Democrats Block Defense Funding, Promote Destructive Socialism
‘In order to take away employer-sponsored insurance from 180 million Americans, Democrats want to kill American jobs and bring the economy to a screeching halt. I implore my friends across the aisle to put aside this destructive socialism and join us in the urgent work that needs doing, right now, for the American people.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor discussing Democrats blocking funding for defense and their continued efforts to grab unprecedented control over American families’ daily lives:
“Last week, the nation saw several pivotal moments that shed light on the current state of the Democratic Party.
“Here in the Senate, as I mentioned, Democrats chose to filibuster funding for our national defense for the second time in two months.
“This funding was agreed to in the bipartisan, bicameral deal that Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic Leader signed onto just a few months ago. But now they have walked away from the agreement they signed and filibustered funding for our military commanders.
“Yesterday we saw the Iranian regime celebrate — celebrate — the 40th anniversary of the taking of the American embassy and the beginning of the Iranian hostage crisis. The familiar slogan ‘Death to America’ was on full display.
“It was especially sobering to watch this display and remember that our own U.S. military commanders do not have the certainty they need for strategic planning because Democrats here in Washington found it politically advantageous to block it.
“Over in the House, Speaker Pelosi continues to stall the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
“The USMCA would bring tens of billions in new commerce and create 176,000 new American jobs, but House Democrats would rather pursue political theater. So American workers and farmers are still waiting.
“However, while our Democratic colleagues block these bipartisan priorities, at least they are not shy about what they do support.
“We’ve seen what Democrats prioritize. We remember the ‘Green New Deal’ — an effort to grab unprecedented control over American families’ daily lives.
“Designing, building, or furnishing a home or business? Democrats want Washington to dictate how you do it. Commuting, traveling for vacation, mowing your lawn? They’d like you to do it without gasoline or jet fuel, sooner than later.
“Make a living producing, refining, or delivering affordable American energy? They want you to find another line of work, whether you like it or not.
“That’s the ‘Green New Deal.’ There is also the matter of “Medicare for None.”
“That’s the scheme that would take the program that millions of American seniors rely on, throw away everything except the label, and paste that onto a new one-size-fits-all Washington-run insurance plan that would be mandatory for every American.
“Medicare — gone. Private plans in the popular Medicare Advantage program — gone. Every health insurance plan that Americans get on the job, which cover 180 million people — gone.
“This is literally what several of the leading Democratic presidential contenders have endorsed.
“A new, nationwide experiment in socialism. And every single American — man, woman, and child — would be the subjects of this experiment, whether that’s what we want for our families or not.
“From this mandatory, one-size-fits-all insurance plan to new price controls that would limit lifesaving cures, our Democratic colleagues are rallying around policies that would leave American families paying more… to wait longer… for worse care.
“And then, if these plans weren’t bad enough on the merits, there’s the small issue of the crushing new tax burden you’d have to pile onto the U.S. economy in order to pay for them.
“One leading Democrat released a breathtaking proposal last week that illustrates the road they’d like to head down. This candidate’s Medicare For None plan on its own — notwithstanding all the other socialist plans; just the healthcare plan — would cost about 52 trillion dollars over the first ten years alone.
“That’s the candidate’s own estimate.
“Even after cannibalizing everything the government currently spends on health care, the plan’s author admits there would still be a staggering 20-plus trillion dollars left to finance. Other experts say it would be even more.
“For some perspective, if you add up every cent that is deposited in every commercial bank across the United States of America, that’s about $13 trillion. So you could seize every dollar that Americans have deposited in banks and you’d have nowhere near enough money for even the first decade of this experiment.
“Democrats are confident they can produce this huge sum of money through historic tax increases on job creators and on the American people.
“An enormous new tax burden dumped on the U.S. economy that would kill jobs, depress worker wages, and make America less competitive for generations to come.
“At the exact time when Republican tax reform has made the United States more competitive and boosted prosperity here at home, Democrats want to take us backwards and make our nation a less attractive place to create jobs.
“Here is what Larry Summers, a former Treasury Secretary under President Clinton, wrote about this far-left plan in the Washington Post: ‘[It] will discourage hiring, particularly of low-skilled workers’ and ‘there is. . .the real risk of an economic contraction following a sharp market decline. Discourage hiring, particularly of low-skilled workers’ and ‘a sharp market decline.’
“So — in order to take away employer-sponsored insurance from 180 million Americans, Democrats want to kill American jobs and bring the economy to a screeching halt.
“I implore my friends across the aisle to put aside this destructive socialism and join us in the urgent work that needs doing, right now, for the American people.
“We have a landmark trade agreement that needs passing. We have U.S. armed forces that need funding.
“We’re just waiting on our Democratic colleagues.”
Related Issues: Senate Democrats, Health Care, America's Military
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