Earlier this year, Washington Democrats rammed through a massive, nearly $2 trillion bill full of partisan pet projects and Democratic Party wish list items under the guise of “COVID relief”—all without any Republican support. Fast forward to today, they are looking to continue down their reckless tax-and-spending spree with another $3.5 trillion package, also without any Republican support. They are showing no signs of slowing down their irresponsible spending habits.
Instead, Democrats now want to suspend the debt ceiling, removing the limit on our nation’s credit card through 2022. With the same process they’re using to ram through their reckless tax-and-spending spree, the Democrats can raise the debt limit without Republican support. The problem is, they’ll have to set a dollar amount on their spending limits—and the American people will know how much taxpayer money they’re really planning on using to finance their far-left priorities. It’s almost like they have something to hide.
Our national debt is barreling towards $30 trillion, inflation is hitting the pocketbooks of working families in every corner of the country, and the Democrats’ reckless spending will only make matters worse for Iowa taxpayers. As long as they continue down this path, I will not vote to give the Democrats a blank check to continue saddling Iowa’s next generation with endless spending.
If my friends across the aisle want to work together, we should start by making commonsense reforms that would save billions of dollars for hardworking taxpayers—and I’ve got plenty of proposals. Each month, I give out a Squeal Award to identify a taxpayer expense, program, or concept that has proven to be wasteful and should be cut. While it doesn’t always make me popular in D.C., it’s imperative we put Washington’s waste on the chopping block.
This week, I put forward the Prime CUTS (Cancel Unnecessary Transactions and Spending) Act, which would take a butcher’s knife to the budget and trim the fat. This bill alone would cut unnecessary spending on government swag and propaganda, a welfare fund for politicians’ campaigns for president, boondoggle transit projects, coins that cost more to produce than their actual value, and surpluses and unneeded storage space. The Prime CUTS Act could save billions—and these are simple savings that everyone should support that will allow taxpayers to keep their money.
By increasing our debt and Iowans’ taxes without addressing these inefficiencies, Democrats are perpetuating and subsidizing government excesses at the expense of hardworking Americans now and into the future. I’m hopeful some of my friends on the Left will wake up and help put an end to this reckless spending. Our children’s future depends on it.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) Official Portrait
Joni Ernst, a native of Red Oak and a combat veteran, represents Iowa in the United States Senate.
