Op-Ed

President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress charged taxpayers $6 trillion for their liberal spending spree over the last two years. From the American Rescue Plan, which failed to rescue our economy, to the Inflation Reduction Act, which failed to reduce inflation, Democrats have fueled price hikes for everyday necessities and taxed families to pay for their wasteful agenda.

Following two decades of uninterrupted borrowing, the national debt as a share of the economy is higher than at any time since World War II, a record that will be surpassed in just nine years. Debt is already 97 percent the size of the economy and will climb to a record 107 percent by 2031 and 185 percent by 2052. This assumes no new borrowing occurs and policies set to expire will sunset as scheduled. More borrowing and policy extensions could ultimately push the national debt up to more than twice the size of the economy within three decades.

In today’s world, electricity is essential. American families rely on electricity daily to heat and cool their homes, wash their clothes, cook their meals, charge their phones, turn on the lights and connect to the world. And while it might seem like magic, electricity is not generated out of thin air. We expect the lights to turn on when we flip a switch and our phones to charge when we plug them into an outlet.

In Congress, my top priority is – and always will be – protecting Iowa taxpayers. While President Biden and congressional Democrats have worked overtime to grow the size of government and waste trillions of taxpayer dollars advancing their socialist vision for our country, I have opposed their wasteful, radical agenda every step of the way and stood strong for American taxpayers and their families. Caught up in their liberal spending agenda, D.C.

After a 40-year decline in entrepreneurship, America has seen a boom in new business creation in recent years. But today, millions of start-ups and Main Street businesses are struggling to stay afloat under a host of recent challenges.

On my 39-county tour, I have spoken with hundreds of independent cattle producers across northwest Iowa. In my conversations with them, they all express the same concern that the big four meatpacking companies are reaping record profits while family-owned cattle farms are barely scraping by.

In 19 months, President Biden and Democrats in Congress have decimated what should have otherwise been a strong economic recovery from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, their liberal policies have created the worst inflation crisis in 40 years, destroyed American energy independence, wasted trillions of taxpayer dollars on so-called Build Back Better and Green New Deal priorities, and emboldened China to threaten our status as the strongest economic powerhouse in the world.

Over the last several years, the debate surrounding the future of electric vehicles has quickly taken Congress – and the country – by storm. While the notion of zero-emission, carbon-neutral vehicles sounds attractive, too many lawmakers, industry leaders, and government officials have prioritized an electric agenda over real concerns about the reliability and affordability of a government-mandated, EV transformation for hardworking families.