Washington, D.C. – Congressman Darin LaHood (IL-18) released the following statement on his vote against the infrastructure bill:
"I voted no on the infrastructure package which enables the Democrats to ram through their reckless tax and spending agenda using reconciliation. Given the reconciliation process initiated by President Biden and Speaker Pelosi at the behest of Senator Sanders and the radical progressive wing of the Democrat party, the reality remains that the infrastructure bill and reconciliation package are linked and cannot be viewed separately. A vote for the infrastructure bill is a vote that paves the way for an extreme reconciliation spending bill that includes crippling tax hikes that will kill American jobs and send them overseas, hammer small businesses as they struggle to recover from COVID-19, and worsen the labor shortage while driving up inflation on working families.
"If Democrats wanted this to be a bipartisan process with robust debate and input from both parties, they would have brought the infrastructure bill forward through regular order when it passed the Senate in August. Instead, they tied the two bills together to accomplish a radical social agenda that will leave future generations of taxpayers footing the bill.
"I have consistently advocated for the need to support responsible infrastructure investment for our roads, bridges, inland waterways, and rural broadband needs. I will continue to advocate for the transportation and infrastructure needs of my district, but I will not take part in helping the Democrats and Speaker Pelosi pass their irresponsible and partisan reconciliation package."
