Last year, the United States was energy independent, but under President Joe Biden, Americans' hard-earned money is going to other countries that "don't have our best interests at heart," and passing the multitrillion-dollar spending bill will make matters even worse, Rep. Ralph Norman said on Newsmax Friday.
"Inflation is real," the South Carolina Republican said on Newsmax's "National Report." "If you don't believe it, go to the gas pump, see what we're paying ... if you look at all of the things this administration is doing to destroy this country, energy is the linchpin for the economy."
Everything Americans get comes by something that uses fossil fuel, he added, and the nation is already facing a severe supply shortage.
Americans are upset because they're taking home less money, especially if they're on fixed incomes, said Norman, and he hopes that Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin continues to hold out against the "Build Back Better" spending bill.
"I've regretted the [infrastructure bill] that Republicans helped (pass) last Friday, which was ludicrous," said Norman, while calling for the larger spending bill to be stopped.
"It's not like we've got a pot of money," Norman said, adding that the spending will probably come in at $4 trillion or even $5 trillion when it's made final.
The lawmaker said he doesn't understand how 13 House Republicans were able to vote for the infrastructure bill, causing it to pass, after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had assured GOP lawmakers that the Democrats would have to get the 218 votes needed to pass the bill without any Republican help.
Six progressive lawmakers, who wanted the infrastructure bill to not be passed alone, voted against it, so the measure would have died without the GOP votes.
"If we can't come together on that to stop this ludicrous bill that's bankrupting this country even further, it just shows your votes matter and who we put in office matters, whether you're a Republican or a Democrat," said Norman.
Meanwhile, Americans do not deserve the inflation they're seeing, particularly coming after the "worst pandemic that this country has ever faced," said Norman.
"The supply shortages, the debacle in Afghanistan I mean, you name it, but this energy crisis and the fact that they're adding fuel to the fire about wanting to print more money makes no sense," said Norman. "People are going to have to get involved as they did on last Tuesday to say no, we're not gonna put up with liberals who are more than willing to spend our money and to pay countries that don't like us on something as vital as fuel."
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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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