Sixth District Perspectives with Congressman Ben Cline – October 23, 2021

Last week began with the House kicking the can down the road regarding the debt ceiling for two short months as House and Senate Democrats continue to struggle to find support to pass their massive tax and spend reconciliation bill. Included in that boondoggle is a proposal to allow the IRS to have access to all private citizens’ bank transactions over $600. This is a ridiculous proposal, and I wrote to the Treasury Secretary expressing my concerns. I also wrote to the President last week expressing my dismay for his abandonment of sound energy policy for this country. Before the President took office, the United States was enjoying energy independence, but now as a result of the Biden Administration’s policy initiatives, we are now once again reliant on our adversaries overseas. With energy costs skyrocketing, this is another failure of leadership as the economic and inflation crisis gets worse. I will continue to advocate for sensible solutions to these problems and will be sure to voice the views of my constituents in Washington, which I continue to gather as I travel throughout the Sixth District.

Debt Ceiling:
Last Tuesday, the House was called back into session to vote on raising the debt ceiling. I voted no on this measure for several reasons. First and foremost, voting to raise the debt ceiling only encourages President Biden and Democrats to pursue their $4.3 trillion tax and spend package, which is nothing more than a wish list of Far-Left Socialist policies. Some of the most ridiculous proposals in this package include $630 billion to prop up the Green New Deal, amnesty for 8 million illegal immigrants, and a $2.1 trillion tax increase on American families and job creators. Further, this package is expected to add at least $1.75 trillion to the national debt over the next ten years.

If Democrats want to continue to spend trillions of dollars that we cannot afford, they should not expect Republicans to bail them out. Democrats could have used the reconciliation process to achieve their goal of raising the debt limit, which requires only 51 votes in the Senate. However, rather than start this process in a timely manner, they blamed Republicans and incorrectly claimed Democrats did not have the ability to act. This poor governance by Democrats is a major blunder of their own making, and therefore, House Republicans opposed raising the debt ceiling for two short months. The Left is driving us over a fiscal cliff and shows no signs of slowing down.

Invading Your Privacy:
Among many of the egregious proposals included in the Democrats’ $4.3 trillion reconciliation bill is a new policy that would mandate banks to report all transactions of private citizens over $600 to the IRS. To enforce this plan, the legislation would also provide funding to double the number of IRS agents, who would target American families and small businesses. The Federal government has no place in people’s bank accounts and the proposal is the height of government invasiveness. I recently joined my colleagues in writing a letter to the Treasury Secretary expressing our serious concerns.

Further, in 2013, we learned the IRS had been targeting conservative groups for years and to this day, not a single person involved has faced consequences. Just this year, the IRS leaked personal tax records of wealthy Americans to prove a political point and yet again, no one was charged. The last thing we should do is delegate more power to an institution that tolerates corruption and discrimination.

Energy Independence:
Since taking office, President Biden has taken several actions that have resulted in the United States no longer being energy independent, most notably perhaps was the canceling of the Keystone Pipeline. Now as gas prices soar, President Biden has asked OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), which includes countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Venezuela, to produce more oil in an effort to drive prices down – a request that was denied. My colleagues and I wrote to the President recently insisting that instead of continuing to call for increased prosperity for OPEC+ affiliated nations that seek to harm the United States, we should meet American needs with American-produced energy. Accordingly, we urged him to reverse course and embrace an American solution by rescinding Executive Orders and other policies designed by his Administration to reduce access to our country’s oil and natural gas resources, which reduces the global competitiveness of American companies and workers. The full letter can be found here.

Economic Crisis:
Last week, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain quote tweeted a tweet from former President Obama’s Economic Advisor Jason Furman, which claimed that inflation and other economic problems facing Americans are “high-class problems.” This is an insulting comment to millions of hard-working Americans. Inflation is a tax on everyone, and it has gone up every single month of Joe Biden’s presidency. Instead of addressing the root cause of inflation (out-of-control government spending), Biden and House Democrats are continuing to push their multi-trillion-dollar tax and spending package, which will only add fuel to America’s skyrocketing inflation.

The Consumer Price Index rose 5.4% year over year in September, which is the fastest increase in 13 years. As a result of this, Americans are paying more for just about everything while making less because of inflation:
• Gasoline is UP 42.1%
• Propane, kerosene, and firewood are UP 27.6%
• Gas Utilities are UP 20.6%
• Bacon and related products are UP 19.3%
• Televisions are UP 12.7%
• Eggs are UP 12.6%
• Boys’ and girls’ footwear are UP 11.9%
• Electricity is UP 5.2%
• Transportation is UP 4.4%

Constituent Events:
I always enjoy the opportunity to travel throughout our region meeting with constituents and businesses. Recently, I met with the Boys & Girls Clubs of SWVA in Roanoke, as well as toured manufacturing facilities in Weyers Cave and Lynchburg.

Boys & Girls Clubs of SWVA (Roanoke)

Comsonics (Weyers Cave)

Belvac (Lynchburg)

COVID Update:
As of October 17, 2021, Virginia has had 907,882 total cases of COVID-19, including confirmed lab tests and clinical diagnoses, according to the Virginia Department of Health. The current death toll in the Commonwealth stands at 13,486. Further, according to the VDH’s COVID-19 vaccine data dashboard, as of October 17th, 5,882,459 people have been vaccinated with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 5,292,282 people are fully vaccinated.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your Congressman. If my office can ever be of assistance, please contact my Washington office at (202) 225-5431.

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