Watchdog Slams New Deal on Infrastructure

For Immediate Release                                                                                              Contact: Courtney Mattison (202-525-7492)

June 24, 2021                                                                                                              

Washington, D.C. – The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is highly critical of the recently announced bipartisan deal on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package. Despite the attempt at a compromise, this package would pave the way for trillions of dollars in new spending later this year.

In response, TPA President David Williams offered the following comment:

“We are encouraged that the administration and lawmakers on both sides of the political fence are willing to seek compromise on the important issue of infrastructure. However, this deal severely misses the mark. Despite an advertised price tag of $1.2 trillion over 8 years, the administration was clear this deal would be followed by another package with all of the social welfare and tax hike provisions that were stripped out of this one. This goes beyond bait and switch and ‘passing the bill to find out what’s in it.’ This is a ‘bait and add more spending later in the year’ with tax increases.

“The bill also seeks to generate revenue for itself by ramping up Internal Revenue Service (IRS) enforcement. In light of the IRS illegally leaking the tax information of private citizens, rewarding them with more funding to get every last dollar from American taxpayers is naïve at best. It will more than likely lead to more targeting of the American people to rob them of their hard-earned income. Citizens should be very concerned with giving the IRS more power.  And, if the IRS can’t squeeze enough out of increased enforcement, who will be the next target of the IRS?

“We recommend that the lawmakers involved in these negotiations go back to the drawing table to fix these glaring errors. Boosting the nation’s infrastructure is a goal worthy of serious deliberation, beyond political considerations. We hope the final package will reflect that.”

#

Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.