Jun. 09, 2021
By Rep. Rob Mercuri
, 28th Legislative District
Welcome to budget season in the Pennsylvania. My colleagues from the General Assembly and I are currently crafting a budget that will minimize increased spending responsibly with no broad-based tax hikes. That is the fiscal responsibility the people of Pennsylvania deserve.
On the federal level, the White House recently unveiled an historically large $6 trillion budget, making the case to Congress that now is the time for America to spend big.
In President Biden’s first budget proposal, which includes roughly $4 trillion in hoped-for infrastructure and families plan spending in the years ahead, there would be continued deficits and national debt would continue to rise even as it eclipses the country's entire Gross Domestic Product at record levels not seen since World War II.
The president’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2022 dwarfs former President Trump’s proposed budget last year of $4.8 trillion, and comes after trillions the United States has already spent to battle the duel health and economic crises brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
While infrastructure investment is a bipartisan issue, President Biden’s proposal will not only cost Americans more than $3 trillion in new taxes, it also misappropriates resources to social welfare programs at the expense of hard-working families.
At a time when government overreach is at an all-time high in Pennsylvania, the Biden Plan doubles down. His plan is a stark societal change, a Green New Deal made possible by the pandemic. Simply put, it is disappointing political opportunism.
These government takeover policies will harm a generation of Americans by robbing them of the ability to be stakeholders in the fabric of society, lowering the trajectory of the American promise by reversing John F. Kennedy’s vision of “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
Our nation will lose its competitive edge when the American ideals of personal responsibility and community accountability are eroded further. Instead, we should work against these temporal interests by encouraging people to aspire to higher levels of self-sufficiency and financial stewardship; offering protections to small businesses, as well as tax and regulatory reforms so companies can thrive and create additional family-sustaining jobs in Pennsylvania and real value for our economy.
That’s why I supported the Commonwealth’s COVID Comeback, a legislative package unveiled by House Republicans to jumpstart the state’s economic recovery. It prioritizes workforce development and prepares for jobs of the future so people can take pride in creating their own success, rather than being dependent on the government for their needs. If there’s one thing the people of Pennsylvania have learned during the pandemic, it’s that when it comes to government intrusion in their lives, less is more.
As Pennsylvania's budget process continues to progress in Harrisburg our primary responsibility is to have your kitchen table issues and family budgets in mind. I hope PA’s fiscal responsibility, like yours at home, will be an example for our leaders in Congress and the President to resist the urge to wastefully spend our children and grandchildren's future on their political paycheck.
Representative Robert Mercuri
28th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Rick Leiner
717-260-6437
rleiner@pahousegop.com
reprobmercuri.com