Republican elected officials reacted with distain, anger, and bemusement in the wake of the U.S. Senate’s narrow passage of the Democrat-backed $740 billion “Inflation Reduction Act.” Many Arizona Republican lawmakers are among those claiming the bill will further impact inflation in a negative way while offering no real-time solution for struggling Americans.
The Inflation Reduction Act, described by Forbes as “a slimmed-down version of the Build Back Better bill,” allows the government to control the price of prescription medications, contains funding for fighting climate change, would implement larger taxes for wealthy corporations, and issue the hiring of more IRS agents, among other items. Democrats have claimed the bill will tackle the 40-year-high inflation the country is facing; however, Republicans are saying the bill will further aggravate inflation.
However, Dr. Kelli Ward, former state senator and current Arizona GOP chairwoman, targeted the bill’s content regarding the “IRS expansion plan” by posting a Twitter poll asking respondents, “Which part of Democrat @CaptMarkKelly’s IRS expansion plan are you most excited about?” with the option of choosing four answers: higher taxes for all, 87K+ more IRS auditors, heavily armed IRS agents, or voting Blake Masters.
Which part of Democrat @CaptMarkKelly’s IRS expansion plan are you most excited about?
— Dr. Kelli Ward 🇺🇸 (@kelliwardaz) August 7, 2022
Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) also took issue with the portion of the bill regarding the IRS, writing on Twitter, “Senate Democrats just voted to hire 87,000 IRS agents to spy on and harass American families. These Senate Democrats didn’t add a single Border Patrol agent in their bill to help address the nation’s border crisis. These folks have their priorities completely wrong.”
Senate Democrats just voted to hire 87,000 IRS agents to spy on and harass American families.
These Senate Democrats didn’t add a single Border Patrol agent in their bill to help address the nation’s border crisis.
These folks have their priorities completely wrong.
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) August 7, 2022
Representative David Schweikert (R-AZ-06) also weighed in on Twitter, writing, “Low-income households are 5x more likely to be audited by the IRS than anyone else. Now, Democrats want to raise your taxes to hire 87,000 new employees at the IRS – during a recession.”
Low-income households are 5x more likely to be audited by the IRS than anyone else.
Now, Democrats want to raise your taxes to hire 87,000 new employees at the IRS — during a recession.
— Rep. David Schweikert (@RepDavid) August 7, 2022
Trump-endorsed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake weighed in on the bill’s passage, writing on Twitter, “As a response to sky high inflation, in the middle of a recession Senate Democrats just voted to *checks notes* … raise taxes on small businesses? It’s like they WANT to lose in November.”
As a response to sky high inflation, in the middle of a recession Senate Democrats just voted to
*checks notes*
…raise taxes on small businesses?
It’s like they WANT to lose in November. @bgmasters will crush Mark Kelly. #RedWave
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) August 7, 2022
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04) claimed that the priorities of the Democrats are “backwards,” while Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-08) suggested, “Congressional Democrats should increase the number of Border Patrol agents, NOT IRS agents.”
The democrat priorities are backwards if your goal is a strong economy and stable middle class. If the goal is social and economic chaos they are on target. https://t.co/2Tk95i8vpI
— Paul Gosar (@DrPaulGosar) August 6, 2022
Congressional Democrats should increase the number of Border Patrol agents, NOT IRS agents.
— Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (@RepDLesko) August 6, 2022
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network.
Photo “Kari Lake” by The Kari Lake. Photo “Paul Gosar” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. Photo “Kelli Ward” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. Photo “Andy Biggs” by Congressman Andy Biggs. Photo “David Schweikert” by Rep. David Schweikert. Photo “Debbie Lesko” by Congresswoman Debbie Lesko. Background Photo “U.S. Capitol” by Martin Falbisoner. CC BY-SA 3.0.
