Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., told Newsmax Friday that President Joe Biden's recently unveiled budget proposal showcases the U.S.' spending problem.
"What he [Biden] rolled out as kind of his premiere comment on his own budget was, 'We're going to reduce the overall deficit,' but the way he does it is by increasing taxes," Fitzgerald said during an appearance on Newsmax's "National Report." "Not only going after Americans earning $400,000, but the classic 'We're going to increase the corporate rate again.' That has a direct effect on labor and has a direct effect on jobs and the economy overall, so it's the classic shell game."
Biden's 10-year budget largely hinges on taxing the wealthy to help fund programs for families, seniors, and the middle class. It would raise $4.7 trillion from higher taxes, with an additional $800 billion in savings from changes to programs.
The president has also proposed a new tax that would target billionaires. Biden's plan also called for lower prescription drug prices. The tax that companies pay on stock buybacks would rise fourfold and those earning more than $400,000 would pay an additional Medicare tax that would help to keep the program solvent beyond the year 2050.
There would also be $2.6 trillion in new spending, including the restoration of the expanded child tax credit that would give families as much as $3,600 per child, compared with the current level of $2,000.
When asked directly if the U.S. government has a revenue problem or a spending problem, Fitzgerald was unequivocal in his answer.
"Oh gosh, I think it's obviously a spending problem, and this budget kind of goes right down that road again when you see the increases that have been granted," he said. "Some of these are smaller items: a million dollars here, a billion dollars towards some of the stuff related to diversity and education.
"I mean, there's a lot of different items that I think we're just starting to pick up on that are related almost more to his messaging than to really treating the budget as a true fiscal document."
Fitzgerald said if people have any doubts about the Biden administration's intentions "when it comes to securing the border," they need only look to the $600 million that was cut from the Department of Homeland Security.
"I've been down to the border a number of times and have met with Homeland Security," he said. "This is an agency that's already struggling to really get control about illegal immigrants coming across, but more so about the narcotics that are coming through."
"The idea that, at the peak of what's going on at the southern border, they would even be willing to include that in their budget document, a $600 million cut to Homeland Security, I think, says a lot about what their priorities are right now," the congressman added.
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