In Opposition to Democrats' Reconciliation Package

Floor Speech

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Mr. GROTHMAN. Madam Speaker, I hope the American public is paying attention as we have three bills moving through here, including the reconciliation bill.

In the year that we just finished, which included some supposedly once-in-a-lifetime COVID spending bills, 41 percent of the money spent by the government was borrowed. President Biden has laid out his dream for what will happen in fiscal year 2022, and now that we are back to normal, he still is borrowing 31 percent of the budget. Think about that.

That would be like saying if you are making $60,000 a year, next year I am going to spend $90,000 a year. The top line numbers on this are just unbelievable. And these numbers are without taking into account the almost certain increases in interest rates that we are going to have to pay on our Federal debt.

I would say there are so many horrible parts of this bill, but I think the most dangerous part is, in addition to not funding the southern border, there are provisions in here clearly designed to have a dramatic increase in the number of illegal immigrants, which will turn into legal citizens.

Right now, America is used to having about 800,000 a year sworn in as new citizens. Pro-immigration groups suggest that this bill would add, in one shot, over 10 million new immigrants. Just disastrous.

Among other carrots to get more immigrants here, we are giving away free Pell grants, which is to say free scholarships if you come here illegally. That is almost hard to believe, at a time that the average American, middle-class kid is paying $20,000, $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 in debt to get his college degree and is going to wind up in debt into his forties.

If you come here illegally under this crazy bill, we are going to give you free college. Unbelievable. Permanently changing America to say the government should take care of 3- and 4-year-olds when there is no evidence or scant evidence that this will improve the outcomes for American children and their education system, all you are doing is, I think, following an absolute horrible ideology that says that the government ought to be the ones taking care of the children.

As far as families are concerned--increasing the marriage penalty, be it increase the marriage penalty for the earned income tax credit, increase in the marriage penalty on Pell grants, putting out more low- income housing, which is also designed to break down the families and further erode the stability of future generations.

Madam Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to vote no on the massive increase in the number of citizens here, the massive increase and the role the government plays in American life, and begin to restore themselves to some fiscal competence.

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