Q: What’s your takeaway from the
State of the Union address?
A: President Biden missed an opportunity to address what’s on
the top of mind for Iowans: tackling inflation and bringing down costs for
everyday goods, including groceries, gas and utilities. Too many households are
living paycheck to paycheck. Americans feel worse off today than when the
president took office. That’s because higher prices are wiping out wage gains,
making it harder for families to make ends meet and forcing many to dip into
savings to pay the bills. Instead of tackling sky-high inflation, the Biden
administration doubled down on more spending. Don’t forget in the last
Congress, it went on a partisan $3 trillion spending binge – chasing nearly $4
trillion in pandemic relief already in the pipeline from 2020. This cavalier
spending spree fueled the fires of inflation. Now, with interest rates on the
rise, borrowing costs are ramping up on the federal debt. Every dollar needed
to finance the $31 trillion debt is one less dollar available for tax cuts,
farm programs, and benefits for veterans and seniors. What’s more, when the
government borrows money, it drives up borrowing costs for credit card holders,
small businesses, car owners and homeowners.
My advice to President Biden: When
you’re in a hole, quit digging. Until we get our fiscal house in order, the
national debt will loom large over America’s prosperity and national security.
The $31 trillion debt is more than 100 percent of the nation’s gross domestic
product. That amounts to nearly $94,000 for every man, woman and child in
America. Washington’s insatiable appetite for spending needs to stop and
President Biden ought to be leading the charge for fiscal discipline instead of
fearmongering about the insolvency facing Social Security and Medicare.
Instead, he continues to level disingenuous partisan attacks to scare
Americans. So much for his pledge to heal the “soul of the nation.” Thanks to
President Biden, America is as polarized as ever.
Q: What did you want to hear in
the speech?
A: Article II of the
Constitution says the president “shall from time to time give to the Congress
information of the State of the Union.” For one hour and 13 minutes, President
Biden touted a laundry list of government programs, seeking to pat his
administration on the back while glossing over problems he helped create, such
as the crisis at the southern border and energy dependence.
On
Biden’s watch, there have been a record-high 4.6 million encounters with
illegal border crossers, and drug cartels and human traffickers are taking
advantage of our porous southern border. Illicit fentanyl produced in Mexico is
flooding into local communities. Fentanyl poisoning is the leading cause of
death for Americans ages 18-45. While the rule of law is ignored at our
southern border, crime is on the rise in communities across the country,
including
organized
retail crime that is robbing stores blind and financing violent criminal
activity.
In an
ironic admission that America will need fossil fuels “for at least another
decade and beyond,” the president won’t reverse his policies that destroyed
U.S. energy independence needed to regain America’s competitive advantage.
Instead, the Biden administration is pushing the Green New Deal agenda and
proposing federal rules that would inject politics into retirement savings by
putting social and environmental goals ahead of securing the best return on
workers’ lifetime savings.
The
president’s speech exposed a widening disconnect between his administration and
what the American people expect of the commander-in-chief. The number one
priority of the federal government is to uphold national security and keep the
American people safe. And yet, the president made only the most vague reference
to China’s brazen waltz across U.S. airspace. The Communist-led nation mocked
American sovereignty by sailing a spy balloon across the interior of the United
States before the Biden administration shot it down over the ocean.
During
the 118
th Congress, I’ll continue working to knock common sense into
Washington nonsense and build support for policies important to Iowa, such as
passage of the new farm bill. I’ll also keep
working
across the aisle to cut prescription drug prices so that families can
afford their lifesaving medicines. At the end of his address to Congress, the
president said the “State of the Union is strong.” But it’s arguably not as
strong as ever. This administration needs to get serious about our foreign
adversaries, border security, fiscal discipline, economic growth and energy
independence. America’s reign as the world’s mightiest economic and military
power cannot be taken for granted.