The Economy
Floor Speech
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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, now, on another matter. On the whole, the taxing-and-spending spree the Democrats want to ram through will hurt families and help China. But when you take a close look, there are some special groups of people here at home who would make out like bandits. There are specific special interests that Democrats take great pains to look after.
Let me give you an example. A whole chunk of money the Democrats' proposal supposedly sets aside for patient healthcare would actually finance ultragenerous benefits for members of the powerful leftwing union, the SEIU.
The Big Labor bonanza doesn't stop there. Democrats' tax plans would allow the expiration of Americans' above-the-line deduction for charitable and nonprofit donations. But in its place, they want to create a brandnew subsidy for--listen to this--union dues. Tough luck for the Red Cross and your church collection plate; Washington Democrats say Big Labor bosses come first.
Democrats also propose lavishing billions of dollars on something they call environmental and climate justice block grants--environmental and climate justice block grants. That sounds like a gift-wrapped giveaway to the universe of nonprofits and activist groups that seemingly exist to grift off of government grants.
They would spend billions more on tax credits to subsidize luxury purchases that are overwhelmingly made by wealthy people, like electric cars and $8,000 electric bicycles.
Then there are billions more in special subsidies and loans for the next generation of Solyndras.
The gravy train doesn't stop there. When the Biden administration proposed spending $40 billion on public housing renovations, the senior Senator from New York urged them to double down and spend $40 billion exclusively on his hometown--exclusively on his hometown. That is $40 billion to a housing authority that is apparently well known for bribery and mismanagement simply because the Democratic leader requested it.
Meanwhile, in Speaker Pelosi's backyard of San Francisco, the elite trustees of a massive park and development project--oh, boy, they are licking their chops. The Speaker plans to set aside $200 million of the spending spree for this park that is specifically not meant to receive taxpayer money, so they can focus on ``environmental and social justice.''
The Democrats' spree would also tear down longstanding, bipartisan Hyde amendment protections so they can directly fund abortion providers like Planned Parenthood with taxpayer dollars. Today's left cannot miss an opportunity to send Planned Parenthood a new slush fund.
Then there is the Democrats' obsession with the so-called SALT cap. Even as our colleagues draft the biggest tax hikes in half a century, they cannot resist the concept of special tax cuts for high earners in blue States. They want to reintroduce the Federal tax subsidy for living in high-tax States. One outside analysis found that a 2-year repeal of the SALT cap would send more than--listen to this--more than $300,000 to the average household in the top 0.1 percent of our country. The average household in the bottom 60 percent would get $15. This isn't a joke; this is literally the SALT policy that Democrats want--300 grand for the richest folks on the coast and 15 bucks for normal families.
It is the same setup everywhere you look. Special interests who are connected to the Democratic Party would make out like bandits, and middle-class families, they will get the bill.
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