Even at a lower price tag, the size and scope of the Democrats' massive reconciliation spending bill is "very, very bad in terms of what they want to do the American people," Rep. Chuck Fleischmann said on Newsmax Tuesday.
"It's not as bad as it was," the Tennessee Republican said on Newsmax's "National Report." "It was horrific ... it's wrong for Republicans who are conservative, such as myself, and for the American people. We've got to stand up and say no, because if they get their act together this week, it's going to be a disaster."
Democrats are saying that negotiations are about 90% of the way finished and that the bill's price is now expected to come in at around $1.5 trillion, a sharp drop from the initial $3.5 trillion that had been sought.
Either way, Biden is insisting that the measure will be financed through tax initiatives and other ways, but Fleischmann dismissed that as "fiction."
"I would say most of his administration has been a fiction," the congressman said. "It turns from fiction to nightmare depending on what you're looking at. This will cost the American taxpayer. This will lead to record deficits or running more national debt that is through the roof."
He further insisted that nobody wants a bill that brings such expenses.
"It's bad for the economy," said Fleischmann. "It's bad for our country ... even economists say, again, this is not going to be enough to pay for it as well."
However, he's worried that even if the bill isn't finalized, one will be put together that will hurt Americans.
"With Obamacare, they couldn't put it together," said Fleischmann. "They couldn't agree. So what did they do? They slapped it together. They didn't read the bill, and America got one of the worst health care bills in its history. They did something similar with Dodd-Frank and they will for a win."
And as a result, "we just have to hope and pray that enough moderate Democrats will stand up and say no. I wish we had the numbers, but Republicans just don't have the appropriate numbers to fight it in the House or the Senate if they use reconciliation.
"So let's hold on and let the American people be heard loud and clear. We don't want this Biden agenda to continue."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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