Sen. Marshall: Out of Control Spending Must be Stopped

(Washington, D.C., July 29, 2021) – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. spoke on the Senate Floor about Democrats’ out of control spending spree that is being driven by inflation. Senator Marshall’s speech follows the introduction of an amendment to the Senate Rules to require that all bills passed by Senate committees include inflationary impact statements so Americans can see the true impacts of government spending. Senator Marshall partnered with Senators Rick Scott, Jim Risch, Thom Tillis, Marco Rubio and Joni Ernst on this rule change.

“The inflation harming checking accounts of Kansans and all Americans rests squarely on the shoulders of the socialist economic policies driven by Democrats. It hurts everyone – but none more than our seniors and young hard working families living paycheck to paycheck,” said Senator Marshall. “Out of control spending dictated by the White House and Democrats in Congress must be stopped, and hardworking Americans deserve to know how these irresponsible policies are driving up costs that will impact their everyday lives. I’m proud to partner with my colleagues to show the true cost of this radical spending spree. We must hold elected officials in Washington accountable for how Americans’ hard earned tax dollars are spent.”

You may click HERE or on the image below to watch Senator Marshall’s remarks.

Senator Marshall’s Remarks as Prepared:

Madam President, America has seen a number of horrendous financial crises before, but none that have so quickly developed as the pending fiscal crisis this White House created with trillions of dollars’ worth of drunken spending and tax proposals in just the first seven months of control.

The most glaring – almost parody-level – example is the Administration’s $3.5 trillion newly labeled “human infrastructure” package, which is nothing more than a rosy sounding title for “human socialism.”

The results of these radical tax and spend policies are sluggish economic recovery, inflation, and one of the most dramatic expansions of the welfare state in recent history. Recently, the Department of Labor reported consumer prices climbed for the third straight month, jumping over 5 percent in June: the largest increase in 13 years.

Every day we see inflation impacting hard working Americans. In fact, this past weekend we held 5 town hall meetings in Kansas, and thanks to this Administration’s economic policies, runaway inflation has replaced COVID at the top of the mountain of concerns for the people from my state.

In Kansas, we’re paying nearly $1 more per gallon at the gas pump, 40 cents more per gallon of milk, and almost 20% more for a home than we were this time last year. While wages have increased, inflation continues to outpace them by more than two to one.

I’ve heard loud and clear the concerns from Kansans and especially from small business owners – the back bone of our economy – about the impacts of the Democrats’ reckless summer tax and spending spree.

One tax proposal, the elimination of stepped-up basis, would be devastating to small businesses and family farms, as that provision allows them to hand down their family business from one generation to the next without paying a costly tax burden.

Under the Administration’s plan, the average Kansas farmer would have a new tax obligation of nearly a quarter of a million dollars, as cropland values in Kansas have risen 220% since 1997 – not to mention, the economy killing policies of eliminating 1031 exchanges and taxing capital gains at ordinary income levels.

On the spending front, this Administration continues to pursue unsustainable and irresponsible spending policies that are actually ruining our economic recovery. Further, they want to increase the debt limit without implementing any spending reforms. This is going to crush our children and grandchildren.

Instead of getting our fiscal house in order and curbing back on massive government spending, this Administration and Democrats in Congress are working to pass trillions more in spending under the guise of infrastructure.

Pre-COVID, we had the greatest economy in my lifetime, that came about because we lowered people’s taxes, we lowered regulations, and we lowered energy prices.

We need smart, targeted investments – not radical spending that leaves the country at a disadvantage and kills jobs.

Thank you, Madam President. I yield back.

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