WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a Senate Budget Committee member, issued the following statement today on Senate Democrats releasing their $4.2 trillion Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Budget Resolution:

“Democrats have outdone themselves with their resolution. They are setting the stage to hastily pass another massive expansion of the federal government, one double the size of their partisan spending package from earlier this year. Such a reckless increase in government spending could send inflation soaring, lead the country into financial ruin, and leave American families stuck with the fallout. And, even though they are willing to risk all of that in order to enact a litany of liberal wish list items, they still want to slash support for our national defense, the federal government’s highest priority. I join my Republican colleagues in opposing this budget resolution with its lopsided priorities and dangerous consequences.”

Democrats FY22 Budget Resolution includes:
  • $4.2 trillion in new spending over 10 years.
  • $400 billion in defense cuts, compared to current law projection.
  • Leeway for the Senate Finance Committee to pay for new spending entirely with new taxes.

If the resolution passes, instructions will be sent to the committees of jurisdiction which will then write their perspective titles and report back by September 15, 2021. Senator Cramer and his Republican colleagues oppose this measure, offering amendments to limit or undo the harm it will cause the American people. Senator Cramer has introduced amendments on a variety of issues like energy, agriculture, the environment, and health care, including ones to:
  • Protect American families from increases in their utility bills.
  • Prohibit the Administration from releasing rules or guidance banning hydraulic fracturing.
  • Prohibit mandatory greenhouse gas emission reductions by U.S. agriculture.
  • Incentivize affordable, clean, and reliable power generation.
  • Uphold private property rights and affirm voluntary conservation efforts related to any federal regulatory action or legislative initiative written to carry out President Biden’s 30x30 Executive Order.
  • Ensure no new government health care programs are created and to prevent new spending on government-run health care programs.
  • Support the use of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) for veterans diagnosed with Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
  • Extend the Provider Relief Fund deadline so health care providers can properly use the COVID-19 relief funds they were already given.
  • Require states that mandate COVID-19 vaccine passports to also require voter ID if they are to receive election administration funds.
  • Prevent laws from being enacted that would allow the National Labor Relations Board to impose civil fines on employers.
  • Establish an appropriate date for committees to report their budgets, which would ensure adequate time for the process to proceed.
  • Prevent entities with COVID-19 vaccine mandates or proof of COVID-19 vaccine requirements are ineligible for shuttered venue relief funds, and recipients with such requirements in place must either rescind these policies or return the entirety of their grant funding.

Ahead of the resolution’s introduction this week, Senator Cramer has been voicing his opposition to Democrats’ plans to dramatically increase the size and scope of the federal government. He recently did so in a speech on the Senate floor.

“I oppose the Democrats’ reckless tax-and-spend agenda,” said Senator Cramer, “and I will join each of my Republican colleagues in opposing it and offering amendments to change its harmful outcomes.”