[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 200 (Wednesday, November 17, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H6322]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           BUILD BACK BETTER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Bacon) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BACON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the 
Build Back Better Act.
  President Biden, Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, and Chairman Bernie 
Sanders have made it clear they want to transform America. In fact, 
those are their words. They want to transform America using 
reconciliation, the so-called Build Back Better Act. They are trying to 
do it with a 50-50 Senate, a 3-seat majority in the House out of 435 
Members, and a President that won by just two States.
  Last November, the country did not vote for transformation, but for 
middle-of-the-road centrist policies and steady leadership. That is not 
what they got, and voters are mad.
  Just look at the polling. The President sits at a 38 percent 
favorable rating. The generic ballot for the House favors Republicans 
by 11 points--the biggest margin seen in the history of this polling.
  If there is any doubt, just review the recent results of Virginia 
where a Republican was elected; in New Jersey where a Democrat squeaked 
by in his reelection. A 12-point swing in Virginia and a 14-point swing 
in New Jersey in just one year.
  Our Nation does not desire to be a giant welfare State with cradle-
to-grave government oversight controlling their lives. Last year, the 
country didn't vote to give amnesty and government payouts for adults 
who illegally crossed our borders and jumped to the front of the line 
of those trying to come here through legal channels. The country did 
not vote to hire 87,000 more IRS agents for auditing every-day 
Americans to raise $400 billion to pay for their reckless spending 
spree.
  We need IRS agents to provide customer service to those still waiting 
for their tax refunds, sometimes a year late, but not for more audits. 
Americans didn't vote to raise taxes on a third of the middle class, 
which is what the left-leaning Tax Policy Center stated is the case, 
while it also found that two-thirds of millionaires will now get a tax 
break at the same time because of the changes made to the SALT 
deductions in this bad bill.
  Americans didn't vote to remove the Hyde amendment that prevented our 
tax dollars from paying for abortions, and they did not vote to remove 
work requirements for able-bodied adults to receive welfare benefits. 
Americans did not vote to impede and ban domestic energy and mineral 
production, or to increase our reliance on China and OPEC. Our citizens 
did not vote to raise taxes on natural gas that Americans use to heat 
their homes, and we did not vote to undermine our research and 
discovery of new drugs that can save people's lives.
  Finally, Americans did not vote to give people earning up to $500,000 
tax breaks for buying electric vehicles. The authors of this 
legislation have either misjudged or ignored where the country is at on 
these issues. This legislation is a total transformation, is what the 
President is saying, but it is a giant, welfare-State transformation. 
For these reasons, and many more, I will be voting ``no'' on the Build 
Back Better Act, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I pray that moderate Democrats will say no, and like 
many Americans, I am grateful that Senators Manchin and Sinema have 
been voices of reason and commonsense. We need more of their voices.

                          ____________________