Exclusive — Rep. Kevin Brady: ‘Democrats Can Do Just as Much Damage to the Economy’ with $1.5 Trillion as They Can with $3.5 Trillion

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) told Breitbart News on Friday that Democrats can “do just as much damage” to the U.S. economy, albeit it over a longer timeframe, with $1.5 trillion funding their political objectives as they can with $3.5 trillion.

“As much as the three and a half trillion [figure] is bandied about, Democrats can do just as much damage to the economy and to the welfare state expansion at one and a half trillion,” Brady remarked on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow. “All they have to do is plant seeds to grow into massive entitlement and spending programs over the decade and beyond that swamps any ability for America to pay for these programs.”

Brady said reducing the Democrats’ proposed $3.5 trillion omnibus bill — marketed as an “infrastructure” package by Democrats and their political allies — should not viewed as a “win” by Republicans.

He remarked, “So these are real numbers. Don’t get distracted by the three-and-a-half-trillion figure. They can easily do as much damage on small businesses, on the economy, on work, on the dignity of work — all of this — at that lower figure, so we don’t believe a win is shrinking this tax-and-spending bill. A win for the American people is stopping it, and that’s what we’re focused on.”

Brady noted that the proposed $3.5 trillion legislation is primarily composed of subsidies and tax credits for for what Democrats and the broader left describe as “green energy.”

He said, “Two thirds of [this bill] is full of Green New Deal wasteful giveaways to everybody. They are pushing very hard to get a vote at that, but they’ve linked that — they’ve held that hostage — to this $3.5 trillion [bill]. Biggest tax increases in half a century, largest expansion of the welfare state in our lifetimes, and then about a trillion dollars of new entitlements and Green New Deal subsidies, many of them give ways to the rich.”

Democrats also seek to permanently entrench policies marketed as “emergency” measures in response to the coronavirus outbreak, Brady warned.

“Do we need to make permanent those emergency COVID programs designed to defeat the virus and designed to rebuild the economy in the short-term?” he asked. “Do we need to continue those permanently for the future? And the answer should be no.”

He went on, “If you make these spending programs permanent and add two new entitlement programs and two major mandates on businesses, we can never afford — our kids cannot afford — to pay for this. As bad and crippling as the taxes are, I worry even further about this expansion of the welfare state where people get paid more to stay home and work. There’s no incentive to work anymore to get the child tax credit.”

The proposed $3.5 trillion legislation would make “Obamacare health care subsidies … unlimited,” Brady added. “In effect, you can get better health care jobless than you can reconnecting to work. So if you think it’s tough for businesses to find employees today, wait until you permanently basically dismiss work as an important part of our life or economy.”

Brady concluded, “This President is clearly breaking his pledge not to tax those [earning] under $400,000. In fact, don’t take my word for it, the Joint Committee on Taxation which is the official scorekeeper for Congress, confirms starting next year, families making as little $30,000 and $40,0000 a year will begin to see tax increases.”