Sixth District Perspectives with Congressman Ben Cline – September 29, 2021

The events of the last week in the House are a prime example of how to poorly run our Nation’s government. Even though one party controls the House, the Senate, and the Presidency, the Federal Government is expected to run out of funds on October 1. Last Tuesday, Democrats passed a Continuing Resolution in an attempt to keep the Government open. However, in an unprecedented move, the Speaker attached a poison pill to raise the debt ceiling but included no reforms to control future runaway spending. The Left will attempt to fault Republicans for a government shutdown or a default should one happen, but considering they have the votes and procedural tools to pass this solely on their own, their attacks are simply a deflection from their own problems.

Further, the House passed a flawed National Defense Authorization Act last week. While this bill is necessary to ensure our servicemembers have the tools necessary to do their jobs safely and effectively, the bill failed to hold the Biden Administration accountable for their incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The Democrats also passed a bill that virtually allows abortions on demand until birth. I rose in strong opposition to the measure and advocated for the rights of the unborn.

And finally, as we look toward this week, the Speaker is preparing to call up the Senate’s $1.2 trillion “infrastructure” package, which will be tied to the massive $4.3 trillion “human infrastructure” bill. This boondoggle will do little to improve our Nation’s roads and bridges while saddling future generations with the soaring national debt. One positive development of the past week was that we were able to secure $1 billion in funding for the Iron Dome protecting our ally Israel after “The Squad” had initially forced the Speaker to remove it from the Continuing Resolution. I also had the honor to meet with Sixth District constituents to hear about the issues most important to them. As the House returns to session, I will continue to be a voice of fiscal responsibility during the spending madness with your tax dollars.

Continuing Resolution/Debt Ceiling:
While Republicans have urged the Majority to engage in bipartisan negotiations to keep the government open, Speaker Pelosi unilaterally decided to attach a debt ceiling increase to the Continuing Resolution, providing Democrats a blank check for trillions of dollars in future spending. This measure, which had no bipartisan input and no reforms to rein in future wasteful spending, will not pass the Senate nor be signed into law. Democrats control the House, the Senate, and the White House, and they have the procedural tools necessary to raise the debt ceiling without Republican support. My Republican colleagues and I refused to help Democrats in their march toward socialism, and any attempt to blame Republicans for a potential government shutdown is simply a deceiving messaging tactic. If they want Republican support for either measure, they should be prepared to make concessions to rein in wasteful spending, something Democrats refuse to support.

“Infrastructure”:
Since I arrived in Congress in 2019, I have made it a top priority to improve our infrastructure. I have repeatedly advocated for and testified in favor of repairing and expanding our roadways and bridges across the Sixth District, including Interstate 81. While I applaud those in the House and Senate who originally tried to negotiate improvements to our core physical infrastructure, the reality is that the final legislation has gone “off the rails”. In fact, the Senate agreement allocates just $110 billion for roads and bridges, less than 15% of the total bill funding.

In addition, on Saturday, the Budget Committee, on which I serve, marked up the $4.3 trillion reconciliation bill. This legislation is a trojan horse filled with Far-Left Democrats’ socialist dreams. It included $7.5 billion to create a Civilian Climate Corps to promote the Green New Deal, $80 billion for more IRS agents, $42.3 billion in tax credits for the wealthy to buy expensive electric vehicles, and amnesty for illegal aliens. It will kill American jobs, increase taxes on families, increase inflation, provide amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants, encourage the elimination of right-to-work laws, expand government control of healthcare, and so much more. The reconciliation package also calls for the highest sustained federal spending levels in American history and proposes $68 trillion in total spending over the next ten years, $16.3 trillion of total deficit spending over ten years, and increases the national debt by $17 trillion, growing to $45 trillion by 2031. This level of spending is reckless with inflation already at a 13-year high and the national debt currently about $29 trillion.

Finally, the $4.3 trillion reconciliation package includes $3 trillion in tax increases, the largest tax increase since 1968. The plan would raise our corporate tax rate to higher levels than even Communist China with a combined state-federal rate of 30.9 percent. American companies would pay this higher global minimum tax for operating abroad while also paying Democrats’ higher corporate rate for operating at home—making America even less competitive and driving jobs, manufacturing, research, and investment overseas. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, the Biden Administration’s global minimum tax would destroy up to one million U.S. jobs. Further, middle-class families will undoubtedly bear the burden of Democrats’ corporate income tax hike. The Joint Committee on Taxation found that over 66 percent of the tax increase will be borne by middle- and lower-income earners. This would come in the form of lower wages, unemployment, and higher utility bills. This crippling tax hike comes at a time when American families are dealing with a stagnant economy, skyrocketing inflation, and higher prices triggered by Democrats’ out-of-control spending. This proposal, particularly the corporate tax increase, will be shouldered by the middle-class and small businesses, send jobs and businesses fleeing overseas, and gives America’s competitors an advantage. I voted no on this debacle when it came for a vote in the Budget Committee.

With House Democrats tying passage to the two bills, I must oppose both when they come before the House of Representatives for a vote. Instead, I will continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address core infrastructure needs across Virginia and throughout the United States.

NDAA:
I support our brave men and women in uniform and appreciate the great sacrifices they and their families make. The National Defense Authorization Act should make sure that our warfighters are the best equipped, most well-trained military in the world. Unfortunately, this bill instead ties the hands of the Department of Defense with more bureaucratic red tape, and it did nothing to address the failures of senior military and civilian leadership in Afghanistan. It also includes “red flag laws” that would impact the Second Amendment rights of soldiers, prioritizes funding Critical Race Theory for our service members, and subjects our daughters to the draft. It is my hope that the Conference Committee will take steps to address these issues and send back to the House a bill that I can support.

Defending Life:
Last week, Democrats continued to push their anti-life agenda on the American people with the passage of the so-called “Women’s Health Protection Act.” This extreme bill would override state pro-life laws on informed consent, parental notification in the case of a minor, prohibiting dismemberment abortions, and prohibiting abortions based on a Down Syndrome diagnosis, the baby’s sex, when a baby can feel pain, and when the baby’s heartbeat can be detected. Essentially, the Abortion on Demand Until Birth Act removes nearly all pro-life protections for the unborn at both the state and federal levels. Under this law, every state will be a late-term abortion state where abortions can be performed until birth for almost any reason. I voted against this legislation and will continue to advocate for pro-life policies in Congress. We must defend those who are society’s most defenseless.

Constituent Meetings:
As the Representative for the Sixth District, I remain committed to meeting with constituents and advocacy groups both at home and in Washington. This week, I enjoyed hearing from constituents in-person and virtually to learn more about the issues that matter most to them.

Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority

Virginia Poultry Federation

Centra Specialty Hospital

COVID:19 Update:
As of September 26, 2021, Virginia has had 849,865b 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 12,511. Further, according to the VDH’s COVID-19 vaccine data dashboard, as of September 26th, 5,757,774 people have been vaccinated with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 5,117,614 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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