Washington, D.C. – The United States House of Representatives passed a $1.9 trillion spending bill Friday morning. Dubbed social safety net expansion legislation, the bill passed 220-213.
The legislation is a key piece of President Joe Biden’s domestic transformation program. It now goes to the Senate where its passage is expected to meet heavy opposition.
North Dakota’s congressional delegation responded following the bill’s passage in the House.
“The Democrats’ tax-and-spend bill would take our nation in the wrong direction. Americans are already facing increased costs due to record high inflation, and this plan for more taxes and more spending would only drive inflation higher. Inflation is a tax on every individual and family, and it hits those at lower incomes the hardest. While the House has approved this partisan legislation, we’ll continue working to defeat it in the Senate.” – Sen. John Hoeven, R-ND
“Adding hundreds of billions of dollars to the deficit and fueling inflation is the last thing Democrats and the Biden Administration should be doing when our economy is already stewing in a pressure cooker. I absolutely oppose this bill along with every one of my Senate Republican colleagues. This socialist wish list is chock full of tax hikes on hardworking American families, tax breaks for millionaires, attacks on domestic energy, and it stifles American exceptionalism. Not to mention it has no legs to stand on in terms of merit or Senate procedure. Last time I checked, we live in the greatest representative democracy in the world, and yet the American people do not want, do not need, and cannot afford this reckless tax and spending spree.” – Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-ND
“Democrats continue their reckless government spending spree by pushing through a partisan bill that will increase taxes, cause consumer costs to explode, and usher in more government control over the lives of Americans. The CBO report released yesterday confirmed what we already expected. Their bill is not paid for. The fact is their social engineering project will cost trillions of dollars and increase the national deficit by more than $367 billion.
As an agriculture and energy producing state, North Dakota in particular will suffer as a result of this bill’s enactment. Policies like the methane tax will stifle innovation in the energy industry and threaten the jobs of thousands of North Dakotans. Additionally, the massive increase in federal spending will exacerbate skyrocketing inflation, leading to higher costs for our farmers and ranchers and endangering their livelihoods.
North Dakotans have had enough with this out-of-control spending. I am proud to vote against Democrats’ efforts to saddle future generations of Americans with more debt to pay for their far-left wish list,” – Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-ND.
