Hagedorn Statement on Democrats' Big Government Socialist Spending Scam

Statement

Congressman Jim Hagedorn (MN-01) released the following statement after voting against H.R. 5376, the Democrats' multi-trillion-dollar tax-and-spend reconciliation package.

"Rather than addressing the pressing needs of the American people, Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats continue to squander their majority power by pushing through a massive and reckless bill to build the federal government bigger. This so-called "reconciliation" package is littered with Far-Left socialist policies that would raise taxes, force more regulations, weaponize the IRS with 80,000 new employees, grant amnesty to tens of millions of illegal aliens, allow for taxpayer-funded abortions, implement the Green New Deal, and increase deficit spending.

"Without a doubt, the Democrats' bill is designed to transform America into a big government socialist state, controlled by one-party. Once again, Democrat members of the House have "walked the plank" for Speaker Pelosi and voted for radical legislation, which will be gutted or killed in the Senate. As a congressman who promised to vote as a conservative, I voted a resounding "NO!"

"This Bernie Sanders progressive wish list will only exacerbate the many crises already plaguing our country since Biden's inauguration -- especially inflation, supply-chain inefficiencies, and the skyrocketing cost of fuel, electricity and products directly produced with fossil fuels. And the Left is doing this all the while they move us to the precipice of a nearly $30 trillion debt bomb.

"Democrats have been lying about this bill from the start. For months President Biden and Speaker Pelosi have said that this spending scam is fully paid for -- the Congressional Budget Office exposed their lies. And today, Democrats supported this bill, even though the CBO has yet to provide a full and final cost estimate. Yet Speaker Pelosi feels we must pass the bill to find out the true cost. Believe me -- it will be trillions of dollars in the end.

"This package is clearly ignoring the serious challenges our country is facing, and the Democrats seem to have no problem with passing this spending scam without allowing the American people to understand its true impact. This kind of deception only weakens our faith in government and the system our Founding Fathers fought to create.

"We must reject big government socialism, which fails everywhere it's practiced, and stand for the commonsense principles that made America the envy of the world: limited government, free enterprise capitalism, individual freedom and responsibility, the rule of law, and fiscal restraint. By returning to these principles and fighting to reinstate the conservative solutions and achievements of the Trump Administration, we will restore America's greatness."

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