Arizona Representatives, including Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-08), Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04), and Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05), all recently released statements slamming the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as it passed the U.S. House Friday and will move on to President Joe Biden (D).
“President Biden and congressional Democrats are so out of touch with everyday Americans that they just pushed through a massive tax and spending bill that will increase taxes, gasoline prices, and utility rates all while making the lives of Americans worse,” Lesko said. “I won’t do that to the American people and that is why I voted no.”
Lesko stated that the bill would increase taxes by $17 billion on American households making less than $200,000 annually. This fact is backed by the Senate Finance Committee (SFC), which also states that major tax increases will fall on American manufacturers. Lesko further said that because of increased taxes and fees on U.S. oil and gas production, the price of gasoline might continue to rise.
My statement on Democrats' so-called Inflation Reduction Act⬇️ pic.twitter.com/RLoBnZJxKZ
— Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (@RepDLesko) August 12, 2022
Moreover, Gosar slammed the bill for spending money on the “asinine” Green New Deal, which includes unusual priorities.
“Highlighting the lunacy of this bill, it also includes $370 billion to be doled out to implement asinine “Green New Deal” policies including funding to develop diets that prevent cows from passing gas. Excuse me? Sadly, these are the priorities of the radical leftists in Congress,” said Gosar.
He further said that as inflation remains at a 40-year high, the economy is in a recession, and the border is vulnerable and lacks resources, Democrats have “doubled down” on “fail policies” and big spending.
“I reject more big government and higher taxes and voted no,” concluded Gosar.
Furthermore, Biggs claimed that one of the bill’s most egregious sections was hiring 87,000 armed IRS agents.
“They’re going to go after the American public. They’re going to go after people for political reasons, just like they did under President Obama when Lois Lerner directed IRS agents to go after Conservative organizations. That’s a huge, huge problem in our free society. You should never abuse the power of government, ever, and it makes it even worse when you’re doing it for political purposes against political opponents. That’s what this bill is doing. I voted no, along with all my other Republican colleagues,” Biggs said.
Biggs ultimately called the IRA “misnamed” and a radical spending wish list for Democrats that will ultimately not reduce inflation.
The Penn Wharton Budget Model (PWBM) provided an analysis of the Senate-passed version of the IRA and confirmed what Biggs had said. According to the PWBM, the IRA will have no meaningful effect on inflation over the next decade, potentially only reducing inflation by 0.1 percent in about five years. The IRA would eventually lower government debt by eight percent by 2050, but Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would only increase by 0.1 by the same time.
However, the PWBM does say that the IRA would increase taxes for large businesses, prevent large-income households from evading taxes, and decrease revenue for big pharmaceutical companies. Although, the FSC said corporate tax hikes often get passed on to workers with lower wages and consumers with higher prices.
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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Debbie Lesko” by Congresswoman Debbie Lesko. Photo “Paul Gosar” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. Photo “Andy Biggs” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. Background Photo “U.S. Capitol” by Ron Cogswell. CC BY 2.0.
