Monday 8 August 2022 05:37 PM Elise Stefanik: Democrats 'doubling down' on bad economic policies with ... trends now

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik on Monday accused Senate Democrats of 'doubling down' on policies that have led to high prices and back-to-back quarters of negative economic growth with their multi-billion dollar climate change, healthcare and tax plan.

The No. 3 House GOP leader denounced the Inflation Reduction Act as 'radical' in a statement to DailyMail.com, amid party-wide Republican criticism for the bill.

Critics claim the legislation's $430 billion in new spending and about $740 billion in new revenue will escalate costs for American families as a growing number of economic experts warn the US is already in a recession. 

Stefanik, as expected, told DailyMail.com she will be voting against the bill when it reaches the House of Representatives this month.

'Democrats’ radical spending bill will raise taxes and crush hardworking families and small businesses at a time when Americans can least afford it,' the New York lawmaker said.

'While every American family is already suffering from historic inflation as a direct result of reckless spending by one party Democrat rule in Washington, Democrats are doubling down on their failed agenda to spend billions more and increase inflation.

'I will strongly oppose these tax increases and vote no Democrats’ radical spending bill.'

Meanwhile Republicans are also warning Democrats that they will pay a political price after the Senate passed the bill in a 51 to 50 vote late on Sunday afternoon.

GOP Rep. Kevin Hern told DailyMail.com that the two moderate Democrats in the Senate, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, got 'played' by more progressive members of their party into voting for the bill.

'What we saw in the Senate this weekend was a masterclass in misdirection and misinformation. Manchin and Sinema got played. They just voted to raise taxes – in the middle of a recession – less than 100 days before a critical election,' Hern said. 

But the bill is still likely to pass the Democrat-dominated House of Representatives after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledged lawmakers 'will return and move swiftly to send this bill to the President’s desk.' 

It comes after President Joe Biden suggested he was confident that Senate Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act will aid his party's uphill battle to keep the majority in Congress next year.

Projections about November's midterm elections have looked dim for Democrats for months, but the commander-in-chief told reporters on his way to Kentucky that Americans would feel the bill's benefits immediately if signed into law.

'Do I expect it to help? Yes, I do. It's going to immediately help,' Biden said when asked about the looming elections, according to CNN.

He reportedly highlighted the bill's Medicare cap on out-of-pocket drug costs.

But other measures may take longer to kick in. 

Democrat Sen. Chris Coons of Connecticut suggested the legislation may take 'a year or more' to bring down inflation during an interview on ABC News' This Week.

No GOP senators signed onto the bill, which was passed via a budgetary process known as reconciliation - meaning the party in power can bypass the required 60-vote threshold to pass a bill via simple majority. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote in the evenly divided chamber.

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel warned the repercussions could hit President Joe Biden's party in the looming midterm elections.

'Democrats will pay the price in November for raising taxes on families during a recession,' McDaniel said in a statement. 

House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy was also skeptical of the bill's economic

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