Background Information
The Democrats’ proposed $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill is the Left’s ultimate wish-list compiled into one massive tax, borrow, and spend bill.
If passed, this bill will raise your taxes, skyrocket inflation, add well over a trillion dollars to the national debt, and be the largest expansion of the welfare state since LBJ. President Biden dubs this bill as the “Build Back Better Act,” but a more accurate description is the “Bankrupt America Act.”
We’ll lay out for you some of the most extreme provisions in the bill. For a more comprehensive list of all the policies, visit here (note: the bill’s legislative text is not finalized, and these provisions may change).
Taxes
Most Americans will feel the hit if the tax provisions in this bill become law. On the campaign trail last year, President Biden promised taxes wouldn’t be raised on people making under $400k. That is a lie. Even Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation, agrees that taxes will go up on families making $50k or more each year.
Here are some of the tax provisions that will directly affect working Americans’ paychecks:
- Green New Deal mandates like a methane tax for energy producers, which will raise already increased energy prices (25% over the last year).
- Increase the top corporate tax rate from 21% to 26.5%. This rate is higher than the corporate tax rate in communist China, and will reduce wages, eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs, and slow the economy.
- Double the federal tobacco tax rate.
- Provide $80 billion to the IRS in additional funding to go after hard-working Americans. Worse, Democrats want to use this money to snoop on any bank account with over $600 in it.
- And much more.
Spending
As mentioned, this bill is poised to be the largest expansion of the welfare state since LBJ. The Biden administration claims that it is all paid for, but that has been widely debunked.
What’s worse is the topline number for the bill––$3.5 trillion dollars––is not the real cost of the package. Democrats are using a budget trick to get down to this number.
Many of the provisions in the bill expire after a few years, but a future Congress controlled by liberals would likely extend them. The true cost of this bill could end up costing well over $5 trillion.
Here are some of the biggest and most egregious spending items:
- Grant amnesty to more than 8 million illegals
- $450 billion for government-run preschools (to indoctrinate kids with CRT at an even earlier age).
- $111 billion for ‘free’ community college.
- $12 billion to electrify the U.S. Postal Service vehicle fleets.
- Expand Medicare benefits, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicted will cost $358 billion. This puts additional strain on the Medicare program, which is already predicted to become insolvent by 2026.
- Billions of dollars for climate research and initiatives, including $3.5 billion for a “Civilian Climate Corps.”
- A family and medical leave entitlement run through the Social Security Administration.
- Make monthly government payments for children under the age of 18 permanent. These payments have no work requirements and are more akin to a universal basic income, rather than a true tax credit.
- And much more.
In summary, the Democrats’ reckless $3.5 trillion delivers a one-two knockout punch. This will slow the economy, kill jobs, and increase energy prices. Then they will expand the welfare state with unprecedented spending to get more and more Americans dependent on the government.
It’s a horrible recipe for the future of our country and that’s why we need to do everything we can to stop this bill from becoming law.
Further Reading:
Heritage: Budget Reconciliation Tracker
Heritage: 4 Ways to Understand Democrats’ $3.5 Trillion Spending Bill
Heritage: 8 Things You Need to Know About Democrats’ Tax Increase Bill
Heritage: 5 Things You Need to Know About the Paid Family Leave Program in Progressive’s $3.5 Trillion Package
Heritage: Beware the Strings Attached to All That Government Spending
Heritage: $3.5T Spending Bill Would Lavish Hundreds of Billions on Nanny State Education
Heritage Action: www.SaveOurPaychecks.com
Talking Points
- Joe Biden promised he wouldn’t raise taxes on people earning less than $400k––but Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation, agrees that any family making over $50k a year will see tax increases under this bill.
- The spending in this bill is not paid for and will likely add over a trillion dollars to the national debt. After a year and a half of unprecedented government spending due to COVID, our country cannot afford trillions more.
- This bill will be the largest expansion of the welfare state since LBJ. The Democrats want to make more and more Americans dependent on the federal government, and they want entitlements like the child tax credit which have no work requirement.
- This bill imposes Green New Deal taxes and mandates that will raise your monthly gas and electric bill. President Biden wants to punish traditional energy producers and subsidize more costly and inefficient ‘green’ energy. Energy prices for EVERYONE will increase.
- Trillions more in government spending will drive up inflation and raise prices for everyday goods––a dollar just won’t go as far. The working class and retirees who are living on a fixed income will be hurt the most.
