{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=C3FB93B8-78AB-4292-B7FD-088EAE4A2699", "Thune: South Dakotans See Right Through Democrats\u2019 Budget Gimmicks", "2021-10-26", "2021", "2021-10", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", "thune", "https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today called out Democrats for trying to disguise the price of their reckless tax-and-spending spree through convoluted budget gimmicks that are designed to fool the American people. Thune warned that Democrats\u2019 massive government expansion and proposed tax hikes pose serious, long-term consequences for the economy and South Dakota families.\n\nThune\u2019s remarks below (as prepared for delivery):\n\n\u201cMr. President, Democrats continue to negotiate with each other on their tax-and-spending spree.\n\n\u201cDemocrats are currently working to lower the bill\u2019s top-line number in an effort to meet some of the demands of the few moderate Democrats who have reservations about unchecked government spending.\n\n\u201cNow, Mr. President, you might think that lowering the top-line number would involve deciding what programs and spending to eliminate to bring the bill in at a lower cost.\n\n\u201cWell, not exactly.\n\n\u201cYes, Democrats are reportedly eliminating some spending.\n\n\u201cBut the word is that under pressure from progressives \u2013 who are dead-set against curtailing their plans for expanding government \u2013 Democrats are planning to keep a lot of their most expensive proposals but simply shorten the funding window to make the cost of these programs seem lower.\n\n\u201cTake Democrats\u2019 fantastically expensive child allowance.\n\n\u201cDemocrats have every intention of turning their child allowance into a permanent government welfare program.\n\n\u201cBut in order to bring the top-line number for their spending bill down, the word is that Democrats are now planning to officially extend the allowance for just one year.\n\n\u201cThis is in fact a budget gimmick on top of a budget gimmick, as Democrats were already attempting to disguise the true cost of the child allowance by officially extending it for just four of the 10 years in the bill\u2019s 10-year budget window.\n\n\u201cThey were never, of course, planning to eliminate the child allowance after four years.\n\n\u201cAnd they\u2019re certainly not planning to eliminate it now after one year.\n\n\u201cBut by officially extending it for just a year in their tax-and-spending spree, they can manage to make the program look as if it will cost hundreds of billions of dollars less than it will actually cost.\n\n\u201cAnd they\u2019re apparently repeating this strategy with a number of their other spending measures.\n\n\u201cThat paid leave program?\n\n\u201cApparently the White House has proposed a smaller version that would \u2013 supposedly \u2013 \u2018expire\u2019 after three or four years.\n\n\u201cThose child care subsidies?\n\n\u201cApparently those may also now ostensibly \u2018expire.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe Obamacare subsidies Democrats want to extend permanently?\n\n\u201cOnce again, it sounds like they\u2019re going to try shrinking the apparent cost with a short-term extension.\n\n\u201cBut again, let\u2019s be very clear here.\n\n\u201cThese short-term extensions and short-term programs are nothing more than a budget gimmick to disguise the true cost of Democrats\u2019 plan.\n\n\u201cThere isn\u2019t one program that I have named that Democrats don\u2019t fully intend to make permanent.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t believe me?\n\n\u201cJust ask the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which outlined the strategy Democrats are currently adopting in a letter to Speaker Pelosi.\n\n\u201c\u2018If given a choice between legislating narrowly or broadly,\u2019 the caucus wrote, \u2018we strongly encourage you to choose the latter, and make robust investments over a shorter window. \u2026 This will help make the case for our party\u2019s ability to govern, and establish a track record of success that will pave the way for a long-term extension of benefits.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo the plan, Mr. President, is to make these programs permanent, and permanently \u2013 and massively \u2013 expand the size of government.\n\n\u201cDemocrats hope to get Americans hooked on the government benefits they\u2019re offering while hiding the true cost of those benefits from the American people until it\u2019s too late.\n\n\u201cFrankly, Mr. President, it\u2019s not a bad strategy if your aim is to permanently expand the size of government.\n\n\u201cBecause the truth is, it\u2019s pretty hard to eradicate even the most inefficient and ineffective federal program once it\u2019s been put in place.\n\n\u201cAs Ronald Reagan used to say, \u2018The nearest thing to eternal life that we'll ever see on this earth is a government program.\u2019\n\n\u201cAnd that, of course, is what Democrats are counting on.\n\n\u201cThey believe that once they put these programs in place, no one from either party will be able to get rid of them.\n\n\u201cWhat is less clear is how Democrats believe these programs are going to be funded in the long term \u2013 if they\u2019ve given any thought to the issue at all.\n\n\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be surprised if they haven\u2019t.\n\n\u201cMr. President, it\u2019s important to note that the short-term programs and program extensions in Democrats\u2019 tax-and-spending spree will be paid for by 10 years of taxes.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s right.\n\n\u201cIt will take 10 years of taxes \u2013 and other revenue-raising measures \u2013 to pay for programs that are scheduled to last as little as one year.\n\n\u201cSo what happens when Democrats want to extend that child allowance again next year, or extend those child-care subsidies for the long term?\n\n\u201cWell, that\u2019s a good question \u2013 and one that I would love to hear Democrats answer.\n\n\u201cAre Democrats going to trot out more tax hikes to pay for extending the child allowance, or making the child-care subsidies permanent?\n\n\u201cOr are they going to just suggest that we add hundreds of billions \u2013 and eventually trillions \u2013 to our already dangerously large national debt?\n\n\u201cAnd if they opt for tax hikes, just who is going to be facing those tax hikes?\n\n\u201cDemocrats are eventually going to run out of money from millionaires and billionaires.\n\n\u201cAnd then they\u2019re going to start coming after the wallets of the middle class.\n\n\u201cAnd of course, Mr. President, when I say that the programs in Democrats\u2019 tax-and-spending spree will be paid for with 10 years of taxes, I mean that Democrats are claiming that those programs will be paid for.\n\n\u201cBecause it\u2019s by no means clear that Democrats\u2019 tax hikes and revenue-raising measures will actually result in the revenue they\u2019re claiming.\n\n\u201cDemocrats, for example, are claiming that their proposal to increase IRS enforcement measures \u2013 including a new requirement that would allow the IRS to look into the details of Americans\u2019 spending \u2013 will allow them to collect $700 billion in revenue.\n\n\u201cBut the Congressional Budget Office has not confirmed that estimate, and there\u2019s substantial reason to doubt that Democrats will be able to collect anywhere close to that amount.\n\n\u201cAnd, Mr. President, even if Democrats do manage to rake in every dollar they\u2019re claiming, the tax hikes and revenue-raisers they\u2019re proposing would have long-term costs beyond the dollar amount of the tax hikes.\n\n\u201cMore than one of Democrats\u2019 tax proposals would have a chilling effect on investment and economic growth \u2013 which would mean a less vibrant economy with fewer jobs and opportunities for American workers.\n\n\u201cAnd the IRS proposal I mentioned could put the details of Americans\u2019 ordinary bank activity into the hands of the IRS \u2013 an agency that we have seen repeatedly mishandle the taxpayer data it already has, as recently as earlier this year.\n\n\u201cMr. President, Democrats may be able to come up with a smaller top-line number by hiding the true cost of the government programs they\u2019re contemplating.\n\n\u201cBut their buy-now/pay-later (or never) approach to government spending is going to have serious consequences for our economy, and for the American people.\n\n\u201cUnfortunately, by the time the full costs of Democrats\u2019 massive government expansion are felt, it may be too late to do much about it.\n\n\u201cThat, apparently, is what Democrats are counting on.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:24:51Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=C3FB93B8-78AB-4292-B7FD-088EAE4A2699"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7628381717950106, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}