As Republican Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, I have taken every opportunity to push back against the Democrats’ reckless tax-and-spend bill that is front-loaded with inflationary spending and full of job-killing tax hikes.

Despite Raging Inflation, Democrats Want to Print, Borrow and Spend Trillions More

The Administration and Congressional Democrats continue to push a massive new spending package that does nothing to address supply chain issues, nor inflation in consumer and producer prices. 

Inflation is now at 6.8 percent, reaching a near 40-year high.  The producer price index is up 9.6 percent, the fastest pace on record.  Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show grocery prices have increased 6.4 percent, gasoline prices have increased a whopping 58 percent, and real average hourly earnings have decreased 1.9 percent. 

A recent analysis from the University of Pennsylvania Penn Wharton Budget Model shows average U.S. households will spend $3,500 more in 2021 just to keep up with inflation, with lower-income households particularly feeling inflation’s sting. 

This analysis is telling us that even without the Democrats’ reckless tax-and-spend legislation, lower-income households will experience a $3,500 stealth tax.  If Democrats push forward with their bill, which is front-loaded with inflationary spending and full of job-killing tax hikes, Americans can expect to pay even more to keep up with rising costs without getting ahead.  And, any Federal Reserve response to hike interest rates in response to runaway inflation will mean higher mortgage rates for homebuyers, and higher borrowing costs for workers who want to buy a car or a small business that wants to borrow to buy new equipment.

$4.9 Trillion: Without Budget Gimmicks, True Cost of Democrats’ Reckless Taxing and Spending Spree Skyrockets

The Democrats’ bill relies on a number of budget gimmicks in an attempt to hide the true cost of its misguided policies.  On December 10, Congress’s nonpartisan scorekeeper confirmed what experts have been saying for months: the policies in the Democrats’ tax-and-spend legislation will negatively impact the economy, with economic effects severely worsened when intentions of permanence are taken into account.  According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), if certain provisions in the Build Back Better Act were made permanent, as Democrats truly intend, the bill would cost $4.9 trillion, and increase deficits by $3 trillion.

As I stressed in a news conference with Republican colleagues, the true cost of this bill should mean game over for this social spending spree.

Read more from a recent news conference I hosted on this topic HERE.

Caption: Senator Crapo leads a news conference with Republican colleagues on December 14, 2021

A Supersized IRS: More Audits, Investigations and Tax Enforcement for Americans

The Democrats’ latest version of their social spending spree includes a whopping $80 billion of new Internal Revenue Service funding.  This near doubling of the agency’s budget will inevitably lead to increased audits and investigations of every American taxpayers.  No one knows exactly how the IRS will spend the money on new audits and investigations, since the reckless Democrat bill gives the $80 billion to the IRS first, and then asks for spending plans to be provided later—that is, fund now, plan later.

In October, I held an event in Idaho with other concerned leaders and constituents on a related proposal that would have required financial institutions to report to the IRS on their customers’ deposits and withdrawals.  Thanks to an outcry of strong opposition, it was left out of the House’s version of “Build Back Better.”  However, there is still, hidden in the $80 billion funding boost, a provision that  provides $145 million for the IRS to hire regulation writers who could find ways to write similar rules from the IRS.

Senator Crapo leads news conference with Republican members on IRS funding, December 14, 2021

There is a long list of reasons the IRS should not be given this massive funding boost, from its history of leaks, data security failures and political discrimination, to its heavy-handedness with taxpayers.  Click HERE to learn more about the long list of concerns with the IRS funding proposal.  

READ: The IRS needs reform, not more power (Post Register)

Before the pandemic, we were experiencing one of the strongest economies in a lifetime.  Now, the United States is experiencing unprecedented economic pressures, including significant inflation and record price increases, significant friction in labor markets, ships backed up in our ports, and intense international competition.  It is unfathomable how anyone could want to move forward with a nearly $5 trillion social spending package experts say will stunt our economic recovery, further impede labor markets, and punish low- and middle-income workers with higher prices for everyday goods and services.

As Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, I am fighting on behalf of Idahoans to build on time-proven, pro-growth policies, and against reversing them to fund a reckless spending spree. 

Learn more about Senator Crapo’s efforts by visiting his website at www.crapo.senate.gov, or at www.finance.senate.gov/ranking-members-news.