House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) offered the following statement after President Biden submitted his 2024 Budget Request to Congress:
“President Biden continues to gaslight the public on his record on spending and the massive deficit. Americans—who are feeling the inflation crisis every day when they buy groceries, fill up their gas tanks, or seek routine medical care—aren’t fooled. What’s more disturbing is that Biden is doubling down on his war on American energy and refusing to prioritize resources to address the crisis at our southern border, which has exacerbated the illicit fentanyl poisoning crisis.
“The president’s budget shows he is clearly more interested in playing politics to appease his radical base than actually legislating. We urge him to abandon this radical proposal and working with Republicans who stand ready to find bipartisan solutions for the American people.
“Energy and Commerce Republicans are already working to flip the switch and unleash American energy, empower law enforcement to crack down on the scourge of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances from entering our communities, and to bring down the cost of health care.”
Below are lowlights from the President’s Budget FY24 Budget:
Energy and Environment
After two years of Biden’s war on American energy and their rush-to-green agenda in the form of hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies and handouts to their political allies and radical environmentalists in the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden FY24 Budget doubles down on their failed policies at the expense of the American taxpayer and American energy security.
EMPOWERING EPA TO CONTINUE TARGETING AMERICAN ENERGY
- Further increases the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) already inflated budget by giving them $5 billion to “address the climate crisis.” This $5 billion war chest will be used to continue the administration’s radical environmental agenda that kills American energy, jobs, and manufacturing.
- Funds an additional 2400 additional full-time employees at the EPA to target American businesses and continue shutting down American energy.
- Provides $2 billion to support a “clean energy workforce,” providing more handouts to their political allies to continue their forced transition to unreliable renewables.
The Biden FY24 Budget continues the Democrats’ march towards socialism, kills innovative new cures and treatments, and advances their abortion-on-demand agenda.
DOUBLES DOWN ON DRUG PRICE CONTROLS & ACCELERATES THE LOSS OF NEW MEDICINES
- Increases the number of drugs subject to the Democrat-created drug price controls in the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, meaning almost all new drugs in the future will be consumed by a price control regime run by health care bureaucrats.
- Speeds up the time in which these politically derived price controls go into effect, which means less investment into medical research and development and even fewer drugs and treatments for patients.
- Creates a new shell game by crediting savings from the Medicare program that is funded by seniors’ premiums over to its Hospital Trust Fund and then raising taxes on American families to try to make up the difference.
- Mandates Medicaid Expansion in current non-Expansion states, rather than supporting a more sustainable coverage option.
- Proposes to take over State-driven drug pricing policies, a role that has traditionally been left to States.
- This Budget includes $512 million, a 79% increase above the 2023 enacted level, for the Title X Family Planning program to increase the number of patients served to 4.5 million. The administration has previously removed Pro-Life reforms to this program that prevented funds from going to abortion providers.
- Gives billions of new mandatory and discretionary dollars to CDC and NIH, including for data surveillance and school sexual health education programs, with no reforms to increase trust that has been lost with these unaccountable agencies.
