U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, on Thursday authored an op-ed in which he claimed that America cannot afford President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion spending bill and that it is full of things that Alabamians don’t want.
“President Biden and Democrats in Congress want to spend three and a half trillion of your taxpayer dollars on a progressive wish list that would make President Obama blush,” Tuberville wrote. “To put the $3.5 trillion number in perspective, think of it like this: even if you spent $5 million per day, every single day of the year, it would still take almost 2,000 years to reach $3.5 trillion. That’s almost the same amount of time between the birth of Jesus Christ and today!”
“Democrats’ reckless spending spree comes at a time when our national debt is already more than $28.6 trillion,” Tuberville said. “The astronomical price tag of President Biden and Democrats’ reckless spending spree and what that will do to our economy is not the only issue here. The other problem with this budget resolution is the items they want to spend your money on. In their recently passed budget resolution, Democrats included money for free college, expanded welfare programs with no work requirements, and blanket amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants, among others.”
“More government spending will continue to fuel rising inflation,” Tuberville said. “Prices on consumer goods went up 5.4 percent in July of this year, building on another 5.4 percent in June. Gasoline prices are up almost 50 percent from the same time last year. Inflation is a direct tax on poor Americans who are on strict budgets and can’t afford these types of price hikes on the items they buy every day.”
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, expressed similar views.
“By passing the Bernie Budget tonight, Democrats fully embraced the radical left as they ram through trillions in crushing taxes and wasteful spending,” Cruz said. “Biden Inflation is burying middle-class Americans, and is especially painful for seniors on a fixed income. We will look back on this as one of the biggest mistakes in this administration.”
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, said that Congress should be implementing a plan to balance the budget in five years, not passing legislation that will only add to present deficits.
“We continued to borrow money, money we don’t have, and now our debt is rapidly approaching $30 trillion, and is set to grow by over $15 trillion the next 10 years,” Paul said. “All of this reckless spending has caused inflation to grow over five percent. That means groceries, gas, and providing for your family is now more expensive than ever. We cannot keep ignoring this problem, my amendment cuts burdensome tax and spending, and provides Congress with necessary tools to achieve a balanced budget.”
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, expressed similar concerns about the historically high deficits and national debt being proposed by the Biden administration.
“For a long time, I and others have talked about how this will affect our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren down the road. And this will be a real consequence: They will in fact be saddled with debt they have not incurred, and forced to pay for it. The consequences, however, are no longer something we are facing in the distant future – but also what we are facing today,” Lee said. “They’ve caught up to us. … I vote ‘no’ when I see how the consequences will affect those I represent in real, everyday life – not just the intended consequences of legislation that might indeed have a good goal, but the unintended consequences also. I vote ‘no’ if it will mean saying ‘yes’ to what really matters, what really counts, for making everyday life better for Utahns and hardworking Americans across the country.” Sen. Lee continued, “It will be little comfort to the poor and middle class who feel the buying power of their paycheck shrink each week, that politicians can vote ‘yes’ on large spending packages for short-term political gain.”
Tuberville is serving in his first term in the Senate, following his landslide victory in 2020 over incumbent Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama. Tuberville ran for the Senate after a long distinguished career in college football coaching that included tenures as the head coach at Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas Tech, and Cincinnati, as well as a national championship as a defensive coordinator at Miami.
