Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Inhofe
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) made the following statement after voting against the Senate Democrats’ $3.5 trillion taxing and spending bill.
“In the last six months, Democrats under Joe Biden have already spent more than $3.1 trillion. Now, with more than 70 percent of Americans concerned that Democrat spending will cause spiraling inflation, they want to add another $3.5 trillion. That’s not only irresponsible – it is reckless. Overall inflation has risen at the fastest rate in over a decade and core inflation is at the highest level in nearly 30 years, but instead of cutting back, Democrats want to double down.
“The Democrats have been clear about what they will enact with this budget resolution: the Green New Deal, amnesty for illegal immigrants and tax cuts for the wealthiest in Democrat-led states. This $3.5 trillion is clearly just a blank check for the radical left’s agenda.”
Throughout the evening, Inhofe and Senate Republicans offered several amendments that highlighted important policy proposals and positions that would have a meaningful impact on Oklahoma families, but too many were blocked by Democrats.
One amendment, offered by Sen. Inhofe with Sen. Shelby and Sen. Wicker, would have provided badly-needed upgrades for our military to keep pace with China and Russia. Unfortunately, all 50 Senate Democrats voted against the amendment, choosing instead their partisan multitrillion tax-and-spending spree.
Inhofe tweet after Democrats failed to support his amendment.
Read more about the Inhofe amendment here.
Inhofe also offered an amendment that would ban funding for an abortion being sought because the unborn child has Down syndrome. His amendment was cosponsored by Sens. Lankford, Blackburn, Braun, Cotton, Cramer, Daines, Ernst, Hagerty, Hawley, Marshall, Moran, Risch, Rounds, Rubio and Tim Scott.
The majority of Senate Democrats joined to block Sen. Inhofe’s amendment. Read more about Sen. Inhofe’s amendment here.
A few of the other blocked amendments that Sen. Inhofe supported included:
· Standing up for students by ensuring that elementary and secondary schools are open for in-person learning. For months, science has confirmed that schools are remarkably safe and do not cause surges in transmission of the virus. Even more studies show that all students benefit from in-person education, yet once again, Democrats put teachers unions ahead of students and parents.
· Protecting ordinary Americans’ financial transactions from an IRS witch-hunt. The Biden administration wants all financial institutions to report transactions on all accounts above $600 to the IRS. This would not only turn ordinary banks into tax collectors, it would put even more personal, sensitive data at risk. After the Obama administration misused the IRS for politically motivated attacks, Senate Republicans tried to block unnecessary IRS collection.
· Protecting family farms from the “double death” tax. The Biden administration has proposed a $1 million cap on the “step-up in basis,” which is nothing more than a backdoor effort to reinstate the death tax. This tax increase would unfairly target family farms and other generationally-owned small businesses. A study from the Texas A&M Agricultural and Food Policy Center found the proposal would increase the tax liability for family farms by nearly three-quarters of a million dollars. Inhofe joined all Republican senators in July opposing the tax increase.
· Preventing tax increases for Oklahoma families. Under the budget resolution, the Senate Finance Committee is directed to increase revenues, including massive tax hikes. The Romney Amendment, opposed by every Democrat, would preserve the successful tax reforms found in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and ensure the reconciliation bill is not used for any tax increases.