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T&I Republican Leaders Outline Opposition to Budget Reconciliation Tax and Spending Spree in Submission to Committee on the Budget

Washington, D.C., September 20, 2021 | Justin Harclerode (202) 225-9446
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Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Republican leaders detailed their opposition to the Committee Majority’s partisan budget reconciliation recommendations passed by the Majority in a markup last week.  This is the second time this year that the T&I Majority rammed through a budget reconciliation measure, this time for the Committee’s $60 billion portion of the Speaker’s latest $3.5 trillion tax and spending spree.

The Committee Republicans’ minority views, signed by full committee Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) and six subcommittee ranking members, will be submitted to the Budget Committee, which compiles all committees’ budget reconciliation recommendations before the full measure advances to the House floor.

According to the T&I Republicans’ submission, “a recent poll notes that a majority of Americans do not support this budget reconciliation effort.  Six out of 10 Americans instead favor a “strategic pause,” which Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) also recently called for. Due to the razor thin Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, partisan bills will be difficult to pass. Given this reality, the Majority is co-opting this limited reconciliation process to pass its priorities without having to meet the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. Currently, however, there are growing signs that even the Senate may fail to pass S. Con. Res. 14, as more Senators voice opposition to its reckless spending and the burdensome debt it would create for future generations.

“The Majority’s recommendations further their reckless need to spend taxpayers’ money instead of pursuing a bipartisan process to carefully identify and address the Nation’s true infrastructure needs. This measure will only grow worse as it is merged with other committees’ components, because bipartisanship in the House was rejected before the process began. We are concerned that the House Committee on the Budget will only pile on more spending, checking any remaining boxes on the Majority’s progressive wish list. For all of these reasons, we strongly oppose the Committee’s budget recommendations as well as the partisan reconciliation bill both of which are being compiled without any input from the Members speaking for more than 72 million voters.” 

Click here to read the full Republican submission, which outlines critical concerns with the Majority’s $3.5 trillion package, including that it:

  • Adds $60 billion in inflationary spending for new and existing progressive priorities, but without any funding for Hurricane Ida, wildfire, or other disaster victims,
  • Violates the President’s agreement with the Senate against “double-dipping,” or revisiting issues already litigated or addressed in the Senate’s infrastructure bill,
  • Violates the Senate Byrd rule, which will necessitate the removal of those provisions from any final measure that Congress considers, and
  • Advances the Majority’s “green” agenda at home while ensuring that the United States relies even more heavily on the “dirty” or unethical practices embraced by some other countries.

    Click here for more information from last week’s markup.

     

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