trillion budget proposal charts his vision of an expansive federal government role in the economy and the lives of Americans, with big increases in spending on infrastructure, public health and education along with tax hikes on corporations and the wealthy.
The proposal would shift more federal resources from the military, which would see a 1.6% rise in spending next year, to domestic programs such as scientific research and renewable energy, which would get 16.5% more funding under the president’s plan in 2022.
“This budget, in my view, will destroy the ability to create new jobs in this country,” Graham said. “It will create a debt burden on future generations that would be devastating. It would, at a time of great danger, strip America of being able to maintain a qualitative edge over those who wish us harm. This is a very ill-conceived budget. It will get no support on our side.”
Graham also warned that Biden’s bloated budget could drive businesses out of the U.S.
“Businesses can go anywhere in the world to do business and I think a lot of them will be choosing another spot other than the United States because we will drive them offshore. This tax and spend budget will break the back of our economy and will destroy future generations’ ability to achieve the American dream that most of us have had a shot at because we will sink them with debt.”
In addition, Graham raised concerns that the 1.6 percent increase in military spending is lower than inflation and is not sufficient to keep America safe from increasingly aggressive foes.
“Look what’s going on in the world,” Graham said. The Iranians are marching toward a nuclear weapon, 60 percent enrichment. We have Russia rattling the neighborhood it lives in. Afghanistan, we’re about to withdraw and ISIS, and unfortunately, al Qaeda types are going to reemerge. We’ve got North Korea threatening every day to expand their nuclear program. The Chinese are up to no good on every front…so our response is basically neuter our defense capabilities…”
The president’s ability to enact his agenda will depend on Congress, where Democrats have slim majorities. Lawmakers routinely ignore the White House’s budget requests in favor of their own plans, and some Democratic lawmakers have expressed reservations about Mr. Biden’s proposals to raise taxes on businesses and high-income households.
Passing a budget in Congress unlocks reconciliation, a process that allows lawmakers to pass legislation directly related to the budget with a simple Senate majority, instead of the usual 60 votes. So, to the extent that Biden can include his more controversial and partisan proposals into the budget, the more likely he is to get them passed through the Senate.
Catherine Mortensen is Vice President of Communications for Americans for Limited Government.
