Friday, I returned to Washington to vote against President Biden and Congressional Democrats’ big-government spending bill, which does nothing to address the increased cost of gas, groceries and other basic goods Americans buy daily. Instead, this bill will make hardworking Americans of lower and middle incomes pay more in taxes to fund green-new-deal style programs and 87,000 more IRS bureaucrats who will be empowered to harass middle-class taxpayers.
Unfortunately, many of my colleagues did not even show up and voted by proxy. I have not and will not vote by proxy, it is the antithesis of a principle-based, member-driven process. During Friday’s debate, House Democrats blocked Republicans’ attempt to force consideration of an amendment that would stop the hire of 87,000 new IRS agents to target hardworking Americans with audits. Rather than surveilling and harassing Americans, the IRS should confront real problems, like its backlog of millions of tax returns.
I ran for office pledging to do my part to stop the spigot of spending. I’ve supported and introduced legislation that prioritized and reduced spending. However, recent budgets passed by Congress have burst domestic spending caps or ignored them all together. I opposed this style of spending when Republicans were in the majority, and I oppose it today. Our economy is teetering on a recession, and inflation remains at a 40-year high. I am committed to tackling these economic challenges, reducing federal spending, and putting the American people first.
Congressman Daniel Webster represents The Villages in the U.S. House of Representatives.
