Over the last two years, fiscal psychosis overtook Washington – and our country was shoved into an economic ditch as a result. Last week, President Biden submitted his FY24 budget to Congress one month later than the law requires. It wasn’t worth the wait. If you were to peruse all 184 pages, you would find the same irresponsible appetite for reckless spending that has led us to where we are today. It’s disappointing, but far from surprising. As I always do, I’m going to expose the topline facts that you deserve to know.

Let’s talk about new welfare spending. In FY22, the federal government spent $1.19 trillion on more than 80 different welfare programs. That number represents almost one-fifth of total federal spending and 25% of tax revenues in 2022, or $9,000 spent per American household. President Biden’s new budget proposes more than $2.6 trillion in new entitlement program spending. And what will this expansion do? It adds trillions to the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) baseline, which projects $12.7 trillion in spending on these programs over the next ten years.

Next, let’s cover taxes, spending, and deficits. According to House Budget Committee Republicans, this new budget contains the highest sustained levels of taxes, spending, and deficits in American history:

• Spending: $82 trillion or 25 percent of GDP over 10 years.
• Taxes: $65 trillion or 20 percent of GDP over 10 years.
• Deficits: $17 trillion or 5 percent of GDP over 10 years.

I highly encourage you to read this informative one-pager from the House Budget Committee that unearths even more concerning provisions found within President Biden’s budget. Doubling down on failed economic policies is far from what Americans want – or deserve. Both fiscal sanity and fiscal responsibility have been absent from Congress for far too long, and with House Republicans at the helm, we’re working every day to restore both.

The Silicon Valley Bailout

The federal bailout of millionaire depositors at Silicon Valley Bank should concern every American. Despite the assurances of President Biden, his administration is leaning into a backdoor bailout of Silicon Valley Bank, which is grounded in woke, ESG-style strategies. While Americans and policymakers need to remain levelheaded, we also must be clear-eyed about the administration’s current path – one that proliferates the moral hazard of supporting the investments of millionaires while average Americans see their portfolios drop due to no fault of their own.

To read my full statement, click here.

An Attendance Check

Recently, I questioned Kiran Ahuja, the Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) as to what the agency is doing to fix the immense backlog in congressional casework and get federal employees back into the office – in a full, in-person capacity – to serve the American people. This is not how a federal agency should be working, and it’s a textbook example of both complacency and gross negligence. These federal employees should be back in their offices and answering calls from the people who they serve. Remember, it’s the tax dollars of hardworking Americans that are being used to hire these people who refuse to show up to work.

To watch my exchange with Director Ahuja, click here.

Quote of The Week

“Leaders should not just talk about – but walk the walk of – fiscal conservatism.”

-Former U.S. Senator Mike Enzi

Have a blessed weekend,