Group concerned about Indiana delegation’s spending vote
(The Center Square) – The Indiana chapter of Americans for Prosperity recently issued a statement urging that state’s congressional delegation to reject the infrastructure proposals currently making their way through Congress.
“For years now, Hoosiers have shouldered higher taxes in an effort to improve and repair our roads and bridges,” AFP Regional Director Ryan Black said. “Thoughtlessly throwing more money at this issue, in a misguided attempt at ‘bi-partisanship,’ simply increases the burden on generations of Hoosiers and misses the larger regulatory problems that plague infrastructure maintenance and improvement.”
Indiana Sen. Todd Young is one of 17 Republicans who jointed Democrats in voting to advance the $1 trillion spending plan last week.
“It’s disappointing some members of our congressional delegation support continuing Washington’s spending addiction and the $1.2 trillion proposal that is a down payment on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ wasteful $3.5 trillion partisan package,” Black added. “We thank Sen. Mike Braun for showing there is still some support for fiscal responsibility and refusing to pile on more debt for Hoosier taxpayers and families.”
Once the legislation passes the Senate it will head to the House, where seven of the state’s nine seats are held by Republicans.
An early draft of the bill was more than 2,500 pages, and senators held rare session days Saturday and Sunday to continue work on it.
The proposal calls for, among other things, $110 billion for roads and bridges, $66 billion for rail and $39 billion for public transit. Another $55 billion would go toward water and wastewater treatment plants, will billions more for things such as airports, broadband internet and electric vehicle charging stations.
Young has also come under fire from the Indiana Democratic Party. In a recent op-ed in the Northwest Times, the state’s second-largest daily newspaper, Young said President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan is too heavy on spending.
“The Indiana Republican Party is trying to water down the Rescue Plan’s popularity and Todd Young’s op-ed is a partisan stunt aimed toward his 2022 re-election campaign,” the IDP said in a statement. “Further, it contradicts the Republicans’ willingness to use the money for the state — including $250 million for broadband expansion.”
At the national level, Americans for Prosperity has launched a seven-figure campaign called “End Washington Waste: Stop the Spending Spree” to mobilize a grassroots effort against President Joe Biden’s spending plans.
The first phase of the plan includes more than 100 events and puts specific focus on 27 lawmakers in 16 states.
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