02.07.23

America Deserves Better Than The Last Two Years Of Failed Biden Policies

President Biden’s Failed Policies Have Left Americans Struggling With The Worst Inflation In Four Decades, Paying Sky-High Grocery And Energy Prices, Bracing For Higher Taxes And More IRS Audits, While Chaos Consumes The Southern Border And Afghanistan

 

American Families’ Finances Are Approaching The Breaking Point Under The Cumulative Weight Of Months Of Painful Inflation In Biden’s Economy

“[A] growing number of Americans say their own financial circumstances are worsening on Biden’s watch. Roughly 4 in 10 Americans (41 percent) say they are not as well-off financially since Biden became president, up from 35 percent one year ago and the highest percentage to report such a sentiment under any president in Post-ABC polls since measurement began in 1986.” (“Americans Not Feeling Impact Of Biden Agenda, Post-ABC Poll Finds,” The Washington Post, 2/06/2023)

Since President Biden Took Office, Prices For Food, Energy, Transportation, And Housing Have Increased At Staggering Rates

Since President Biden took office, inflation has increased 13.5%. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 1/12/2023)

Americans Continue Losing More Of Their Paychecks To Inflation, With Year-On-Year Real Average Weekly Earnings Decreasing 3.1%

“Real average hourly earnings decreased 1.7 percent, seasonally adjusted, from December 2021 to December 2022. The change in real average hourly earnings combined with a decrease of 1.4 percent in the average workweek resulted in a 3.1-percent decrease in real average weekly earnings over this period.” (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Press Release, Accessed 1/12/2023)

‘[F]or Most Americans, The Price Of A Cup Of Coffee Or A Bag Of Groceries Hasn’t Budged’ As ‘Grocery Prices Remain Stubbornly High’

“[F]or most Americans, the price of a cup of coffee or a bag of groceries hasn’t budged…. Prices are still well above where they were a year ago. The headline consumer price index, which measures the cost of a wide variety of goods and services, is up 6.5% as of December, according to Labor Department data. Some price increases are eye-popping: The cost of large Grade A eggs has more than doubled, while the price tags for cereal and bakery products have climbed 16.1%. ‘There are some prices, some goods for which prices are falling,’ said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. ‘But broadly, prices aren’t falling. It’s just that the rate of increase is slowing.’” (CNBC, 1/25/2022)

“Eggs, milk, butter, flour … if you were making pancakes last year, it would have cost you. Food prices surged in 2022. Grocery prices remain stubbornly high (and nearly double the rate of overall inflation) at 11.8% year over year, according to data released [January 12th] by the Bureau of Labor Statistics…. [A]nd none have been more rotten than egg prices: They’re up 59.9% year over year, a rate not seen since 1973 …” (“Egg Prices Exploded 60% Higher Last Year. These Food Prices Surged Too,” CNN Business, 1/13/2023)

Months Of Paying More For Everything Has American Households Eating Into Savings, ‘Sinking Deeper Into Debt,’ And Falling Behind On Payments

‘The Cushion Of Savings Many Built Up During The Pandemic Is Thinning Out [And I]n Some Households, It Is Already Gone’

“The cushion of savings many built up during the pandemic is thinning out. In some households, it is already gone. Americans have spent down about 35% of the extra savings they accumulated during the pandemic as of mid-January, according to an estimate from Goldman Sachs. By the end of the year, the company forecasts that they will have exhausted roughly 65% of that money. In 2020 and into 2021, a combination of government pandemic stimulus and reduced spending, for example on restaurants and travel, fattened Americans’ wallets. Households amassed $2.7 trillion in extra savings by the end of 2021, according to Moody’s Analytics. … Today, some people are having to cut back on their spending or add to their credit-card balances. Many have had to tap their savings to stay afloat, say economists.” (“Once Flush Savings Accounts Are Starting to Run Dry,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/06/2023)

Many Families Are Falling Behind On Their Bills And ‘Sinking Deeper Into Credit-Card Debt’

“More Americans are leaning on their credit cards in the face of rising prices. And as interest rates continue to climb, that debt is getting a lot more expensive. The average credit card user was carrying a balance of $5,474 last fall, according to TransUnion, up 13% from 2021…. With inflation outpacing incomes, more people are relying on credit cards to cover everyday expenses.” (“Americans Are Piling Up Credit Card Debt — And It Could Prove Very Costly,” NPR, 1/11/2023)

  • “Multiple polls show American consumers sinking deeper into credit-card debt. A new survey from Bankrate, the consumer finance company, found 46 percent of cardholders carrying credit-card balances from month to month, up from 39 percent a year ago. A survey by NerdWallet, the personal finance company, found the average U.S. household carrying $7,486 in credit-card debt, a 29-percent increase from a year earlier. A third poll, from the personal finance website GOBankingRates, found that 14 million Americans owe more than $10,000 in credit-card debt.” (“A Growing Number Of Americans Face Potentially Crippling Credit-Card Debt,” The Hill, 1/21/2023)

“The share of credit card users who carry a balance has increased to 46% from 39% a year ago, according to Bankrate. ‘Almost half of card holders are carrying debt from month to month,’ [Bankerate’s Ted] Rossman says. ‘And that debt is as expensive as ever.’ Lower-income cardholders are more likely to carry a balance. But even among people making $100,000 a year or more, 37% don't pay the their credit card bill in full every month.” (“Americans Are Piling Up Credit Card Debt — And It Could Prove Very Costly,” NPR, 1/11/2023)

‘More Americans Are Falling Behind On Their Car Payments Than During The Financial Crisis’

“Now, more Americans are falling behind on their car payments than during the financial crisis. In December, the percentage of subprime auto borrowers who were at least 60 days late on their bills rose to 5.67%, up from a seven-year low of 2.58% in April 2021, according to Fitch Ratings. That compares to 5.04% in January 2009, the peak during the Great Recession. Higher interest rates are making it even more difficult to make the monthly payments. The average new auto loan rate was 8.02% in December, up from 5.15% a year earlier, according to Cox Automotive. The rate can be much higher for subprime borrowers.” (“Americans Fall Behind On Car Payments At Higher Rate Than In 2009,” Bloomberg, 1/27/2023)

‘A New Survey Found That Americans Living Paycheck To Paycheck Increased Over The Last Year’

“A new survey found that Americans living paycheck to paycheck increased over the last year, with nearly two-thirds of Americans reporting that they do so. About 64 percent of consumers said they were living paycheck to paycheck at the end of 2022, according to a report from Pymnts and LendingClub. The report found that the number is about 9.3 million more than the previous year and includes about 8 million people making more than $100,000 per year.” (“Survey: Nearly Two-Thirds Of Americans Are Living Paycheck To Paycheck,” The Hill, 1/30/2023)

Desperate For Cash, More Americans Are ‘Taking Hardship Withdrawals’ From Their 401(k) Plans

“Squeezed by higher prices and short on cash, more Americans are tapping their 401(k)s for financial emergencies. A record 2.8% of the five million people in 401(k) plans run by Vanguard Group tapped their retirement savings in 2022 to cope with hardships such as medical bills, eviction or foreclosure, the company said. That is up from 2.1% in 2021 and a prepandemic average of about 2%. This increase in the number of people taking hardship withdrawals is partly driven by several government moves since 2018 that have loosened the rules for taking such distributions from retirement accounts. … The withdrawals are ‘evidence that some families may be feeling the pinch and drawing on their 401(k) balances to relieve that financial stress,’ said Fiona Greig, global head of investor research and policy at Vanguard.” (“Short On Cash, More Americans Tap 401(K) Savings For Emergencies,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/02/2023)

  • “Although 401(k) plans are designed to keep Americans’ nest eggs out of reach until retirement age, the Internal Revenue Service allows savers to pull money out for certain economic hardships, including preventing foreclosure and eviction and covering medical and funeral bills. Other reasons defined as hardships include buying a primary home, paying college tuition and covering the cost of certain home repairs. People who take money out for hardships are restricted to the amount they need. They must pay income tax on withdrawals from traditional accounts, plus often a 10% penalty if they are younger than 59½ years. The law also allows 401(k) plans to let participants borrow an amount that is generally up to half of their balance or $50,000, whichever is less.” (“Short On Cash, More Americans Tap 401(K) Savings For Emergencies,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/02/2023)

As More Families Struggle, The Broader Economy Is Feeling The Effects

‘U.S. Consumer Confidence Unexpectedly Fell In January As Households Continued To Worry About The Economy's Prospects Over The Next Six Months’

“U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in January as households continued to worry about the economy's prospects over the next six months, a survey showed on Tuesday. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index slipped to 107.1 this month from 109.0 in December. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index at 109.0. The survey places more emphasis on the labor market, which remains tight. Consumers' 12-month inflation expectations rose to 6.8% from 6.6% last month.” (“U.S. Consumer Confidence Ebbs In January; Inflation Expectations Rise,” Reuters, 1/31/2023)

‘The Engine Of The U.S. Economy—Consumer Spending—Is Starting To Sputter’

“The engine of the U.S. economy—consumer spending—is starting to sputter. Retail purchases have fallen in three of the past four months. Spending on services, including rent, haircuts and the bulk of bills, was flat in December, after adjusting for inflation, the worst monthly reading in nearly a year. Sales of existing homes in the U.S. fell last year to their lowest level since 2014 as mortgage rates rose. The auto industry posted its worst sales year in more than a decade…. Now the forces that helped keep spending high are unwinding, while inflation remains elevated.” (“The U.S. Consumer Is Starting to Freak Out,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/30/2023)

“The share of monthly income Americans set aside for savings was 3.4% in December, down from 7.5% a year earlier and from a record high in April 2020. Credit-card interest rates have been rising, and Federal Reserve officials have signaled that they plan an additional quarter-percentage point increase to the central bank’s benchmark rate this week. That would bring the rate to between 4.5% and 4.75%, from near zero at the start of last year.” (“The U.S. Consumer Is Starting to Freak Out,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/30/2023)

“Mortgage rates reached a 20-year high last fall. Some 57% of consumers were concerned about making housing payments in the fourth quarter, according to a survey by Freddie Mac, up from 48% in the third quarter.” (“The U.S. Consumer Is Starting to Freak Out,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/30/2023)

“Credit-card balances were up 15% on the year in the third quarter, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the largest increase in more than two decades.” (“The U.S. Consumer Is Starting to Freak Out,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/30/2023)

“U.S. factories, shippers and importers are pulling back, a sign they anticipate less demand from Americans in the months ahead. Inbound volumes at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in California were down 20.1% in December from a year earlier, and have been behind 2019 levels since August. A little over a year ago, backlogs at ports were drawing President Biden’s attention.” (“The U.S. Consumer Is Starting to Freak Out,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/30/2023)

Yet President Biden Still Refuses To Take Responsibility For The Inflation Economists Agree Was Worsened By His Economic Policies

‘Inflation Is Still Well Above Normal Levels,’ Which Is ‘Way Too High For A Healthy Economy’

“Inflation is still well above normal levels, and the economy remains vulnerable to shocks that could send prices back up.” (The Washington Post, 1/12/2023)

“Data released [in December] by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that prices rose 7.1 percent in November compared with last year … figures [that] are way too high for a healthy economy …” (The Washington Post, 12/13/2022)

“Scorching-hot inflation has created severe financial pressures for most U.S. households, which are forced to pay more for everyday necessities like food and rent. The burden is disproportionately borne by low-income Americans, whose already-stretched paychecks are heavily impacted by price fluctuations.” (Fox Business, 12/13/2022)

But President Biden Defiantly Refuses To Accept Responsibility For Inflation That Occurred Entirely On His Watch

“Asked to explain, Biden … replied, ‘Our economy is strong as hell’ — as he munched on a waffle cone of Baskin Robbins chocolate-chip ice cream.” (“Biden Insists US Economy Is ‘Strong As Hell’ As He Munches An Ice Cream Cone,” New York Post, 10/16/2022)

REPORTER: “Do you take any blame for inflation, Mr. President?”
PRESIDENT BIDEN: “Am I taking blame for inflation?”
REPORTER: “Correct.”
BIDEN: “No.”
REPORTER: “Why not?”
BIDEN: “Because it was already there when I got here, man. Remember what the economy was like when I got here?  Jobs were hemorrhaging. Inflation was rising. We weren’t manufacturing a damn thing here. We were in real economic difficulty. That’s why I don’t.” (“Remarks by President Biden on the January Jobs Report,” Washington, DC, 2/03/2023)

REMINDER: When President Biden took office, inflation was 1.4% year-over-year, well below the Federal Reserve’s target of 2% inflation. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 2/03/2023)

REMINDER: Economists And Analysts Have Repeatedly Explained That President Biden’s Economic Policies Made Inflation WORSE

“Economists largely agree that the pandemic stimulus and other spending bills Mr. Biden signed over the past two years have added to inflation … But the president made clear [in November] that he does not see a need to change course when it comes to the economy. While he may seek common ground with Republicans on some fiscal matters, such as relatively mild cuts to government spending, he is unlikely to turn sharply to a more centrist economic policy like his Democratic predecessors did.” (“An Inflation-Driven Midterm Will Not Change Biden’s Economic Focus,” The New York Times, 11/10/2022)

“Democratic candidates in competitive Senate races this fall have spent little time on the trail or the airwaves touting the centerpiece provisions of their party’s $1.9 trillion economic rescue package … Economists generally agree that the stimulus spending contributed to accelerating inflation …” (“Democrats Spent $2 Trillion to Save the Economy. They Don’t Want to Talk About It.,” The New York Times, 10/16/2022)

Democrat Economists: ‘The Original Sin Was The $1.9 Trillion American Rescue Plan,’ ‘I’m Not Sure That We Would Have The Inflation … Without The Overwhelming Stimulus That Was Applied Well Into Recovery — During 2021,’ ‘The United States Has Had Much More Inflation Than Almost Any Other Advanced Economy In The World’ Because ‘The United States’ Stimulus [Spending] Is In A Category Of Its Own’

STEVEN RATTNER, Former Obama Administration Counselor to the Treasury Secretary: “This is Biden’s inflation and he needs to own it.” (Steve Rattner, @SteveRattner, Twitter, 3/10/2022)

  • RATTNER: “Enough already about ‘transitory’ inflation…. How could an administration loaded with savvy political and economic hands have gotten this critical issue so wrong? They can’t say they weren’t warned — notably by Larry Summers, a former Treasury secretary and my former boss in the Obama administration, and less notably by many others, including me. We worried that shoveling an unprecedented amount of spending into an economy already on the road to recovery would mean too much money chasing too few goods.” (Steven Rattner, Op-Ed, “I Warned the Democrats About Inflation,” The New York Times, 11/16/2021)

LARRY SUMMERS: “I’m not sure that we would have the inflation if there had never been a pandemic and, even if there had been a pandemic, without the overwhelming stimulus that was applied well into recovery — during 2021.” (“Summers Says Pandemic Only Partly To Blame For Record Inflation,” The Harvard Gazette, 2/4/2022)

“‘The United States has had much more inflation than almost any other advanced economy in the world,’ said Jason Furman, an economist at Harvard University and former Obama administration economic adviser, who used comparable methodologies to look across areas and concluded that U.S. price increases have been consistently faster. The difference, he said, comes because ‘the United States’ stimulus is in a category of its own.’” (“Rapid Inflation Fuels Debate Over What’s to Blame: Pandemic or Policy,” The New York Times, 1/22/2022)

‘A Chorus Of Economists Point To Government Policies As A Big Part Of The Reason U.S. Inflation Is At A 40-Year High’

“At a moment when stubbornly rapid price gains are weighing on consumer confidence and creating a political liability for President Biden, White House officials have repeatedly blamed international forces for high inflation … But a chorus of economists point to government policies as a big part of the reason U.S. inflation is at a 40-year high. While they agree that prices are rising as a result of shutdowns and supply chain woes, they say that America’s decision to flood the economy with stimulus money helped to send consumer spending into overdrive, exacerbating those global trends.” (“Rapid Inflation Fuels Debate Over What’s to Blame: Pandemic or Policy,” The New York Times, 1/22/2022)

“Many economists supported protecting workers and businesses early in the pandemic, but some took issue with the size of the $1.9 trillion package last March under the Biden administration. They argued that sending households another round of stimulus, including $1,400 checks, further fueled demand when the economy was already healing. Consumer spending seemed to react: Retail sales, for instance, jumped after the checks went out. Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said the U.S. government spent too much in too short a time in the first half of 2021.” (“Rapid Inflation Fuels Debate Over What’s to Blame: Pandemic or Policy,” The New York Times, 1/22/2022)

“[E]conomists are increasingly pointing to the scale and size of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan — which Democrats passed less than two months after Biden came to office — as too big to fill the economy’s hole. This stimulus re-extended more generous unemployment benefits of $400 a week, gave many Americans another round of stimulus checks and expanded the Child Tax Credit, though it has since expired. It also strengthened nutritional assistance and school lunch programs. Many Democrats — except a rare few, such as Lawrence H. Summers, who served under Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — initially waved off concerns that the spending power of the package could overwhelm the economy and flame inflation. But over time, it became clear that the massive influx in cash that went straight to American households, plus billions more dollars pumped into the broader economy, overheated the recovery…. And as time goes on, an increasing number of economists concede that the American Rescue Plan was too big to fill the hole left by the coronavirus recession.” (“What To Know About Inflation: Rising Prices Hit In U.S., Around The World,” The Washington Post, 2/09/2022)

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “Mr. Biden can blame Mr. Putin for many things, but not U.S. inflation. The root cause is homegrown: Two years of historically easy monetary policy, and explosive federal spending that fed economic demand even though the economy had long ago emerged from the pandemic recession.” (Editorial, “It’s Joe Biden’s Inflation,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/10/2022)

 

For Two Years, The Biden Administration Has Used Every Available Policy Lever To Make Energy Scarcer And Less Affordable For Americans

SEN. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO (R-WV), Senate EPW Committee Ranking Member: “The [Biden] administration has canceled pipelines, rescinded previously-issued approvals for others, and raised barriers to building new ones. They have frozen oil and gas leasing and proposed raising royalties – costs that will be passed on to every consumer. They are revising the NEPA environmental review process, undoing the streamlining that was done during 2020 to speed up project delivery. Biden’s EPA has hammered small refineries – including the one in my state – by denying hardship relief that could immediately help lower fuel prices. And Biden’s EPA has also announced a proposal under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act to make it easier for activists to prevent infrastructure projects…. This administration is fiercely determined to kill the oil and gas sector and baseload power sector in this country—rule-by-rule—executive action by executive action and hardworking Americans are paying for it at the pump. The American people see what’s happening here: Democrats want to continue layering on more regulations and legislation that will keep passing more and more costs onto the consumer… All while the Biden administration is working as hard as it can to shutter baseload coal and natural gas energy production and electricity.” (Sen. Capito, Remarks, 6/22/2022)

FERC COMMISSIONER JAMES P. DANLY: “In a series of orders over the last year, FERC has seemingly done everything it can to undermine the wholesale electricity markets…. Through these orders, FERC has placed its thumb firmly on the scale in favor of intermittent resources and against the generators that provide critical reliability in the organized electric markets. As natural gas costs go up due to supply constraints and burdensome regulation, the all-in cost of electricity will rise while electric reliability is threatened. FERC, however, is not the only federal agency that has natural gas and other forms of reliable, affordable energy in its sights. While FERC’s actions obstruct the development of new pipeline infrastructure, the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is contemplating onerous over-regulation of existing infrastructure, in a move greatly expanding its jurisdiction. On the production side, the Department of the Interior has hindered leasing processes for the development of new sources of energy on federal lands.” (U.S. Senate Energy Committee Hearing, 3/03/2022)

  • DANLY: “Perhaps most insidiously, the federal government is taking aim at financing natural gas and other forms of reliable, affordable energy. A constellation of federal financial regulatory agencies have begun rulemakings to codify requirements aimed at shaming companies away from investing in reliable, affordable energy, while shielding fiduciaries from liability for making otherwise economically unjustifiable decisions.” (U.S. Senate Energy Committee Hearing, 3/03/2022)

Energy Prices Are Up Over 33% Since Biden Took Office

Since President Biden took office in January 2021, overall energy prices have increased 33.9%. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 1/12/2023)

‘Economists Say Consumers Should Expect Their Electric Bills To Continue Rising At A Fast Pace’

“[O]ne costly item isn't expected to get cheaper anytime soon: electricity. Economists say consumers should expect their electric bills to continue rising at a fast pace as liquified natural gas, a key fuel for generating electricity, remains in short supply in the U.S. and companies' operating costs rise. Average U.S. electricity prices could rise at a 10% clip again this year and possibly next, predicts Mark Wolfe, director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association … ‘It’s fair to say, in aggregate, we’ll see upward pressure for 2023 on the cost consumers pay for electricity,’ said Dallas Federal Reserve economist Jesse Thompson.” (USA Today, 1/24/2023)

“Electricity rates in Illinois, for example, could continue to surge following a rise last year. The utility ComEd has asked state regulators for a record $1.5 billion in price hikes over the next four years, starting in 2024. If that next round of hikes wins approval, household electric bills in Illinois would increase by an average of $4.25 a month each year, for a cumulative increase of $17 a month by 2027…. Electricity rates are also rising elsewhere. While Illinois saw the third-largest percentage increase (32%) last year, New Hampshire and Hawaii took the top two spots at 40% and 38%, according to a survey released earlier this month by Texas electric power company Payless Power.” (USA Today, 1/24/2023)

“More than 75% of Americans were concerned about their ability to pay their utility or electric bills, with 51% shopping less to budget for the cost and one-quarter getting a second job to cover the expense, Payless Power said.” (USA Today, 1/24/2023)

On His First Day In Office, President Biden Cancelled The Keystone XL Pipeline, Making It More Difficult And More Expensive To Get Oil To Refineries

“The Canadian pipeline company that had long sought to build the Keystone XL pipeline announced [in June] that it had terminated the embattled project, which would have carried petroleum from Canadian tar sands to Nebraska. The announcement was the death knell for a project that had been on life support since President Biden’s first day in office and had been stalled by legal battles for years before that, despite support from the Trump administration.” (“The Keystone XL Pipeline Project Has Been Terminated,” The New York Times, 6/09/2021)

“President Joe Biden formally announced on [January 20th] he was revoking a key permit for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, the second time a Democratic administration has scuttled the $8 billion project in less than a decade. Biden’s action was part of a series of executive orders on his first day in office …” (“Biden Kills Keystone XL Permit, Again,” Politico, 1/20/2021)

President Biden Has Spent Two Years Strangling Oil Production On Federal Lands And Is Considering Curtailing Offshore Drilling Altogether For Years

‘The Biden Administration Has Leased Fewer Acres For Oil-And-Gas Drilling Offshore And On Federal Land Than Any Other Administration In Its Early Stages Dating Back To The End Of World War II’

“The Biden administration has leased fewer acres for oil-and-gas drilling offshore and on federal land than any other administration in its early stages dating back to the end of World War II, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. President Biden’s Interior Department leased 126,228 acres for drilling through Aug. 20, his first 19 months in office, the analysis found. No other president since Richard Nixon in 1969-70 leased out fewer than 4.4 million acres at this stage in his first term. Harry Truman was the last president to lease out fewer acres—65,658—in 1945-46, when offshore drilling was just beginning and the federal government didn’t yet control the deep-water leases that have made up the largest part of the federal oil-and-gas program in modern times…. The Journal’s analysis, based on Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management data, quantifies the slowdown in onshore and offshore leasing under Mr. Biden…. Federal leases account for more than a quarter of all U.S. oil production.” (“Federal Oil Leases Slow to a Trickle Under Biden,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/04/2022)

“The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 requires onshore oil and gas leasing ‘at least quarterly.’ While the Biden administration has been in office for six quarters, it has conducted auctions in just one of them. That happened in late June, after the administration came under increasing pressure to tame soaring gasoline prices at the pump in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” (“Federal Oil Leases Slow to a Trickle Under Biden,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/04/2022)

  • “In all, the Interior Department has awarded 203 leases for oil and gas development during Mr. Biden’s first 19 months in office. Former presidents Trump and Obama each approved 10 times as many leases during the same period, the Journal’s analysis shows. Going back further, the 203 leases under Mr. Biden amount to 3.2% of what presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to Mr. Trump awarded on average in the same span.” (“Federal Oil Leases Slow to a Trickle Under Biden,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/04/2022)

‘For Offshore Drilling, The Biden Administration Has Yet To Complete A Sale’ And ‘Hasn't Ruled Out A Complete Block On New Leases’

“For offshore drilling, the Biden administration has yet to complete a sale. It did hold one, on Nov. 17, offering 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico in a sale originally proposed by the Trump administration that would have been the largest offshore sale in U.S. history. It sold 1.7 million acres, but a federal judge invalidated the sale in January, ruling that the administration failed to do a proper environmental analysis. The Biden administration declined to appeal the decision, letting the sale get canceled.” (“Federal Oil Leases Slow to a Trickle Under Biden,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/04/2022)

“The Biden administration is nearing a decision on the future of federal offshore fossil fuel drilling and hasn't ruled out a complete block on new leases. On Thursday, the 90-day comment period for the Department of the Interior's (DOI) proposed five-year offshore leasing plan ended, paving the way for the agency to issue a final decision. In July, the DOI unveiled the plan which gutted a Trump administration proposal, ruling out any leasing in the Atlantic or Pacific and opening the door to an unprecedented scenario where no lease sales would be held through 2028.” (“Biden Admin Weighs Complete Block On Offshore Oil Drilling As Gas Prices Keep Rising,” Fox Business, 10/06/2022)

After Failing To Produce A Legally-Required Five-Year Plan For Offshore Oil & Gas Leases, Biden Intends To Leave It To A Left-Wing Environmental Activist Who Could Not Get Confirmed By The Senate Due To Her Hostility To Fossil Fuels

“The Biden administration is using a new opening at a powerful offshore energy agency to elevate a critic of fossil fuels who previously was blocked from a top Interior Department job because of opposition from … the Senate…. [The new appointee] will be Elizabeth Klein, a senior adviser to Secretary Deb Haaland and strong supporter of renewable energies who had also worked at Interior during the Clinton and Obama administrations…. Before joining the Biden administration, Klein was deputy director of the New York University School of Law’s State Energy & Environmental Impact Center, which frequently challenged Trump administration rule-changes that were designed to support fossil fuel industries.” (“Critic Of Fossil Fuels To Lead Key Offshore Oil Agency For Biden,” The Washington Post, 1/10/2023)

“At the BOEM [Bureau of Ocean Energy Management], Klein will oversee all U.S. offshore oil and gas leasing, a program that has been shrinking but which still underpins roughly 15 percent of the country’s total oil production, according to Energy Department data. One of her biggest tasks will be to finish a plan to manage offshore oil and gas leasing for the next five years. It is now nearly seven months overdue and, as proposed, could possibly prohibit future lease sales …” (“Critic Of Fossil Fuels To Lead Key Offshore Oil Agency For Biden,” The Washington Post, 1/10/2023)

 

Biden’s Signature Accomplishment Is A Reckless Taxing And Spending Spree That Raises Taxes, Sends More IRS Agents After American Families, And Subsidizes Purchases Of Electric Vehicles For The Wealthy

REMINDER: Democrats Raised Taxes On The Middle Class With Their Partisan Spending Boondoggle

“Biden vowed never to raise taxes on any Americans making less than $400,000 annually. Yet according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Schumer-Manchin bill does just that. Up to $16.7 billion worth of tax increases, JCT estimates.” (Punchbowl News AM, 8/01/2022)

According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, Democrats’ reckless taxing and spending bill would raise nearly $17 billion in taxes from Americans earning less than $200,000. (U.S. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member, Press Release, 7/30/2022)

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “One well-known economic truth is that corporations don’t really pay taxes. They are essentially tax collectors, as the corporate tax rate ultimately falls on some combination of workers, shareholders and customers. Raise the corporate tax rate, and you’re cutting wages and salaries for workers. No surprise, that’s exactly what the Joint Committee on Taxation found in its analysis of the Schumer-Manchin bill’s distributional impact. The JCT finds that average tax rates will increase for nearly every income category in 2023 under the bill. Taxes will rise by $16.7 billion in 2023 on Americans earning less than $200,000 a year. Taxpayers earning between $200,000 and $500,000 will pay $14.1 billion more. This gives the lie to Democratic claims that no one earning under $400,000 will pay more taxes under the bill, a promise Mr. Biden also made in his campaign. The reality is that the Schumer-Manchin bill is a tax increase on nearly every American.” (Editorial, “The Schumer-Manchin Tax Increase on Everyone,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/31/2022)

Democrats Boasted About Slapping Tax Hikes On Manufacturers And The Oil And Gas Industry …

“Manufacturers and other companies making capital investments could pay the bulk of the new corporate minimum tax in Senate Democrats’ fast-moving fiscal legislation, according to an analysis of the plan. The 15% minimum tax would take effect next year and apply to U.S.-based companies that report financial-statement profits averaging at least $1 billion over three years, according to legislation released this week that mirrors a House-passed bill from last year. The proposal, if it becomes law, would raise companies’ tax bills until they hit that minimum rate.” (“Democrats’ Corporate Tax Plan Threatens Higher Bills for Manufacturers,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/30/2022)

  • “But much of the money would likely come from companies that report low tax rates now because their capital investments—in factories and machines, for example—are treated differently in tax and financial accounting…. Nearly half of the revenue would come from manufacturers, the committee said, using a broad definition that might include some pharmaceutical and technology companies. For accounting purposes, deductions for capital investments are spread over the life of the asset. For tax purposes, they are often accelerated, reducing current tax rates. The proposal … would largely erase that difference for affected companies, raising their taxes now and deferring or denying the benefit of accelerated depreciation. An analysis from the Tax Foundation, which favors simpler tax systems with lower rates, found that the coal, automobile and utilities industries would face larger tax bills.” (“Democrats’ Corporate Tax Plan Threatens Higher Bills for Manufacturers,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/30/2022)

“The climate and tax spending deal announced last week by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Joe Manchin could cost the oil industry $25 billion in new taxes. The legislation, which may get a Senate vote as soon as next week, would reinstate and increase a long-lapsed tax on crude and imported petroleum products to 16.4 cents per gallon, according to a summary of the plan released Sunday by the Senate’s tax-writing committee. … The Superfund tax, which previously stood at 9.7 cents per barrel until it lapsed at the end of 1995, is paid by refiners and other importers to help fund the clean-up of hazardous waste sites. In addition to increasing the tax, the Senate proposal would index the fee to inflation.” (“Manchin Spending Deal Includes Billions in Taxes on Oil Sector,” Bloomberg, 7/31/2022)

“The 725-page bill released last week would also impose other costs for the oil and gas industry. It places a new first-time fee on methane emissions rising to as much as $1,500 a ton and increases the royalty rate companies pay to the government for oil and gas produced on federal land.” (“Manchin Spending Deal Includes Billions in Taxes on Oil Sector,” Bloomberg, 7/31/2022)

… But American Families Are Paying The Price

AMERICANS FOR TAX REFORM: “Democrats’ reckless tax and spend spree endorsed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) includes a $12 billion tax on crude oil that will be paid by consumers in the form of higher gas and energy costs…. As if it weren’t bad enough, Democrats have pegged their tax increase to inflation. As inflation increases, so will the level of tax…. This tax hike is a clear violation of President Biden’s pledge not to raise any form of tax on anyone making less than $400,000 per year.” (“Manchin-Schumer Bill Includes $12 Billion Crude Oil Tax,” Americans for Tax Reform Website, 8/01/2022)

AMERICAN GAS ASSOCIATION: “On behalf of the companies and associations that make up the natural gas supply chain and the 180 million Americans and the 5.5 million businesses that rely on natural gas, we would like to express our concerns about including a methane emissions fee or tax in budget reconciliation legislation…. New fees or taxes on energy companies will raise costs for customers, creating a burden that will fall most heavily on lower-income Americans…. [B]ased on similar proposals introduced earlier this Congress, we estimate that the fee could amount to tens of billions of dollars annually. These major new costs most likely will result in higher bills for natural gas customers, including families, small businesses, and power generators…. Any increase in low-income households’ energy costs could prove devastating.” (American Gas Association and 27 Natural gas Supply Chain Associations, Letter to Sens. Schumer and McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, and Rep. McCarthy, 9/07/2021)

It’s Indisputable That Joe Biden’s Reckless Taxing And Spending Spree Is Designed To Hire More IRS Agents And The Crackdown Will Inevitably Fall On Middle And Lower Income Americans

‘The IRS Money, About $80 Billion Over A Decade, Would Roughly Double The Size Of The Agency And Be Aimed At Tougher Enforcement’

“The IRS money, about $80 billion over a decade, would roughly double the size of the agency and be aimed at tougher enforcement …” (“Joe Manchin Reaches Deal With Chuck Schumer on Energy, Healthcare, Tax Package,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/28/2022)

“The Treasury Department projected that the agency would hire about 87,000 new employees over the next decade …” (“Yellen Directs I.R.S. to Embark on $80 Billion Overhaul Plan,” The New York Times, 8/17/2022)

CBO: “CBO estimates that portions of the Administration’s proposal to increase funding for the IRS by $80 billion over the 2022–2031 period would increase revenues by approximately $200 billion over those 10 years.” (“The Effects of Increased Funding for the IRS,” Congressional Budget Office, 9/02/2022)

‘The Main Democratic Command Is For The Tax Agency To Bring The Hammer Down On Taxpayers’

SEN. MIKE CRAPO (R-ID), Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member: “The bill includes a staggering $80 billion infusion of mandatory funding for the IRS.  This funding—six times the agency’s current budget—will empower the agency to hire an army of auditors to squeeze $204 billion out of taxpayers of all income levels to fund Democrats’ wishful ‘green new deal’ policies. Of the $80 billion, $45.6 billion will be for enforcement, to collect Democrats’ desired $204 billion or more of federal revenue. The IRS outlined in earlier documents it would use the funding to hire 86,852 fulltime employees, and specifically referenced ‘hiring and training agents dedicated to complex enforcement activities.’” (Sen. Crapo, Op-Ed, “Democrats Hire Army Of Agents At IRS To Squeeze Honest Taxpayers For Green New Deal,” Fox News, 8/25/2022)

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “The pact between Sen. Joe Manchin and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer includes $80 billion in new funding for the tax man. Democrats claim this ‘investment’ will yield more than $200 billion in revenue. That estimate is highly speculative, but if it’s anywhere close to right IRS auditors will soon be coming after tens of millions of Americans. The $80 billion is more than six times the current annual IRS budget of $12.6 billion. The money will be ladled out over nine years and comes with few strings attached. The main Democratic command is for the tax agency to bring the hammer down on taxpayers. The bill earmarks $45.6 billion for ‘enforcement,’ including ‘litigation,’ ‘criminal investigations,’ ‘investigative technology,’ ‘digital asset monitoring’ and a new fleet of tax-collector cars. The result will be far more audits, civil suits and criminal referrals.” (Editorial, “The IRS Is About to Go Beast Mode,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/02/2022)

Nonpartisan, Independent Scorekeepers Have Shown That This Tide Of Audits Will Unquestionably Wash Over Middle And Lower Income Taxpayers

CBO: “The proposed increase in spending on the IRS’s enforcement activities would result in higher audit rates than those underlying CBO’s baseline budget projections…. The proposal, by contrast, would return audit rates to the levels of about 10 years ago; the rate would rise for all taxpayers …” (“The Effects of Increased Funding for the IRS,” Congressional Budget Office, 9/02/2022)

SEN. CRAPO: “Advocates argue the enforcement funding will be used to close the tax gap—the difference between taxes owed and taxes paid—and then claim it is only about ‘wealthy tax cheats.’ Yet, the data tell a different story. Democrats’ will not achieve their desired tax revenue goals without also targeting the middle class, small businesses and taxpayers earning under $400,000 per year. As Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, I asked the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) to estimate where most underreported income in the ‘tax gap’ lies. The JCT determined 78-90 percent of under- or misreported-income comes from those making below $200,000, while only around 4-9 percent comes from those making $500,000 or more.” (Sen. Crapo, Op-Ed, “Democrats Hire Army Of Agents At IRS To Squeeze Honest Taxpayers For Green New Deal,” Fox News, 8/25/2022)

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “Democrats spent last week swearing that only high earners would be squeezed under their plan to beef up the Internal Revenue Service. It took only a few days for the Congressional Budget Office to put that narrative to rest. A quick analysis from the budget scorer confirms that the audit expansion will ensnare the middle class. The CBO made the point in an Aug. 12 letter to Sen. Mike Crapo, who had sought to bind Democrats to their promise to limit audits to high earners…. Mr. Crapo proposed an amendment to ensure new audits would exclude taxpayers earning less than $400,000, but Democrats voted it down 51 to 50. Mr. Crapo then asked the CBO to calculate the effect his amendment would have had. The agency found that increased scrutiny on filers earning less than $400,000 would account for $20 billion over 10 years, out of a total of about $204 billion that Democrats hope to collect through a bigger, badder IRS. In other words, the IRS expansion as it’s currently designed could collect billions in revenue from new middle-class audits.” (Editorial, “The Middle Class Won’t Escape the New IRS Audit Wave,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/14/2022)

“GOP lawmakers have sounded the alarm over the proposal, warning that it could have serious ramifications for lower-income workers. That's because the IRS disproportionately targets low-income Americans when it conducts tax audits each year. In fact, households with less than $25,000 in earnings are five times as likely to be audited by the agency than everyone else, according to a recent analysis of tax data from fiscal year 2021 by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University. The reason for that is a rise in what is known as ‘correspondence audits,’ meaning the IRS conducts reviews of tax returns via letters or phone calls rather than more complex face-to-face audits…. According to the Syracuse study, more than half of the correspondence audits initiated by the IRS last year — 54% — involved low-income workers with gross receipts of less than $25,000 who claimed the earned income tax credit, an anti-poverty measure.” (“How Democrats' Beefed-Up IRS Could Hurt Low-Income Americans,” Fox Business, 8/05/2022)

  • “[T]axpayers with a total positive income that ranged from $200,000 to $1 million had one-third the odds of being audited by the IRS compared to the lowest-income wage earners. About 9 million taxpayers reported these high-income levels in 2021, but fewer than 40,000 of their returns were audited, or roughly 4.5 out of every 1,000. That contrasts sharply with lower-income Americans, who faced an audit rate of 13 out of every 1,000.” (“How Democrats' Beefed-Up IRS Could Hurt Low-Income Americans,” Fox Business, 8/05/2022)

Just This Week, The IRS Launched A New Initiative Aimed At Squeezing More Tax Revenue Out Of Tipped Employees

“The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service today issued Notice 2023-13, which contains a proposed revenue procedure that would establish the Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement (SITCA) program … The proposed SITCA program is designed to take advantage of advancements in point-of-sale, time and attendance systems, and electronic payment settlement methods to improve tip reporting compliance.” (IRS Press Release, 2/06/2023)

 

As Biden’s Tax-And-Spend Law Siphons More Tax Money From Middle And Lower Income Americans, It Hands It Back To Wealthier Households As Tax Credits For Electric Vehicles That Cost More Than The Median American Household Income

SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): “[Democrats] want these job-killing tax hikes so they can spend tens of billions of dollars on slush funds for ‘green banks’ and ‘environmental justice.’ They want job-killing tax hikes so they can finance new handouts for wealthy households earning up to $300,000 a year to buy an $80,000 electric car. Democrats want to subsidize rich people buying electric cars that cost more than the median American household earns in an entire year.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 7/28/2022)

“Only singles with incomes up to $150,000 a year and couples who file taxes jointly who earn up to $300,000 will qualify [for the electric vehicle tax credit].” (“You Can Get A $7,500 Tax Credit To Buy An Electric Car, But It's Really Complicated,” NPR, 8/22/2022)

“Sport utility vehicles, vans and pickups are eligible for credits only if the manufacturer’s suggested list price is less than $80,000.” (“Tax Credits for Electric Vehicles Are About to Get Confusing,” The New York Times, 12/29/2022)

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income is $69,021. (U.S. Census Bureau, Accessed 2/06/2023)

 

The Biden Administration Has Failed At Every Level To Alleviate The Chaos On The Southern U.S. Border

59% of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of “the immigration situation at the U.S.-Mexico border.” (Washington Post-ABC News Poll, 2/03/2023)

U.S. Customs And Border Protection Announced That 251,487 Illegal Immigrants Were Encountered At The Southern Border In December, A Record Number, Highlighting ‘The Unprecedented Migrant Crisis Along The Southern Border’

“Illegal border crossings during the month of December reached their highest level of the Biden administration, topping 250,000 in the last month of 2022 ... Data released from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Friday revealed that officials had 251,487 encounters on the southwestern border of the United States during December, a 7 percent increase from the previous month. That total includes 216,162 unique encounters from different people, which is 11 percent higher than in November.” (“Illegal Border Crossings Rose To Highest Level Of Biden’s Presidency In December,” The Hill, 1/21/2023)

  • “[T]he record number of migrant apprehensions in December, a month that has historically seen lower migration flows than warmer parts of the year, illustrates the unprecedented migrant crisis along the southern border, where migrants have been arriving in greater numbers and from more countries than ever before.” (CBS News, 1/20/2023)

PEW RESEARCH: “Monthly encounters between U.S. Border Patrol agents and migrants attempting to cross into the United States at the U.S.-Mexico border remain at levels not seen in more than two decades, according to the latest available government statistics…. The number of monthly migrant encounters had fallen to 16,182 – the second-lowest total in more than 20 years – in April 2020, shortly after the coronavirus outbreak forced the closure of the southwestern border and slowed migration across much of the world. But encounters with migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border have soared since then, with 206,239 reported in November 2022 … Recent monthly totals far exceed the peak reached during the last major wave of migration at the U.S.-Mexico border in May 2019 and are roughly on par with the previous peak reached in March 2000.” (“Monthly Encounters With Migrants At U.S.-Mexico Border Remain Near Record Highs,” Pew Research Center, 1/13/2023)

So Far In Fiscal Year 2023, At Least 38 People On The Terror Watchlist Have Been Apprehended Trying To Enter The U.S. Between Ports Of Entry

At least 38 people on the terror watchlist have been apprehended trying to enter the U.S. between ports of entry so far this fiscal year. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection, “CBP Enforcement Statistics Fiscal Year 2023,” Accessed 1/24/2023)

In Fiscal Year 2022, Nearly 2.4 Million Illegal Immigrants Were Encountered Trying To Cross The Southern Border, ‘More Than Twice The Highest Level During Donald Trump’s Presidency In 2019’

“Migrants were stopped 227,547 times in September at the U.S. border with Mexico, the third-highest month of Joe Biden’s presidency. It was up 11.5% from 204,087 times in August and 18.5% from 192,001 times in September 2021. In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, migrants were stopped 2.38 million times, up 37% from 1.73 million times the year before, according to figures released late Friday night. The annual total surpassed 2 million for the first time in August and is more than twice the highest level during Donald Trump’s presidency in 2019.” (“Illegal Border Crossings To US From Mexico Hit Annual High,” The Associated Press, 10/22/2022)

‘Some Of Mexico’s Most Violent Drug Cartels’ Are Now Making An Estimated $13 Billion A Year Smuggling Illegal Immigrants Into The U.S., A 26-Fold Increase From 2018

“Migrant smuggling on the U.S. southern border has evolved over the past 10 years from a scattered network of freelance ‘coyotes’ into a multi-billion-dollar international business controlled by organized crime, including some of Mexico’s most violent drug cartels.” (“Smuggling Migrants At The Border Now A Billion-Dollar Business,” The New York Times, 7/25/2022)

“The sheer number of people seeking to cross made migrant smuggling an irresistible moneymaker for some cartels… The enterprises have teams specializing in logistics, transportation, surveillance, stash houses and accounting — all supporting an industry whose revenues have soared to an estimated $13 billion today from $500 million in 2018, according to Homeland Security Investigations, the federal agency that investigates such cases.” (“Smuggling Migrants At The Border Now A Billion-Dollar Business,” The New York Times, 7/25/2022)

And Even Large Cities Run By Democrats Say They Are ‘Reaching A Breaking Point’ Under Waves Of Illegal Immigration

“In reports on ABC and CBS News, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called on the Biden administration do more to address the border crisis. Adams recently said that there is ‘no more room in New York’ for asylum seekers being sent to the city from Texas. ‘This should not happen to any city in America. This is a national problem and our national government, Congress and the White House must do a long-term comprehensive immigration policy,’ he told ABC's Jonathan Karl. But he demanded the White House ‘deal with the immediate emergency we have now.’ ‘Congress has an obligation and a national government has the obligation that brings with it the responsibility of dealing with this immediate crisis. This is a crisis,’ he emphasized to CBS.” (“Democratic Mayors Call Out Biden Admin Over Border Crisis: ‘This Is A National Problem,’” Fox News, 1/23/2023)

  • “‘There’s no more room’ in New York City to house asylum seekers, Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday, putting new pressure on the Biden administration to immediately address the migrant crisis. ‘We’re at that point,’ Adams said during POLITICO’s The Fifty: America’s Mayors, a virtual interview on the sidelines of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington…. Some 40,000 migrants have arrived in New York City from the southern border since last year, with an additional 3,000 coming during just one week this month.” (“Eric Adams Pressures Biden To Address Migrant Crisis As New York Costs Soar,” Politico, 1/18/2023)

“The city of Denver says it is reaching a breaking point when it comes to the continuing arrival of migrants here, and is now calling on the federal government to step in…. ‘We're at our breaking point, 100 percent,’ said Mikayla Ortega, communications manager with the Denver Office of Emergency Management. ‘We need the federal government to step in. Denver is not a border community. We don't have the resources that border communities do from the federal government, so we're very limited in what we can do here.’ According to Ortega, the city has spent more than $1 million on sheltering efforts so far and is projecting to spend another $2 million moving forward.” (“City Of Denver Says They Are At Breaking Point As Migrants Continue To Arrive,” CBS Colorado, 12/30/2022)

 

Biden’s Bull-Headed And Humiliating Determination To Pull Out Of Afghanistan Has Had Far-Reaching Negative Repercussions From Encouraging Putin’s Aggression To Adding To The Chaos On The U.S. Border

Biden Was Determined To Retreat From Afghanistan, Ignoring Both Advice From Military Commanders And Conditions On The Ground

“In his [August 16th] speech defending America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Biden said he would not shrink from his share of responsibility. That would include his decision to bring home U.S. troops, which was made against the recommendations of his top military generals and many diplomats, who warned that a hasty withdrawal would undermine security in Afghanistan, several administration and defense officials said. The president’s top generals, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley, urged Mr. Biden to keep a force of about 2,500 troops, the size he inherited, while seeking a peace agreement between warring Afghan factions, to help maintain stability. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who previously served as a military commander in the region, said a full withdrawal wouldn’t provide any insurance against instability. In a series of meetings leading up to his decision, military and intelligence officials told Mr. Biden that security was deteriorating in Afghanistan, and they expressed concerns both about the capabilities of the Afghan military and the Taliban’s likely ability to take over major Afghan cities…. Mr. Biden, however, was committed to ending the U.S. military role in the country.” (“Biden Wanted to Leave Afghanistan. He Knew the Risks.,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/17/2021)

  • “The Taliban … rolled into Kabul having barely fired a shot. The onslaught triggered a chaotic evacuation of almost all U.S. diplomats, helped by thousands of American soldiers who were sent back to assist in the mission, sending shock waves around the world. The swift takeover, punctuated by images of desperate Afghans gripping onto moving U.S. Air Force planes, raises the stakes of Mr. Biden’s decision and the way it was implemented, for him personally as well as for the administration’s foreign policy and for America’s standing in the world. His team’s failure so far to mitigate the fallout of the withdrawal, including protecting thousands of pro-Western Afghans marooned in the capital, has some countries expressing concern about the U.S. as a partner, including on some of the very issues Mr. Biden wants to address.” (“Biden Wanted to Leave Afghanistan. He Knew the Risks.,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/17/2021)
  • “Pentagon leaders publicly acknowledged on [September 28th] that they advised President Biden not to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan ahead of a chaotic evacuation in which 13 U.S. service members died in a suicide bombing and 10 Afghan civilians were killed in an American drone strike…. Under repeated questioning from Republican senators, the Pentagon leaders broke with parts of Mr. Biden’s defense of the pullout, acknowledging that they had recommended leaving 2,500 American troops on the ground, and had warned that the Afghan government and army could collapse as early as the fall if the United States withdrew its forces…. Senators pressed the three men on why the Pentagon failed to predict the rapid collapse of the Afghan government and Afghan military, why the United States did not start evacuating Americans and vulnerable Afghans sooner, and what the Pentagon was doing now to help evacuate the remaining Americans and Afghans who want to leave the country.” (“Military Officials Say They Urged Biden Against Afghanistan Withdrawal,” The New York Times, 9/28/2021)

‘The Single Most Important Factor In The [Afghan National Defense And Security Forces’] Collapse In August 2021 Was The U.S. Decision To Withdraw Military Forces And Contractors From Afghanistan’

SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR AFGHANISTAN RECONSTRUCTION: “SIGAR found that the single most important factor in the [Afghan National Defense and Security Forces’] collapse in August 2021 was the U.S. decision to withdraw military forces and contractors from Afghanistan through signing the U.S.-Taliban agreement in February 2020 under the Trump administration, followed by President Biden’s withdrawal announcement in April 2021. … According to retired General David Barno, ‘We built that army to run on contractor support. Without it, it can’t function. Game over…When the contractors pulled out, it was like we pulled all the sticks out of the Jenga pile and expected it to stay up.’” (Collapse of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces: An Assessment of the Factors That Led to Its Demise, SIGAR 22-22-IP Evaluation Report, May 2022)

The Hectic, Chaotic Withdrawal Hastily Abandoned Bagram Air Base Where The ISIS-K Suicide Bomber Who Later Killed 13 American Servicemembers Had Been Imprisoned

“The ISIS-K suicide bomber who carried out a terrorist attack at Kabul international airport in late August, killing 13 US service members and dozens of Afghans, had been released from a prison near Kabul just days earlier when the Taliban took control of the area, according to three US officials. Two US officials, as well as Rep. Ken Calvert, a California Republican who said he had been briefed by national security officials, said the suicide bomber was released from the Parwan prison at Bagram air base. The US controlled the base until it abandoned Bagram in early July. It had turned over the prison to Afghan authorities in 2013.” (“ISIS-K Suicide Bomber Who Carried Out Deadly Kabul Airport Attack Had Been Released From Prison Days Earlier,” CNN, 10/6/2021)

‘The Precipitous Withdrawal From Afghanistan Was A Message To People Like Putin,’ ‘[Biden] Undermined American Deterrence And Set The Stage For Russia’s Renewed Aggression’

LEADER McCONNELL: “I think the precipitous withdrawal from Afghanistan was a message to people like Putin — that America was rethinking our forward-leaning position in the world. I don't think, if we hadn’t cut and run, [that] Putin would have tried this at all.” (Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” 3/02/2022)

SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AR): “Precedents are important in foreign policy…. In Afghanistan, President Biden set a clear precedent that he would not act to save an ally. In so doing, he undermined American deterrence and set the stage for Russia’s renewed aggression…. For Vladimir Putin all lights were flashing green.” (Sen. Cotton, Remarks, 6/22/2022)

REP. MICHAEL McCAUL (R-TX), House Armed Services Committee Chairman: “I think, most importantly, Jake, as you and I talked about Afghanistan over the summer, last summer, I think people, our foreign adversaries, like Putin, President Xi in China, the Ayatollah [Khameini], and Kim Jong-un, all view that as a moment of weakness. So we are not projecting strength, as Reagan talked about, but, rather, projecting weakness, which, historically … always invites aggression.” (CNN’s “State of the Union,” 1/16/2022)

Top U.S. Commanders Have Also Pointed To President Biden’s Debacle In Afghanistan As One Reason Vladimir Putin May Have Thought He’d Have A Free Hand To Launch His Brutal Invasion Of Ukraine

SEN. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R-TN): “Okay. We've talked a good bit about Afghanistan today. So did Biden's precipitous withdrawal from Afghanistan which really fed perceptions of America in retreat, did that play a role in shaping Putin's decision to invade Ukraine?”
GEN. MARK MILLEY, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: “From the intelligence I've read, it's not clear. I think it certainly is possible, but I also know that Putin had aims on Ukraine long before the end of the war in Afghanistan.” (Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing, 4/07/2022)

REP. JIM BANKS (R-IN): “General, why did Putin decide to invade Ukraine right now? … Why not anytime between 2014 and 2022? Why didn't he invade, but why did he invade now?”
GEN. TOD WOLTERS, Commander, U.S. European Command: “I think he felt like he had popular support of the citizens of Russia. I also felt like he was attempting to take advantage of fissures that could have appeared in NATO as a result of the post-Afghanistan environment. And I also think it has to do with his age and his efficacy and all of those combined together put him in a position to where he elected to go at this time.” (U.S. House Armed Services Committee Hearing, 3/30/2022)

The Taliban’s Takeover Has Been A Disaster For Ordinary Afghans

As Soon As The Taliban Seized Power, They Went Right Back To Oppressing And Brutalizing Afghan Women

“Women and girls are facing blanket bans on education after a series of decrees steadily eroded their rights in almost all aspects of life and upended the gains they had fought tirelessly for over the past two decades. Just days after retaking power, the Taliban reinstated the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice as a public morality watchdog tasked with enforcing the Taliban’s version of Islamic law. The ministry has since been central to the systematic chipping away of women’s rights in the country.” (“The Taliban Pledged To Honor Women’s Rights In Afghanistan. Here’s How It Eroded Them Instead,” CNN, 12/23/2022)

  • “[I]n March 2022, the government barred girls from attending secondary school…. In its latest step in the clampdown on women’s education, the Taliban on Tuesday suspended university education for all female students…. Women’s access to public spaces has been significantly curtailed under the Taliban. On November 10, women were banned from entering all parks in Kabul…. The same day, a Taliban official in Kabul announced that women would be barred from using gyms across the country…. Women in Afghanistan can no longer work in most sectors…. Women’s right to travel within Afghanistan and abroad has also been restricted.” (“The Taliban Pledged To Honor Women’s Rights In Afghanistan. Here’s How It Eroded Them Instead,” CNN, 12/23/2022)
  • “The Taliban previously forced their restrictions on women through their official ‘morality police.’ But now, Taliban leaders’ more strident directives to control women have emboldened, or compelled, countless other men into abusive roles as ‘enforcers.’ … Increasingly, Afghan women said, abuses are committed by gunmen dressed in ordinary street clothes, whom women could not identify. These armed squads entered women’s classrooms in universities and private schools across Kabul, demanding to inspect female students’ clothing. They forced the students to lift their long skirts and robes to show their garments underneath. Where the enforcers found girls or women wearing Western-style pants, they beat them with electrical cables, the women said…. Women in Kabul said Taliban have entered girls’ elementary schools to enforce the regime’s months-old order that students and teachers keep their faces, except for their eyes, covered even in class. In the raids, as recent as [October 26th], enforcers beat accused violators with electrical cables, sticks or gun butts…. Women in Kabul report new abuses by Taliban gunmen in residential districts across the city. On [October 23rd], enforcers raided several girls’ schools and privately run education courses in the southern neighborhood of Chihil Sutun, beating students and teachers for wearing pants as undergarments, outer robes that did not reach their ankles, or clothing in colors other than black, the women said.” (Belquis Ahmadi, “Taliban Escalate New Abuses Against Afghan Women, Girls,” United States Institute of Peace, 10/27/2022)

Afghans Abandoned By The U.S. Withdrawal Are Increasingly Fleeing The Taliban And Making A Desperate Dangerous Journey Through South And Central America, To Arrive On The Southern U.S. Border, Adding To The Chaos There

“Their journey starts with a humanitarian visa for Brazil: one of the few remaining exit routes for Afghans fleeing Taliban rule. It ends – after a perilous trek overland through Latin America across at least 11 countries – with scaling the border wall and jumping onto U.S. soil. More than a year after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Kabul, the number of Afghans crossing the U.S.-Mexico border to seek asylum in the United States has soared. Hundreds of people each month are risking their lives to get there on a human smuggling route notorious for kidnapping, robbery and assault. U.S. border agents apprehended 2,132 Afghans last year – a close to 30-fold increase over the prior year – with nearly half arriving in November and December, U.S. government data show…. Several refugee advocates and former U.S. officials said the increasing number of Afghans attempting the route reflected a failure both to address the humanitarian crisis inside Afghanistan and to provide adequate support for those who leave.” (“‘Nobody Wants To Come This Way,’” Reuters, 2/01/2023)

 

Biden Led Democrats In Peddling Outrageous And Cynical Lies About Georgia’s Voting Law, Even Encouraging Democrats To Break The Senate Over It

LEADER McCONNELL: “At this time one year ago, the Democratic Party was in the middle of a hysterical meltdown over a new voting law in the state of Georgia. The President of the United States declared the state’s modest changes to election procedures were, ‘Jim Crow 2.0.’ He said the law was about ‘voter suppression and election subversion.’ He said citizens should doubt, ‘whether your vote counts at all.’ … Well, the facts are now in. We have hard evidence…. This is all with the supposed ‘Jim Crow’ law in action: Record high turnout. Lightning-fast voting lines. And a supermajority of African-American voters rating their experience under the new voting rules as ‘excellent.’ … We were right, and they were wrong. But it goes beyond that. These people lied. They invoked our darkest history and slandered half the country because they wanted more power for themselves. Some of the most powerful people in our entire country, including the President of the United States, staked their personal credibility to these claims. President Biden screamed from a podium that the bad old days of Jim Crow were back… over this! The Majority Leader from New York tried to destroy the Senate… over this! … I don’t think the American people will forget who kept their credibility and who lit theirs on fire.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 2/02/2023)

Biden Grotesquely Referred To The Law As ‘Jim Crow 2.0,’ Suggesting That Those Who Passed Or Supported The Law Were ‘On The Side Of’ George Wallace, Bull Connor, And Jefferson Davis

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: “[W]hat’s been the reaction of Republicans in Georgia?  Choose the wrong way, the undemocratic way. To them, too many people voting in a democracy is a problem. So they’re putting up obstacles…. Jim Crow 2.0 is about two insidious things: voter suppression and election subversion.  It’s no longer about who gets to vote; it’s about making it harder to vote.  It’s about who gets to count the vote and whether your vote counts at all. It’s not hyperbole; this is a fact.” (President Biden, Remarks, 1/11/2022)

  • PRESIDENT BIDEN: “So, I ask every elected official in America: How do you want to be remembered? At consequential moments in history, they present a choice: Do you want to be on the side of Dr. King or George Wallace?  Do you want to be on the side of John Lewis or Bull Connor?  Do you want to be on the side of Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis? This is the moment to decide to defend our elections, to defend our democracy.” (President Biden, Remarks, 1/11/2022)
  • PRESIDENT BIDEN: “And so I am convinced that we’ll be able to stop this because it is the most pernicious thing. This makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle. I mean, this is gigantic what they’re trying to do, and it cannot be sustained.” (President Biden, Press Conference, 3/25/2021)

Biden Even Called On His Fellow Democrats To Break The Senate’s 60-Vote Rule And Irrevocably Break The Institution The Senate In Order To Pass A Partisan Federal Takeover Of Elections

PRESIDENT BIDEN: “I believe that the threat to our democracy is so grave that we must find a way to pass these voting rights bills, debate them, vote. Let the majority prevail…. And if that bare minimum is blocked, we have no option but to change the Senate rules, including getting rid of the filibuster for this…. Today I’m making it clear: To protect our democracy, I support changing the Senate rules, whichever way they need to be changed ….” (President Biden, Remarks, 1/11/2022)

But The Truth Is That Voter Turnout In Georgia In 2022 Shattered ‘Midterm Turnout Records,’ Featuring Record-Breaking Early Voting Numbers

GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE’S OFFICE: “Georgia voters came out in force in the 2022 midterm elections, shattering midterm turnout records…. Georgia’s Election Integrity Act implemented reforms to enhance both voter convenience and election security….
Some of the milestones achieved this cycle include:
-All-time turnout records for a mid-term election, with more votes cast than any other midterm
-Record breaking midterm Early voting turnout
-Record breaking absentee by mail votes cast in a midterm
-More Election Day votes cast in the 2022 runoff than on Election Day in the 2022 General Election, than on Election Day in the January 2021 runoff, or on the General Election Day in 2020
-Three days of single-day all-time voting records during Early Voting
By any measure, the 2022 midterm election was a success for all Georgia voters.” (Georgia Secretary of State, Press Release, 12/07/2022)

  • “Georgia voters broke the all-time daily turnout record for in-person Early Voting on Monday, November 28th. As of Tuesday morning, 468k Georgians have cast their in-person ballot for the December 6th Runoff, with an astounding 301,545 casting their vote on Monday. Monday's total is well above previous records of 233,252 voters processed on the final day of Early Voting in the 2018 General Election, and 252,715 voting on the highest day of Early Voting in 2016.” (Georgia Secretary of State, Press Release, 11/29/2022)

GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE BRAD RAFFENSPERGER: “The largest Early Voting Day in Georgia history shows that claims of voter suppression in Georgia are conspiracy theories no more valid than Bigfoot.” (Georgia Secretary of State, Press Release, 11/29/2022)

An Independent Post-Election Poll Of Voters Conducted By The University Of Georgia Found Across-The-Board Satisfaction With The Voting Experience, With Over 90% Saying It Was Easy To Vote

“An independent post-election poll conducted by the University of Georgia sheds light on Georgians’ satisfaction with their voting experience in the 2022 elections. Among the findings:” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/23/2023)

 

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