[Chairman Graham], I appreciate your calling today’s markup.
It’s a process to jumpstart the process of moving forward with the Trump agenda.
President Biden used a pandemic as an excuse to ram through his budget busting, far-left agenda.
While wasting billions on leftist causes, he neglected core government responsibilities.
The number one responsibility of the federal government is national security.
Biden allowed our military to deteriorate and, as a result of not enforcing our immigration laws, opened our borders.
This budget resolution represents the very first step toward correcting the Biden-Harris administration’s spending excesses and its disregard of security threats at our border and around the world.
The previous administration’s open border policies resulted in an unprecedented surge of illegal immigration.
Approximately three times the population of Iowa entered into the U.S. in just those four years, an everybody saw it nightly on our televisions.
This left the nation vulnerable to gang members, criminals, terrorists, national security threats and drug smugglers crossing our borders with impunity.
President Trump was elected with a mandate to remove these folks and to secure our borders once again. This resolution green lights the resources necessary to make that important step be taken.
The resolution also provides for funding to bolster our nation’s military.
Over the past several years, the world has become an increasingly frightening place.
Russia has revealed expansionist ambitions in Europe, which would result in the recreation of the Soviet Union.
China has shown increased aggression [in] the South China Sea and in threats to Taiwan.
And Iran’s network of terror proxies threatens Israel and its Arab neighbors.
Yet, our military is ill equipped for today’s challenges; as President Reagan proved by staring down the Soviet Union, peace is best maintained through strength.
The resolution also lays groundwork for unleashing America’s energy production.
A coherent energy policy is vital to both national security and the economy.
Where I favor an all-of-the-above approach to energy policy, the Biden administration’s policies favored all-of-the-above but none from below the ground.
It’s time we had a true all-of-the-above approach to achieve American energy independence – that’s fossil fuels, alternative energy, conservation and nuclear.
Importantly, this budget represents a return to fiscal sanity – any spending increases will be accompanied by corresponding spending decreases.
While the pandemic is years behind us, spending as a share of the economy remains at levels previously reserved solely for national emergencies and for war, in other words, defending America.
During the height of the pandemic, we all agreed it was commonsense for the government to step in to help individuals, families and small business weather the storm that was created by a government shutdown of the economy. But, once the crisis subsides, so should the programs and spending enacted in response to the pandemic.
That’s very much a commonsense approach to spending.
Our national debt is on a path to eclipse the World War II era records relative to the size of our economy, and that’s just in a few years. We must begin to right our fiscal ship.
In this process of bringing about the budget resolution, don’t forget the voter mandate.
As part of the November mandate, President Trump is looking for ways to reduce wasteful government spending.
Congress should not simply cede the initiative to the president. Congress holds the power of the purse.
So, in this action today and tomorrow, we must show leadership to spare the American people from inflation and the crippling debt burden that comes from overspending.
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