Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven
WASHINGTON – During remarks delivered on the floor of the U.S. Senate this week, Senator John Hoeven pushed back on President Biden’s tax-and-spend policies and outlined the negative impact that the president’s budget request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 would have on American consumers and businesses.
“I support a Balanced Budget Amendment, and have done so since I first came to the Senate. I think that is something we need to pass,” said Hoeven. “The president’s budget, however, goes in the wrong direction. President Biden’s $6.9 trillion proposal is full of the same tax-and-spend policies that do not balance the budget, do not help reduce inflation, and instead they levy higher taxes on hard-working Americans and spend money we don’t have. In total, the budget proposes $4.7 trillion in new taxes on the American people.
“The president’s budget calls for increasing the corporate tax rate to 28 percent. This is higher than the average corporate tax rate in Europe, which is currently 21.7 percent. It’s even higher than the tax rate in China, which is 25 percent… Of particular concern to my state of North Dakota are the proposed tax increases on energy production, including oil, gas, and coal. In fact, the Biden budget intends to increase taxes by $31 billion on fossil fuel companies, while also proposing $86 billion in new taxes. That’s an over $100 billion tax increase on our energy job creators.
“What the budget fails to recognize is that these taxes are borne by consumers in higher prices at the pump, higher electric bills and higher costs when they go to the grocery stores. That’s where the taxes are ultimately paid. We need to create more incentives to produce more energy in this country and bring down the cost of energy in this country. There is an energy component in almost every product you can think of. Producing more energy will help with inflation across the board.
“The president’s budget is the wrong proposal at the wrong time. Congress must work to find savings, reduce our debt and deficit and responsibly fund our priorities without increasing taxes on hard-working American taxpayers.”
Hoeven’s full remarks can be viewed here.
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