As we commemorated Labor Day, we honored the workers who built our country and those who keep it running each day. Iowa working men and women are the best of the best, and I am endlessly grateful for their contributions to the strength and prosperity of our state and country.
Unfortunately, this year’s Labor Day observance was marked with uncertainty for many working families as President Biden ignores the real challenges people face and cringingly touts his failed agenda.
Machinists, welders, nurses, truck drivers, carpenters, assembly line workers, teachers, firefighters, and law enforcement have shouldered more than their fair share of our country’s burdens over the past few years. Yet, what have they received in return? Record-high inflation has made routine grocery runs stressful, while high gas prices have made commutes to work and school drop-offs unaffordable, and sky-high mortgage rates have put the once attainable goal of homeownership out of reach for so many. Meanwhile, we have a president who celebrates it all as “Bidenomics.”
On top of this dire economic situation that disproportionately hurts working class families, President Biden wants these men and women to pay off others’ student loan debt. Under Bidenomics, a lineman in Iowa who never took on student debt would have to spend their hard-earned money paying off someone else’s gender studies degree. Forcing hard working Americans to pay for things they don’t support is Bidenomics in a nutshell.
Let’s not forget, while many Americans didn’t have the luxury to “work from home” during the COVID-19 pandemic, President Biden has allowed a vast majority of federal bureaucrats to continue working remotely. A recent report showed 17 of 24 federal agency headquarters are using under 25 percent of their building capacity, despite taxpayers shelling out $7 billion a year to maintain and lease the buildings. Americans are paying for empty cubicles and a lower level of service from the federal government. If school bus drivers, railroad workers, and nurses can show up for their critical jobs, as they have been doing since the pandemic hit, federal bureaucrats can certainly be in the office today. This hypocritical policy of expecting those with blue-collar jobs to show up while bureaucrats stay home is the epitome of Biden’s disrespect for working Americans.
It is high time that our policies make life easier for working families, help them keep more of their hard-earned money, and show respect for their jobs.
First and foremost, we need to reverse course on every aspect of Bidenomics. Stop spending beyond our means to reduce inflation. Stop squashing viable domestic energy production to lower fuel costs. Stop handing down out of touch rules and regulations – whether it’s Biden’s student loan “forgiveness” scheme or his electric vehicle mandate that would force families to buy unaffordable electric vehicles they don’t want. Instead of imposing these mandate-driven taxes, let’s provide middle-class families with the much-deserved relief they need. I have proposed a significant increase to the Child Tax Credit for working parents, allowing them to claim an annual credit of $3,500 for children under the age of 18 and $4,500 for children under the age of six. Few people contribute more to our economy or society than working parents, and they should be able to keep much more of what they earn.
Additionally, we must meaningfully address the day-to-day challenges working families face, such as access to child care. I’ve introduced bipartisan legislation, the After Hours Child Care Act, that will expand child care access for parents who don’t work traditional 9-to-5 hours, including grocery store clerks, assembly line workers, and first responders. These roles are essential to the health and safety of our communities, and the parents who fill them deserve access to quality, affordable child care options during their work hours.
American labor is incredible and resilient. They dedicate themselves to keeping our families safe and fed, provide essential functions in our communities, and have seen our country through our hardest days. We rely on our workers and their immense contributions should never be taken for granted.
President Biden should cease his hollow rhetoric and show appreciation for working men and women by enacting policies that will help them achieve their American dream instead of continuing his Bidenomics nightmare.
