Every Republican member of Alabama’s congressional delegation voted against the Democrats’ $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week on a largely partisan basis by a 228-206 margin.
The bill, which had previously passed the U.S. Senate, was signed into law by President Joe Biden earlier this week.
According to U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Alabama will receive $5.2 billion over a five year period for state roads and bridges. However, the senator contended that Alabama and other states could have benefited from more funding appropriated toward hard infrastructure. He maintained that the hefty spending package only contained 10% funding for “true infrastructure” and further stated that it was not “even close to an infrastructure bill.”
When asked by Yellowhammer News during a Wednesday press call what Democrats’ true intentions were relating to the spending package, Tuberville indicated that the majority party’s prime concern was climate change rather than infrastructure.
“Here’s the deal – the number one priority for this administration is climate change,” advised Tuberville. “They said that’s our number one priority in this country. That’s not our number one problem. Our number one problem is helping the taxpayers in this country have a better life with the money they send up here to Washington, D.C. We squander money right and left.”
Alabama’s junior senator took note of Democratic leaders’ attendance at the recent United Nations Climate Change Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, which he deemed to be hypocritical due to the air travel they partook in to attend.
“They all flew over in these big jets and they’re screaming about climate change. Let’s help the people in this country. This is one of the biggest hypocrisies I’ve ever seen,” Tuberville declared. “Again, if we’re going to do it, let’s do it right – that’s my motto. Again, I’m proud for what we got but it’s not near enough and they’re acting like this is the best thing since sliced bread.”
Tuberville asserted that more work was needed to address the nation’s infrastructure woes and suggested that Democrats had taken a premature victory lap regarding the issue.
“And what this is going to do is [they’re] going to think ‘OK, we’ve appeased everybody across this country with a little bit with this infrastructure, and we’re not going to have to do anything else.’ Yes, we’re going to have to do more. This is not nearly enough to take care of the people in this country in terms of infrastructure,” the senator concluded.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
In a recent interview with Newsmax TV’s “Stinchfield,” U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) raised concerns over Democrats’ reported proposal regarding public housing in their “Build Back Better” reconciliation bill.
Regarding President Joe Biden’s proposed framework of the legislation, the White House asserted that its goal through “incentivizing state and local zoning reforms” and various financial incentives was an effort to pave the way for “more equitable communities.”
Brooks suggested that the measure would hold significant repercussions for neighborhoods across the country.
“Well, it is a continuation of the socialist march on America – keeping in mind that socialism is amoral, it is evil, it is dictatorial, and it the elimination of our liberty and freedom. And this is a part of the Democrat scheme to takeover America using every single weapon that they have at their disposal,” the congressman proclaimed.
“In this instance, you very well described what they’re trying to do to urban and suburban areas across the United States of America,” Brooks told the Newsmax host. “They are trying to destroy a lot of these nice neighborhoods that people have worked their whole lives to be able to live in by putting up high rises for public housing with all of the adverse effects that come with that public housing.”
The Socialist Democrats are marching on America. They seek to undermine the principles that have combined to make America the greatest nation in world history. I joined @stinchfield1776 and my colleague @RepPatFallon to discuss why we must fight back. pic.twitter.com/tEH0878Oer
— Mo Brooks (@RepMoBrooks) November 11, 2021
Brooks advised that if Democrats emerged successful in passing the proposal, property values would decline as a result.
He continued, “And when they do that, they’re going to be destroying neighborhoods. They’re going to be hurting people who have worked so hard to earn the money to be able to afford those nice homes, those nice yards. It’s going to depress those property values. And it’s just a part of what they’re doing across the United States of America in so many different ways. We’re in a political war, and we need to stop them.”
The segment’s conversation later turned to the infrastructure package Democrats successfully passed through Congress earlier this week. Moderate Republicans from both chambers joined their Democratic colleagues in scoring the legislative victory for the Biden administration, something to which the North Alabama congressman took exception.
“These 32 gave a gift to dictatorial socialism and its march on America, and in so doing, they betrayed the very voters who sent them to Washington, D.C., to represent our foundational principles that have combined to make America the greatest nation in world history,” Brooks declared.
The president reportedly intends to sign the recently passed infrastructure bill into law next week. Congressional Democrats have now shifted their efforts to passing the “Build Back Better” spending package, which is widely seen as a major priority of the Biden administration.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
Late Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill by a 228-206 margin, which was approved by the U.S. Senate 88 days ago.
The final tally included 13 Republican lawmakers, who crossed the aisle to vote with Democrats.
Among those opposing the legislation was U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover).
In a statement released after the vote on Friday, Palmer criticized the bill and warned “billions of dollars” were being wasted on so-called Green New Deal programs.
“Democrats have been in disarray and arguing amongst themselves for weeks over the specifics of these bills. The fundamental problems with both bills haven’t changed,” Palmer said. “Our economy is struggling, and our national debt already presents a serious national security threat, but the Democrats have shown they are willing to recklessly push through a bill that costs over a trillion dollars with only about 10 percent going to roads and bridges. I fully support funding for infrastructure that is focused on national priorities rather than wasting hundreds of billions of dollars on a Green New Deal wish list and programs under the guise of human infrastructure that simply expand government control of our lives.”
However, in what Palmer described as a “silver lining,” funding for the long-anticipated Birmingham Northern Beltline was included in the package.
“At least there is a silver lining in that the bill includes legislation which I introduced with Rep. David Trone (D-MD) that includes funding for the Birmingham Northern Beltline,” he added.
According to reports, the Northern Beltline project initially broke ground in 2014 and is scheduled for completion in 2054.
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.
Despite assurances from the bill’s most staunch advocates that it is a fiscally responsible proposal, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) concluded that the newly-passed bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure package will add $256 billion to the deficit over a 10-year period.
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on Tuesday slammed the Democrat-sponsored infrastructure bill as being “loaded with giveaways to big cities” and for Alabama not having “a fair slice of the pie.”
“I’ve travelled the state from top to bottom, and I know firsthand that Alabama, like many states across the country, needs a robust investment in real infrastructure,” said Tuberville. “I’ve said all along I’d be for a bill that invests every penny of every dollar in improvements to our roads, bridges, waterways, and rural broadband.”
Hope springs eternal for some on financing for the potential construction of a new I-10 Mobile Bay Bridge coming out of Washington, D.C., especially as Congress is debating a potential multi-trillion dollar infrastructure bill.
However, U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Mobile) warns against such notions, calling them “false hope.”
During an appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show,” Carl said he did not expect that line item to be included in the bill currently being discussed on Capitol Hill, and said he expect House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to have other ideas in mind as far as so-called infrastructure goes.
With just a little over two months into the new Biden administration, Democrats are expected to push what they’re deeming an infrastructure bill through Congress and to President Joe Biden’s desk.
However, according to U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover), the bill is not what its moniker suggests. During an appearance on Mobile radio’s FM Talk 106.5, Palmer warned the bill was really a “Green New Deal” bill, a phrase coined by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), which has less to do with traditional infrastructure and more to do with environmental policy.
Palmer said that along with the border situation is giving some voters “serious Biden remorse.”