Posted on 08/05/2021 5:36:54 PM PDT by RandFan
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is taking shots at Republican colleagues who are backing a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, accusing them of being “complicit” in advancing President Biden’s massive spending agenda and falling into a Democratic trap.
“I don’t think Republicans should be complicit in the ticking inflation bomb we’re facing,” he said.
Cruz on Thursday urged fellow Senate Republicans to step back from the bill, which he warned would exacerbate inflation.
“This bill is a mistake. It continues spending trillions of dollars we don’t have and it is the gateway drug to the Democrats’ reckless tax-and-spend bill next week, trying to spend another $3.5 trillion,” Cruz told The Hill, referring to Democrats’ plans to pass a budget resolution in the next few days to set up a path to pass another major spending package under special reconciliation rules to bypass a GOP filibuster.
“I think it’s a mistake for the Republicans who are supporting this to play any part in the reckless tax and spending binge being pushed by the Democrats,” he added. “We’re seeing inflation rising across the country. We’re seeing the cost of food going up, the cost of gas going up, the cost of lumber going up, the cost of homes going up."
Cruz took to the Senate floor shortly after making those comments to further slam the so-called Democratic trap.
“The Democrats in seven months are spending more than double what we spent to win World War II. This is reckless and it’s unprecedented. As Admiral Ackbar said in Star Wars, 'It’s a trap.' This is a trap,” he said, referring to a famous scene from the movie “Return of the Jedi.”
Cruz seized on a cost analysis released by the Congressional Budget Office earlier on Thursday projecting that the bipartisan infrastructure package will add $256 billion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years.
“We’re told that this bill would in part be paid for with $205 billion in repurposed COVID relief funds, but when the bill text was released, magically those funds weren’t there,” he said. “It became apparent instead that only about $50 billion in COVID funds are being used to help pay for this bill.
“Some have claimed that the bill is paid for, but by any measure the pay-fors are, quite simply, gimmicks,” he added. “This is a bait and switch, and the bill is not paid for like we were promised.”
Cruz questioned his Republican colleagues’ thinking behind their decisions to back the bipartisan spending bill when they know that Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) plans to pass in the fall a $3.5 trillion package packed with elements of President Biden’s agenda left out of the pending infrastructure bill.
“Suppose this so-called bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill was being offered in exchange for the Democrats’ massive $3.5 trillion reckless tax-and-spend bill. In that case, I could understand the logic of doing the smaller bill instead of the massive bill,” he said.
“But it’s not being offered in exchange," he continued. "The Democrats have made it clear that they’re going to pass this infrastructure bill, take every penny of the spending and then turn around and try to ram through their massive $3.5 trillion tax-and-spend bill right on top of this."
Other conservatives have warned GOP colleagues that voting for the bipartisan infrastructure bill is a political mistake because it gives Biden a big win and advances his larger agenda.
“My own view is that this is Republicans supporting the Joe Biden agenda and it’s a very woke, leftist agenda,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). “He’s keeping his promise, but that’s not an agenda I support and certainly Republican voters don’t support it. I think it’s going to be hard to explain to them why you were part of helping this get through.”
China has each one of them on the hook. They are traitors!
Nope.
Cornyn is happy to suck up to Chuckwad Schumer. He wants to be his puppy.
Where is the RNC leadership on this? You got 17 Republicans who voted to bring it to a floor vote, when it shouldn’t have even been up for committee. What the F is McConnell thinking?
Democrats NEVER compromise or work with Republicans when they’re in the minority. You can have 1 single Democrat in the entire Congress and he or she will still fight to the death to stop the Republican bill.
This bill is a massive transfer pf wealth from American workers.
Anyone voting for this bill should be hing
This is simply what happens when you vote for people who don’t really believe they are going to be held accountable for their actions, or just don’t care.
China Mac has other priorities…
You can get half the Senate GOP to pimp out their wife or daughter for a $10k contribution (yes, some of them are really that cheap).
And you’re right it’s one way traffic: More sending and bigger government. It’s never the other way although sooner or later they will be forced to into fiscal sanity by some sort of crisis.
But for most people it’ll be too late. All you can do is prepare.
The more they spend, the more likely this government will collapse and I’m fine with that.
OoooooOooh.....rips. 👻
When peculators rule and out of reason
“We The People” get hurt for generations.
Cornyn interrupted the counting of his peculations to express his shock at the spending.
They very busy using Trumps coattails to beg for money. All after they backstabbed him for over 4 years.
This is what happens when you keep re-electing Bush League Republicans who have already shown you they are just Assistant Democrats.
Ever wonder why every Senator who gets elected poor leaves office rich? It happens by passing bills like this and their billions in untraced money.
Nothing like losing the White House and the Senate to make a senator suddenly concerned with spending and deficits.
Not much in D.C. they don’t own.
Biden needs 10 GOP votes for this mess, 15 voted YES to start debate. I hope at least half of them have come to their senses after reading the bill.
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