Latta: Build Back Better Act ‘a budget buster’

From OFFICE OF CONGRESSMAN ROBERT E. LATTA FIFTH DISTRICT OF OHIO

Today, Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH5) provided the following statement after voting against the Democrats’ reconciliation bill: 

“The government cannot continue spending money and expect there to be no consequences. The effects are real: government spending is already driving up inflation. My constituents back home are feeling the effects at the pump, when getting groceries, and when making plans to see loved-ones for the holidays. There are important issues facing our country, and Congress has a responsibility to work together to address our nation’s problems. Instead of focusing on policies that would ease the burdens being placed on Americans, Democrats crafted a far-left, irresponsible, and unprecedented spending bill without Republican input.

“It has been clear from the very beginning that this bill was always going to be a Democrat wish-list spending spree, as there was no attempt to work across the aisle to find a compromise that would better serve the American people. 

“In addition to the bill containing the largest spending levels in the history of the United States, the Build Back Better Act will also impose trillions of dollars in new taxes on American families and job creators.  Small businesses are still struggling to get back on their feet after the devastating year they had under COVID-19.  Now is not the time to make it harder for them to invest in their employees and grow their businesses.  Concurrently, we should not be advancing a tax and spend bill that will result in higher costs for consumers and reduced paychecks for families. These tax increases will result in even higher inflation, sky high prices for consumer goods, the destruction of millions of jobs, and the undermining of wages, all while adding trillions to the national debt.

“As your Congressman, you entrusted me to spend your hard-earned taxpayer dollars responsibly. Speaker Pelosi and President Biden claimed that this legislation would cost zero taxpayer dollars, and that could not be farther from the truth. This bill is truly a budget buster.”