Today, Democrats in Congress passed a deal to fund the federal government that will hurt Americans. It fails to reduce inflation, and it fails to reduce the budget deficit. Instead, it raises taxes on working middle-class Americans. I joined my fellow Republican colleagues in voting NO on this harmful legislation. Make no mistake, this bill:

• Fails to reduce inflation
• Fails to reverse the shrinking of the American economy
• Raises taxes by $480 billion
• Will make high food and gas prices even higher
• Creates $38 billion in new taxes on American-produced oil and gas during a time when gas prices are still at all-time highs
• Doubles the size of the IRS by allowing them to hire 87,000 new agents, leading to roughly 1.2 million new audits each year with no limits on who can be targeted for those audits.
• Gives $80 billion in new funding for the IRS – more than six times the agency's current annual budget
• Creates $369 billion in Green New Deal spending, subsidies, and handouts
• Raises taxes and cut Medicare by a combined estimated total of $769.5 billion

During a recession, the Democrat-controlled Congress passed their budget bill to raise taxes and cut Medicare. This bill imposes taxes that will further slow the American economy and make it more difficult for small businesses to succeed, all while carving out loopholes for large companies and the wealthy. Democrats increased taxes in new revenue by continuing to put the burden on middle-class Americans. At the same time, this bill limits the availability of live-saving medications and create government-controlled limitations on finding medical cures.

This is not the legislation that our country needs. We need meaningful government and budget reforms that help our small businesses, reduce the burden on middle-class Americans, reduce the struggles of farmers and ranchers, and reduce the federal government's involvement in our daily lives.