President’s Budget Proposal

On Tuesday, the president released his final budget proposal. This is all you need to know: it never balances. You cannot spend, tax, and borrow your way to a healthy economy. A particularly egregious provision of the budget proposal imposes a $10 per barrel oil tax. This misguided tax would directly increase costs on middle class families and is dead on arrival in Congress. I look forward to working with my colleagues to put forth a budget that adequately funds our military, reins in out-of-control Washington spending, and puts Congress on the path of regular order for the appropriations process.

Reducing the National Debt

Currently, our national debt is over $19 trillion and is growing every day. The House passed H.R. 3442, the Debt Management and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which makes common-sense reforms to how the Administration reports the state of the public debt to Congress. In order to actually address the debt crisis, Congress and the Administration must communicate on the largest drivers of our debt, understand the consequences of continuing to borrow, and put forth proposals to reduce the debt. This legislation forces the Treasury Secretary to have these discussions with Congress before the debt limit is reached, instead of relying on typical last minute brinkmanship. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to take up this legislation.

House Agriculture Committee Action

During a House Agriculture Committee hearing, I had the opportunity to question EPA Administrator, Gina McCarthy. The American people are frustrated, and rightly so, because rules and regulations handed down from Washington increase costs, hinder job growth, and stifle investment. I asked questions that I frequently hear from constituents regarding burdensome and unnecessary regulatory overreach and the uncertainty and disruption caused by EPA rules.  I was pleased to let Administrator McCarthy know where most Mississippians stand on this issue.