American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, today I am going to talk about the growing crisis on our southern border and how we need urgent action to address the degrading situation there, but before I begin, I want to say a quick word about the reconciliation bill we passed last week.

The massive $1.9 trillion bill was not COVID-19 relief; it was liberal relief. Everybody and everyone needs to understand what this was. It was not a rescue plan. It was a heist of taxpayers' money. We don't have $1.9 trillion to be spending. When we have to borrow this much money, we are digging our country deeper into debt. And with this massive spending bill, we are borrowing against our grandkids' future and are going to owe more and more countries like China.

To keep up, the money supply will have to increase at such a rapid rate, it could potentially spark inflation. That means we could see the value of Americans' hard-earned dollars plummet.

To further underscore that point, that means your money doesn't go as far. For the items you buy, it is very expensive. All of this bogs down our economy and hinders future growth.

What is more, this entire sham of a process was partisan. It was not about helping Americans, businesses, and communities recover from the pandemic. That much is clear because only 9 percent of the bill is going to COVID and health-related pressures and less than 1 percent is going to vaccines. The remaining 90 percent went to progressive wish list items for bailouts for poorly run States.

Instead of ramming through non-COVID-related spending, Democrats should have worked together with Republicans as a team to pass a bipartisan bill that actually makes lives better as we recover from this pandemic.

We share a goal of helping the American people, but the bill that was ultimately put forward failed to do just that. It is a shame. This is not how our country should be run.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source