Mississippi Senators, all Republicans vote no citing need for details, how to pay for it.
On Wednesday, U.S. Senate Republicans blocked an attempt by Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold to take up a placeholder bill for an eventual infrastructure plan. The main reason the 50 Republicans voted against starting debate on the proposed bipartisan infrastructure legislation is that the bill has not actually been written yet.
Both Mississippi Senators were among the Republicans voting no on the cloture motion.
Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith issued a release soon after the vote saying she was in favor of negotiating an infrastructure bill but she wants to see details on what the measure will include and how it will be funded.
“I am all for working together to address long-neglected upgrades to our nation’s infrastructure. There are certainly plenty of projects and needs in Mississippi,” Hyde-Smith said. “However, when we’re talking about spending well over $1 trillion, I am not willing to put that legislation on a glide path to passage without seeing details and how it will be paid for. We need to get this right.”.
Senator Hyde-Smith went on to say that Democrats are rushing headlong into huge spending packages, adding that the infrastructure bill is one part of a two-part “Democratic hustle.”
“Let’s also not forget that a bipartisan infrastructure bill is just one part of a two-part Democratic hustle. They are still scrambling to finalize a gigantic $3.5 trillion reckless tax-and-spend plan,” Hyde-Smith said.
Democrats are calling their effort the INVEST in America Act. Democrat Senator Majority Leader switched his vote to no to allow for a motion to reconsider that could bring the measure back to the floor at a later date.
Earlier in the day, Senator Hyde-Smith spoke out against the proposed tax changes in the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion American Families Plan, saying any changes to the federal tax code should be geared toward supporting economic growth while not hurting farm families.
Citing a Texas A&M University Agricultural and Food Policy Center study, Hyde-Smith said Mississippi would be most heavily affected under the Democrats’ proposed capital gains tax changes and generational transfers, with an average $2.1 million additional tax liability per farm. Estate tax changes would also hit the state’s family farms and ranches hard with an average $4.6 million additional tax liability per farm.
“More than three years of net cash farm income would be needed to meet these additional tax obligations. That is simply unmanageable,” Hyde-Smith said. “I am perplexed as to why Democrats want to place the highest tax burden on one of the most economically challenged and socially disadvantaged states in the nation, my home state of Mississippi.”
The Senator pointed out that the Democrats’ tax plans would have a national impact on the continuity of family owned and operated farms, which represent roughly 98 percent of all U.S. farms. These farms account for 44 percent of total U.S. farm production.
“For those who are willing to pay for reckless spending by punishing America’s farmers and ranchers and everyone who relies on them, you will be doing far more than that,” Hyde-Smith said. “You will be running off our next generation of farmers. You will be making it easier for large corporations owned by our foreign adversaries, such a China, to buy up available farmland, and you will be ensuring that every American pays more for the food they eat and the clothes they wear.”
Frank Corder
