WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, spoke out against the reconciliation bill that will spend up to $3.5 trillion dollars on the House floor. The chamber voted in favor of reconciliation by a 215 to 212 party-line vote on Friday evening. Hinson joined U.S. Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, and Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, in voting against reconciliation, while U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, joined her Democrat colleagues voting in favor of reconciliation.
The bill’s future is uncertain in the U.S. Senate.
Watch Hinson’s remarks above or read a transcript of her remarks below:
“Madame Speaker,
“I rise today in strong opposition to this massive tax-and-spend plan that was only posted late last night.
“This entire process has been a sham – it’s been full of nothing but partisanship, disrespect for taxpayers, and late-night antics. No wonder my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are in disarray!
“Late last night, this 2,100-page bill was finally posted. We certainly have not had adequate time to fully read or digest what’s in it – let alone figure out how much it’s going to cost my constituents.
“Iowans deserve to know how much of their hard-earned paychecks are going to be wasted on frivolous, misguided priorities like funding for butterflies or desert fish, when my constituents are busy trying to put food on their tables, provide for their kids, and keep their family farms operating.
“But no, we can’t even get the most basic information – we don’t have an official cost estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
“Instead, we have a nonsense set of totally made-up numbers handed down from on high by the White House in the middle of the night.
“That’s not how we govern responsibly.
“I came to Washington to be an advocate for taxpayers, to make sure that Iowans’ voices are heard, and to bring a little of that Iowa common sense to the Capitol.
“This place clearly needs it.
“Working families in Iowa sit around their kitchen tables, they talk about what’s important to them, they build a budget that fits within their means – and they stick to it.
“I know what that’s like – moms across this country know what that’s like.
“It’s not easy, and we make hard choices. Frankly, it’s disrespectful and embarrassing that we are even having this debate right now.
“How can we spend taxpayers’ money without even knowing how much we are spending? In the Speaker’s own words, “We shouldn’t vote without a CBO score.” I agree. Americans deserve to know the impact legislation will have on their lives.
“The best estimates that we have – which don’t even include all the provisions Speaker Pelosi stuffed in there last night – ring up in the trillions.
“Trillions! We are spending approximately trillions of taxpayer dollars on nonsense priorities when Iowans are dealing with real challenges, and we can’t even give them the respect of waiting for a proper cost estimate?
“This bill bankrupts the economy. It benefits the wealthy. It builds bureaucracy.
“It’s a bust. Vote no.”
