Smith Statement on Biden State of the Union Address
Washington, D.C. – House Budget Committee Republican Leader Jason Smith (MO-08) issued the following statement after President Biden delivered his State of the Union Address:“Tonight’s speech showed once again that President Biden is living in an alternate reality. The American people are facing the highest spike in prices in forty years brought on by the trillions in unnecessary spending from Washington Democrats. Labor shortages abound; cargo vessels are still sitting idle in our ports; gas prices have reached an eight-year high; and the country just surpassed $30 trillion in debt. The American people rightly hold the President responsible for the economic pain and suffering they have endured for the last thirteen months, and no amount of rhetoric will alleviate that pain and suffering. The President needs to wake up to the failures of his policies.
“The President spoke about a choice on inflation, but he chose to double down on the spending that is driving prices ever higher and robbing American families of the wages they have earned. The Democrat partisan agenda has plunged America into an endless season of crises by exploding the deficit through trillions in reckless spending, destroying America’s energy independence, and giving Washington more command and control over the lives of the American people. The inflation fire fueled by the President’s $2 trillion bailout bill was packed full of waste that has gone ignored by this Administration, and now Washington Democrats want to rob them more through even higher taxes and another $5 trillion in spending.
“This is a President whose budget would have authorized $17 trillion in new debt while he claims he wants to reduce the deficit. And rather than admit his own spending and policies have driven the debt higher, the President tried to claim that allowing American families to keep more of their hard-earned money was the problem. The reality is overall tax revenues are up 28 percent so far this year; corporate taxes are up 29 percent; and individual income taxes are up 43 percent.
“The President may want to brag about his spending agenda, but he did not mention that billions he already signed into law went towards building luxury apartments, golf courses and clubhouses, planting trees and building parking lots, fish hatcheries and bird sanctuaries. He did not come clean with the American people about how his administration diverted billions from vaccines and COVID testing to house illegal immigrants at the border.
“The failed experiment of Joe Biden’s Presidency shows how dangerous an out-of-touch and incompetent Administration can be – particularly when Congress under Democrat rule has shown no interest in holding the President accountable for his failures. A new Republican majority will restore accountability and help pull the American people out of the mess Washington Democrats created.”
For additional background on the state of Biden’s reckless spending:
- Budget Balance Sheet: 1 Year of Total Democrat Control
- Smith, Rodgers, Brady Expose Biden Administration’s Massive Diversion of Funding from COVID-Testing, Cite Billions in Waste & Remaining Funds
- Smith Demands Transparency and Accountability from Biden Administration’s COVID “Rescue Czar”
- House Budget Republicans Highlight Billions in Misspent Tax Dollars Under Biden Bailout Bill, Make Case for Oversight Hearing on Democrat Spending Bill
- Smith Statement on Inflation Continuing at 40-Year High
- Smith Op-Ed: Biden’s Bullseye on Rural America
