By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Kansas First District Congressman Tracey Mann is concerned that even the smaller infrastructure package being negotiated is spending money the country really doesn't have.
"We are approaching $30 trillion in debt," Mann said Thursday. "That's 30 thousand billion. These numbers are astronomical. I was very concerned about ten years ago when we were approaching $13, $14 trillion dollars. We've blown past that to $30 trillion. We cannot continue to spend money in this fashion."
This is especially true of projects that are more about political ends than hard infrastructure needs, which is what Mann said the original proposal appeared to be.
"$186 billion to do away with fossil fuels, basically, increase electric charging stations all over the country," Mann said. "It was not really an infrastructure bill. It was basically the Green New Deal packaged and called infrastructure and tried to get jammed through."
The other question is, no matter the price tag, how will it change tax policy? Mann said the original proposal was bad for his district in this regard as well.
"Things like doing away with the stepped up basis, really bad for agriculture, doing away with the 1031 tax-deferred exchange, estate taxes would jump," Mann said. "This is really, really bad for the Big First, really bad for Kansas and really bad for agriculture."
President Biden said Thursday that a deal has been reached on the package, but senators haven't said what tax changes will stay.