Soon after Republicans took control of Congress last year, it became clear that if we were going to accomplish anything for hardworking Americans, we would largely have to do it alone. There is always some partisanship in Congress, but Democrats took it to a new level since last year, and they have shown themselves to be completely out of step with the American people.
At the top of Republicans’ priority list for this Congress was preventing a massive tax hike that was set to hit working families this year – a tax hike that would have cost a typical South Dakota family $2,500. But Democrats weren’t interested in working with us, and every single Democrat in Congress voted against providing tax relief to the American people. They voted against no tax on tips and overtime, against cutting taxes for working people, and they even voted against an additional deduction for seniors and raising the child tax credit for working families.
Democrats have also opposed Republican-led efforts to reduce costs. They opposed our efforts to block a tax on natural gas that they imposed during the Biden administration, which would have contributed to higher household energy costs. They have also opposed legislation Republicans put forward to block Biden-era regulations that would have forced Americans into costly electric vehicles and raised the price of appliances. And just recently, they blocked progress on bringing down energy prices, including a bill to protect hardworking Americans from increased energy costs associated with data centers.
Democrats have said no to more money in Americans’ pockets, reducing energy costs, and even to funding the basic functions of the federal government. One year ago, Democrats shut down the entire government for 43 days over a nonpartisan spending bill. At the beginning of this year, Democrats reprised that playbook and shut down the Department of Homeland Security over their refusal to spend even one dollar on Border Patrol and immigration enforcement. What was once a fringe position in their party – defunding law enforcement – is now an article of faith among Democrats.
It’s clear that, for my Democrat colleagues, hardworking Americans take a backseat to their political agenda and opposing President Trump and Republicans. Democrats are blocking the farm bill and the annual defense bill, they opposed keeping men out of women’s sports, and they rejected bipartisan efforts to bring down energy costs. What will it take for Democrats to put the American people ahead of their political interests?
Despite the incredible amount of obstruction from Democrats in this Congress, Republicans have managed to accomplish a lot these past two years – from regulatory relief to a secure border and the Working Families Tax Cuts. We have more work to do, and we’ll continue our work this year and in the next as Republicans remain focused on making life better for working families.