Senator Ricketts’ Weekly Column: Fighting Wasteful and Reckless Washington Spending

Our country is headed down a path of fiscal disaster. The Biden-Harris administration has created high prices through their reckless spending. It’s contributed to a national debt of over $35 trillion. That’s over $266,000 per household. It’s a second mortgage for Nebraska families. It’s raised grocery prices 22%. It’s slowed growth and stifled opportunity. Over the past two weeks, I’ve held a series of Federal Spending Briefings across Nebraska to highlight how I’m fighting this reckless spending.

To restore fiscal sanity in Washington, we must learn from our success in Nebraska. When I was Governor, we showed it’s possible to control spending and balance the budget. We improved services and delivered tax relief. I worked with the Legislature to keep spending low. We passed budgets on schedule. We cut the growth of government to 2.8% per year while revenues grew 4%. That fiscal responsibility enabled us to provide $12.7 billion in tax relief.

Washington can and should do the same. Unlike Nebraska, Washington has a spending problem. In just four years, the federal government grew its spending 40%. Meanwhile, our population only grew 2.5%. Tax revenues aren’t the problem. Tax revenue grew 28% during that same period. Much of that reckless spending came from the Biden-Harris administration’s partisan spending bills.

A prime example is the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021. ARPA dramatically expanded Obamacare. ARPA expanded eligibility for the Refundable Premium Tax Credit to include people with income at $106,000, or 400% of the federal poverty level. $106,000 is 50% higher than the median household income for Nebraska. These Obamacare tax credits were meant for low-income people, not those making $106,000.

The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) also spent $780 billion recklessly. The IRA is infamous for providing $80 billion for an army of 87,000 new IRS agents and $1.5 billion in support of “tree equity.” Using IRA funds, the EPA awarded a $50 million grant to radical groups that support the terrorist organization Hamas. The Climate Justice Alliance coordinated a “March on Washington” and waved “Free Palestine” banners in support of Hamas’ war of terror against Israel. They got tens of millions from the EPA.

The EPA also gave $50 million to the NDN Collective. This radical group believes that the U.S. and Israeli governments are illegitimate. They refer to the president as the “so-called president.” They support abolishing the military and the police who protect our communities. They also support eliminating Customs and Border Protection which guards our borders. It’s egregious that Nebraskans’ hard-earned money is supporting these partisan causes.

Tragically, that’s not the only example of tax dollars funding Hamas terrorism. The Biden-Harris administration has sent a total of $730 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). UNRWA has been described as “effectively a branch of Hamas.” That’s because at least 100 UNRWA employees were identified as terrorist operatives.

The examples of reckless spending go on and on. Instead of addressing the catastrophe at our southern border, the Biden-Harris administration has wasted $300 million storing unused border wall panels. It’s awarded grants to China’s leading Artificial Intelligence Scientist, who has ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Its mismanagement caused $1.8 billion of Army Ground Combat System components to be wasted. And according to the Government Accountability Office, the federal government made $236 billion of improper payments just last fiscal year. This kind of waste is irresponsible.

I’m working on targeted solutions to fight this reckless spending. I support a Balanced Budget Amendment to force lawmakers to live within their means. I co-sponsor the Fiscal State of the Nation Act to require an honest conversation about our country’s fiscal health. It will also help us make economically-sound decisions. I’m fighting for the Improper Payments Transparency Act to require clear and comprehensive data on improper payments so we can prevent future abuse. I introduced the Stop Support for Hamas Act to defund UNRWA and prevent tax dollars from supporting terrorism. And I’m pushing to pass the Secure the Border Act, that would require construction to resume on the border wall.

We need to fund our national defense and essential services. But the reckless spending needs to stop. I’m committed to fighting the broken systems in Washington to make that happen.