Congressman Dan Meuser Op-Ed: America's Choice: Build Bridges or Grow Government

Statement

We face a pivotal choice for the direction of our country. We have an opportunity to pass a very important transportation and infrastructure bill or go down the path of the most massive level of spending ever contemplated in the history of the United States. We are witnessing the Left attempting to justify a historically preposterous expansion of government by leveraging a crisis that is largely already behind us.

People weathered significant challenges during the pandemic. To mitigate the effects of this crisis, Congress authorized relief spending, much of which provided vital pandemic relief and recovery for hospitals, businesses, and families. This relief, however, added $5 trillion to our debt in one year. As the recovery proceeds, we must grow our economy, not the government.

Democratic leadership has proposed a massive, long-term increase in government spending to finance an expansion of the size and role of the federal government. The Democrats' plan is dangerous to the fundamentals of our economy, the strength of the U.S., and the prosperity of many generations to come. People are already feeling the effects of an economy flooded with government spending in the form of higher inflation, which will only be exacerbated with more spending.

Our country has been in need of a responsible infrastructure package for many years. I supported a hard infrastructure package during the Trump administration, and I would like to support the bipartisan deal that spends $1.2 trillion over eight years that Democratic leadership, some Republicans, and President Joe Biden have recently agreed on. This bipartisan infrastructure package will be transformative for the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and for the country.

This investment will provide a return in the form of new job creation, modern roads, rails, and broadband, all of which are critically important for economic growth and quality of life.

This bipartisan bill is jeopardized by far-left Democrats and their leadership by their commitment to supporting a responsible infrastructure bill only if they can also pass a $3.5 trillion partisan reconciliation bill that raises taxes, increases entitlement spending, expands Obamacare, and provides billions in electric vehicle subsidies while vastly enlarging government payrolls with hundreds of thousands of new IRS auditors and a new Civilian Climate Corps. This spending would provide little return while burdening our economy with unprecedented levels of debt.

Democratic leadership is thirsty for power, and the leaders' agenda to make the private sector work for the government, as opposed to the government working for the people, is not at all in the interest of Americans or the American way of life. Their agenda to get votes by spending more should not prevail.

The people need to know that progressive Democrats are holding an extremely important bill hostage with the threat of an outrageous expansion of government that is part of their agenda to grow government and the people's dependence on it. We are not a socialist country, and we must not threaten future generations with this multitrillion-dollar reconciliation bill that is not sustainable.

The critically important bipartisan infrastructure bill is in jeopardy if it is perceived as a "Trojan horse" for a completely partisan $3.5 trillion reconciliation vote.

To ensure it is not a Trojan horse, we need the help of the people. The Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Biden have stated that this bill will not pass without a $3.5 trillion one-party reconciliation. We need the Democrat leadership to retract those comments, but more importantly, in order to "trust but verify," we need at least five Democratic House members and one Democratic senator to make sure this responsible infrastructure bill is not held hostage by the extreme Left.

The people can make the difference here. Call Democratic members of Congress and demand they make the right choice for our country and oppose the overreaching partisan reconciliation bill and support the bipartisan transportation and infrastructure bill.

Dan Meuser represents Pennsylvania's 9th Congressional District in the House of Representatives.

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