Clay Higgins Slams The Inflation Reduction Act For Imposing ‘New And Oppressive Mandates’

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During a House Oversight Committee hearing before the congressional recess, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) questioned experts on the effects of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Transcript

00:00Mr. Higgins. We're sure, Mr. Chairman, it's okay to move forward here. All right, thank you.

00:08Mr. Chairman, I'd strongly oppose the so-called Inflation Reduction Act when Democrats were in

00:17majority in 2022. They jammed this bill through Congress. Conservatives very clearly stated at

00:25the time that the bill would increase deficit spending and have a very negative impact on

00:31inflation. It would impose new and oppressive mandates, and we would end up investing money

00:41that we don't have, all deficit spending, 100 percent of it, deficit spending, investing

00:46hundreds of billions of dollars into fanciful ideas of energy production that would, you

00:55know, ultimately fail. And that's exactly what has happened. So I'd repeal the entire thing

01:03if I could, every word of it. That's not where we are with our bill, because with the current

01:11bill under consideration has been referenced here, because in the spirit of compromise,

01:17you know, we haven't been able to get to 100 percent repeal. The arrogance, like disconnect from

01:29some of my colleagues across the aisle is really stunning. Mr. Chairman, every American family

01:37imagines the wondrous things we could do if we had unlimited money. Great things, no doubt,

01:44if we had unlimited money. In this town, in D.C., the federal government sells treasury bonds to

01:51finance deficit spending. America, especially the youngest out there, listen to you, Uncle Clay,

01:57we don't have the money. Your nation, this generation right now, this Congress, and Congress's past in

02:07modern history is spending money we don't have at a rate that's going to collapse your country upon

02:15your head. We have 37 trillion dollars in debt. That's 37,000 billion dollars. This body is a long way

02:26from balancing the budget. But if we were to balance the budget and run a one billion dollar surplus,

02:34and a billion is a thousand million, if we were to run a one billion dollar surplus, it would require 37,000

02:44years to address a 37 trillion dollar debt. My colleagues across the aisle are just unbelievably supportive of

02:57spending more and more and more money that we don't have. And our country is careening towards bankruptcy.

03:06We face insolvency right now. And we must take courageous corrective action. Regarding the incredibly

03:18misguided and ill-advised IRA, Mr. Lieberman, as compared to affordable and abundant energy,

03:31how has the IRA subsidies impacted investment in so-called sustainable energy?

03:40Have we stacked the deck? Can we put our thumb on the scale, sir?

03:44Oh, definitely. There's a lot of projects underway only because of the generous subsidies.

03:50Only because. Not market driven. Not because of the energy that they will provide. Not because

03:56it's affordable and abundant and transportable and works well with our grid. But because this town,

04:02this federal government has put our thumb on the scale. Am I correct?

04:06That's correct. I'd also add there's an energy success story that didn't require any type of tax credits.

04:15And that's the fracking success story. So let's shift to that. Let's shift to that. I'm going to

04:19ask Dr. McBride because my Democrat colleagues, they act like there were no refineries and no plants

04:26were ever built before 2022. It's insane. I don't know how we powered the entire 20th century

04:33in the first quarter of this century. But we did. We managed to do that without IRA subsidies,

04:41spending money that we don't have. But is it safe to say that private investments and alternative energy

04:49will continue with or without taxpayer subsidies, sir? Yes, absolutely. Certainly the case,

04:55you look at EVs. We know EVs have been around for many, many years. My household,

05:01we actually own a hybrid, purchased like 15 years ago or something. So these technologies,

05:08the batteries that go into... That's going to grow.

05:12This actually goes back decades. The development of the battery technology that we're enjoying now

05:17goes back decades. This stuff was happening with subsidies to some degree, but also due to private

05:26market forces long before the IRA. I concur. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for appearing today,

05:33Mr. Chairman. My time has expired. I yield.

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