WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14) issued the following statement regarding H.R. 5376, the Build Back Better Act:

“For months, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have tried to promote this massive $1.85 trillion tax-and-spend bill as a cure for our struggling economy, falsely claiming it wouldn’t cost a thing. But the reality is that it will bankrupt future generations, hammer working families and small businesses with massive tax hikes, increase already-surging inflation, and cripple our economy.

“Families across the country are facing the most expensive Thanksgiving on record. With inflation surpassing a 30-year high and the national debt rapidly approaching $29 trillion, now is not the time for Congress to double down on failed economic policies.

“Ohioans are tired of Washington’s wasteful spending and the inflation it’s causing. It’s past time Washington listens to them. I am voting no.”

Some of the most egregious provisions of the bill, which is estimated to result in $4 trillion in spending over the next 10 years, would:

• perpetuate labor shortages by eliminating work requirements to receive welfare benefits for able bodied adults at a time when there are over 10.4 million job openings;
• provide nearly $80 billion to the IRS, which could allow the agency to double in size and increase audits for everyday Americans;
• raise taxes on natural gas, increasing home heating costs, electricity rates and gas prices;
• burden small businesses with $412 billion in new taxes, resulting in a top rate of over 57%;
• provide federal funding for abortions by ignoring bipartisan Hyde Amendment protections;
• increase our dependencies on resources supplied by Russia and China by impeding domestic energy and mineral production; and
• establish a minimum tax on anything “Made in America,” ensuring more of the everyday items Americans use are made in China and delivered on container ships – worsening our current supply chain crisis.

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