Rep. Bryan Steil to Newsmax: Bank Monitoring Plan Shows Left's Plan to Invade Privacy

A provision in the $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill to monitor bank transactions of more than $600 shows how Democrats on the far left want big government and to invade privacy, Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., told Newsmax.

"They want to stand over your shoulder while you're interacting at the ATM day in and day out," Steil told Saturday's "America Right Now." "I'm really concerned about the cyber security issues that are being raised if the government actually is successful in monitoring almost every American's bank account.

"It's important that we raise the awareness, we're ultimately going to need to be successful, and to get this terrible piece of legislation out of the Democrats' $3.5 trillion spending boondoggle."

He noted, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen "didn't have good answers at all" for the House Financial Services Committee to explain "this gross invasion of privacy."

"She wants to send more of your information, more of your data to the IRS," Steil told host Tom Basile. "This is the IRS that can't even keep private individuals' tax records [safe]. Remember Jeff Bezos and Mike Bloomberg, other people wealthy and famous, had their records released."

He also spoke out about the new check-cashing service being offered through the U.S. Postal Service, saying it could result in the government getting even more private information from citizens.

The USPS last week started offering the paycheck cashing service in several of its East Coast post offices. Financial experts say the service will help low-wage Americans get cash rather than relying on expensive check-cashing services, reports The Washington Post. The service, now being offered in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Falls Church, Virginia, and in the Bronx, lets customers redeem their paychecks for Visa gift cards of up to $500.

"There's nothing scarier than hearing 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help,'" Steil said. "That's exactly what the government is trying to get our U.S. Postal Service to do. Creating a government bank is a terrible idea. It moves us in the wrong direction. They want to get your data so they can monitor Americans' bank accounts and financials and it's going to go from there"

Meanwhile, when it comes to the Democrats' spending, the GOP must stand firm, Steil said, adding he does not understand Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's deal to extend the debt ceiling until December.

"What we're seeing is Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and Joe Biden, driving the car off the fiscal cliff," he said. "The progressives are in the driver's seat. We need to force them to come to a reckoning that they own this level of spending and this level of debt.

"And, if they want Republicans to come to the table, we need to turn the tide. We need to kill the $3.5 trillion in new social spending. We need to make sure that our infrastructure is paid for."

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