The growing inflation numbers shouldn't surprise anyone, considering how the government is "printing money," Rep. James Comer said on Newsmax Wednesday.
"When the government keeps printing money and devalues the money, it's going to create inflation and inflation is the ultimate tax on the poor," the Kentucky Republican said on Newsmax's "National Report," while commenting on the news that U.S. inflation has hit a 30-year high.
"Everything that the Biden administration is doing now from an economic policy standpoint, is counter to helping working middle-class Americans, so that's why we voted en masse against the infrastructure bill," he added. "It's a terrible time to do infrastructure."
The infrastructure bill passed the House despite the six members of the Democrats' "Squad" voting against it after 13 Republicans voted for the bill. Comer said the Biden administration must get inflation under control "before they continue on this reckless spending spree" with passing the larger "Build Back Better" bill.
Meanwhile, John Kerry, the administration's climate czar, commented at the international climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, that the United States will stop burning coal by 2030, and Comer said if that happens, it will have a huge impact on his state's workforce.
"I have a huge coal-producing district," he said. "Coal has been on the rebound. I'm sure the Biden administration doesn't want to talk about that because they continue to cut off pipelines with their ridiculous energy policy."
Further, if the government plans to "electrify the entire postal fleet" by changing vehicles, and pass legislation allowing subsidies for people to use electric vehicles, Comer said he doesn't know where the energy will come from for that if coal and natural gas production is cut off.
He added that Biden's "climate talk" may be popular in Europe, but it won't be popular on Main Street, America.
"Even the left-wing crazies who are advocating for all of this Green New Deal economic and energy policy, they're not going to like this energy policy when they're paying $10 a gallon for gasoline, which is the path that we're on if we enact all of these Joe Biden and John Kerry energy policies," said Comer.
Meanwhile, progressive Democrats voted against the infrastructure bill because they didn't want it to be divided from the larger spending bill, and if they follow through with threats not to pass the larger bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi won't have enough votes to pass it, said Comer.
"Pelosi can only lose four votes," he said. "There are at least five in the Squad. So right now that tells me that the bill was passed by one vote."
However, given that 13 Republicans voted with Democrats on the infrastructure bill, Comer said he has "great concerns" moving forward.
"Hopefully, when we're back in Washington this week, we can get in a room and iron out these differences, because we knew there were five or six that we're leaning towards voting for the infrastructure bill because they had said so publicly, but you know, where those other six or seven came from, was just out of the blue," said Comer. "That doesn't need to happen again because this is a wrong policy for America. It doesn't matter if you're Republican or Democrat conservative, moderate, or liberal. We can't continue this reckless spending spree ... where you're talking about 6.5% inflation."
Comer also on Wednesday discussed the full investigation he's seeking from the office of government ethics concerning Biden's son, Hunter, and the sales of his paintings.
"[Hunter] Biden has a pattern of selling influence to foreign nationals and influence to his father's position as vice president, and we believe now influence to his father as president," said Comer, also asking why the Soho gallery selling Hunter Biden's paintings won't reveal who is buying them.
"If Joe Biden would just disclose that, he could do it privately and in a classified setting, and I'll drop this investigation," said Comer. "But until we find out who bought that expensive, overpriced artwork and based on Hunter Biden's past we're not going to let up on this investigation."
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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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