{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=9614C1A0-E2E3-42A6-B6A9-71C70DC9B1BC", "Thune: Democrats\u2019 Big-Government, Big-Spending Agenda Does Nothing to Ease Economic Pain", "2022-09-08", "2022", "2022-09", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", "thune", "https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "Click here or on the picture above to watch the video.\n\nWASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed how the Democrats\u2019 so-called \u201cInflation Reduction Act\u201d will do nothing to reduce inflation and how it will instead double down on wasteful government spending and increase the tax burden on American businesses and middle-income families. Thune noted that Democrats should start focusing on pro-growth economic policies that would actually help working families who have experienced a de facto pay cut due to record-high inflation and President Biden\u2019s failed policies.\n\nThune\u2019s remarks below (as prepared for delivery):\n\n\u201cMr. President, a month ago yesterday, Senate Democrats shoved another partisan spending bill through the Senate \u2013 this one the inaccurately named Inflation Reduction Act.\n\n\u201cI say inaccurately named because the so-called Inflation Reduction Act \u2026 will do nothing to reduce inflation.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s right.\n\n\u201cThe so-called Inflation Reduction Act \u2026 will not actually reduce inflation.\n\n\u201cAnd you don\u2019t have to take my word for it.\n\n\u201cThe nonpartisan Penn Wharton Budget Model said this about the bill\u2019s impact on inflation: \u2018The impact on inflation is statistically indistinguishable from zero.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Statistically indistinguishable from zero.\u2019\n\n\u201cDemocrats also claim that the bill will lead to deficit reduction.\n\n\u201cBut that\u2019s not really true either.\n\n\u201cIn the first place, Democrats arrive at their deficit reduction assumptions using some extremely fuzzy math.\n\n\u201cA substantial part of their deficit reduction claims depends on not extending a program that they\u2019ve already called for extending \u2026 and on supposedly eliminating a rule that at this point was never going to be implemented anyway.\n\n\u201cBut even using their rosiest assumptions, the deficit reduction they would have achieved with the Inflation Reduction Act was wiped out completely eight days after the bill was signed by the president\u2019s costly, reckless student loan giveaway.\n\n\u201cMr. President, Democrats have clearly been seeing the polling on Americans\u2019 opinion of the economy \u2013 and their lack of faith in President Biden and Democrats to deal with the economic challenges we\u2019re facing.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s unquestionably why Democrats named their bill the Inflation Reduction Act and touted their commitment to deficit reduction in an attempt to suggest fiscal responsibility.\n\n\u201cThe problem, of course, is that their commitment to deficit reduction, inflation reduction, and fiscal responsibility was, and continues to be, nothing more than window dressing.\n\n\u201cAt its core, the Inflation Reduction Act, like the so-called American Rescue Plan before it, is just another big-government, big-spending piece of legislation.\n\n\u201cIt will do nothing to address the real economic challenges facing our nation.\n\n\u201cInstead, it will waste taxpayer dollars on Democrats\u2019 big-government fantasies.\n\n\u201cIt will drive up energy costs in the service of Democrats\u2019 Green New Deal agenda.\n\n\u201cIt will push people off private insurance and into government-run care \u2013 driving up the cost to taxpayers.\n\n\u201cThe legislation imposes socialist-style price controls that will discourage medical innovation and reduce the number of new treatments and cures.\n\n\u201cIt imposes new taxes on businesses that will slow economic growth and result in lower wages and fewer jobs.\n\n\u201cAnd the list goes on.\n\n\u201cAnd, Mr. President, in case there was any doubt about their intentions with this bill, Democrats made their priorities very, very clear when the Senate considered amendments.\n\n\u201cDemocrats\u2019 so-called Inflation Reduction Act hikes taxes on domestic oil and gas production, something that will unquestionably result in higher energy prices for American families \u2013 who are already facing high energy bills in the Biden economy.\n\n\u201cAnd during the amendment vote-a-rama on this legislation, Democrats made it very clear that they are indeed just fine with restricting American energy production and seeing Americans\u2019 energy bills soar.\n\n\u201cDemocrats rejected attempts to ease their tax hikes on domestic oil and gas.\n\n\u201cThey rejected amendments to make it easier for companies to develop American oil and natural gas.\n\n\u201cThey also rejected a comprehensive amendment to reform the burdensome permitting process, which is one of the biggest obstacles to new energy investment.\n\n\u201cThey even rejected an amendment to prevent Democrats\u2019 new electric vehicle tax credit from going to wealthy Americans.\n\n\u201cApparently it\u2019s just fine to support measures that would drive up Americans\u2019 energy bills, but electric vehicle tax breaks for wealthy Americans have to be preserved.\n\n\u201cNot to mention the irony of U.S. automakers recently hiking prices on certain electric vehicles by $6,500 to $8,000, which roughly matches the $7,500 tax credit in the Democrats\u2019 \u2018inflation reduction\u2019 bill.\n\n\u201cMr. President, I have long been a supporter of clean energy.\n\n\u201cBut the fact of the matter is, clean energy technology has not advanced to the point where we can solely rely on alternative energy.\n\n\u201cWe need oil and natural gas, and we will continue to need them for a while yet.\n\n\u201cAnd efforts to discourage domestic production of conventional energy will simply drive up energy costs for hardworking Americans and force our country to rely on unstable foreign sources of oil and gas.\n\n\u201cThat may very well be Democrats\u2019 plan, in hopes of hastening the arrival of their Green New Deal future.\n\n\u201cMr. President, Democrats like to bill themselves as the party of the little guy.\n\n\u201cBut their track record gives the lie to that.\n\n\u201cDemocrats couldn\u2019t bring themselves to support measures to lower Americans\u2019 energy bills by increasing domestic oil and gas production because it conflicts with their Green New Deal ideology.\n\n\u201cBut they did all unite to protect a tax deduction that mainly goes to wealthy Americans in high-tax states.\n\n\u201cAnd to make sure, as I mentioned, that wealthy Americans are able to access tax credits for electric vehicles.\n\n\u201cAnd of course they opposed a measure to prevent more audits of Americans making less than $400,000 a year.\n\n\u201cYes.\n\n\u201cDemocrats\u2019 legislation includes tens of billions of dollars for new IRS agents and increased audits.\n\n\u201cDemocrats\u2019 hope is that more audits of Americans will help pay for some of their spending measures, like increased government health care subsidies and their Green New Deal priorities.\n\n\u201cThe Biden administration put out a statement claiming that this wouldn\u2019t mean increased audits of Americans making less than $400,000.\n\n\u201cBut when Democrats had the opportunity to confirm that by supporting an amendment that would have prevented the new enforcement funds from being used to audit Americans making less than $400,000, they unanimously voted against it.\n\n\u201cMr. President, I could go on.\n\n\u201cI haven\u2019t even talked about the border security amendments Democrats opposed.\n\n\u201cRepublicans thought that perhaps, while Democrats were throwing money at \u201cenvironmental justice\u201d and climate slush funds and identifying gaps in tree canopy coverage, perhaps they could spare some money for the crisis at our southern border \u2013 a crisis that Democrats have largely chosen to pretend doesn\u2019t exist.\n\n\u201cBut Democrats quashed any attempt to divert money to address the border crisis.\n\n\u201cApparently identifying gaps in tree canopy coverage is more important than securing our southern border.\n\n\u201cDemocrats went so far as to oppose \u2013 oppose \u2013 an amendment that would have prohibited hiring additional IRS agents until additional Customs and Border Protection agents are hired to help secure the border.\n\n\u201cYes, you heard that right.\n\n\u201cMr. President, I\u2019m pretty sure Americans are more worried about our border crisis than what Democrats apparently think is an IRS enforcement crisis.\n\n\u201cBut clearly Democrats don\u2019t want to let border security get in the way of funding for their Green New Deal priorities or supersizing the IRS.\n\n\u201cMr. President, it may have an appealing name, but as the substance of the bill demonstrates, the so-called Inflation Reduction Act is nothing more than the latest installment of Democrats\u2019 big-government, big-spending agenda.\n\n\u201cIt will do nothing to address the real economic challenges facing Americans.\n\n\u201cAnd it will do nothing to address Americans\u2019 priorities.\n\n\u201cWhat it will do is spend hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars on Democrats\u2019 socialist, big-government fantasies \u2013 and raise taxes to help pay for it.\n\n\u201cMeanwhile, our inflation crisis \u2013 and our border crisis, and rising crime \u2013 will continue.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:29:59Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", 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