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EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is taking aim at Sen. Joe Manchin, President Biden and the Democratic Party over its “reckless spending,” saying Biden has “officially plunged America into a recession.”
Scott’s remarks come one day after Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced he reached an agreement with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on a watered down version of the Build Back Better bill, after more than a year of talks within the party.
According to Schumer’s and Manchin’s offices, the bill will raise $739 billion in revenue through IRS tax enforcement, the corporate minimum tax and closing the carried interest loophole. It will spend $433 billion total, they said, on energy and climate change provisions and on the ACA extension.
In addition, Scott’s remarks came on the same day the Commerce Department said gross domestic product shrank by 0.9% on an annualized basis in the three-month period from April through June, for the second consecutive quarter, signaling that the economy has entered into a recession.
MANCHIN, SCHUMER AGREE TO VASTLY PARED BACK VERSION OF BUILD BACK BETTER
Senator Rick Scott, a Republican from Florida, speaks during a news conference at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Joe Biden has officially plunged America into a recession and how do Democrats in Congress respond? With MASSIVE SPENDING and even more RECKLESS SPENDING,” Scott said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “It’s insane and what’s worse is that we got to this point with bipartisan bad decisions. Yesterday’s announcement by Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer showed again that too many Senate Republicans unfortunately trusted Democrats and got duped. Some are pretending to be shocked. It’s not shocking at all.”
“Democrats have never met a tax increase they didn’t like and Joe Manchin is a Democrat,” Scott added. “Of course Manchin is going along with Schumer, Biden and Pelosi to push MASSIVE tax increases on Americans as we face 9.1% inflation, debt over $30 TRILLION and enter a RECESSION. This is yet another failure by too many politicians in Washington to stand up against reckless spending and fight for real accountability for American families. Democrats are destroying this country, and Republicans CANNOT continue to endorse their reckless, inflation-fueling spending.”
US ECONOMY ENTERS TECHNICAL RECESSION AFTER GROWTH TUMBLES 0.9% IN THE SECOND QUARTER
President Biden in an inflation graphic composite. (Composite)
Scott said it is time for both parties in Congress to “wake up” and predicted that Democrats will suggest their efforts are meant to lower inflation.
“Now, Democrats will do two things: they’ll say that the U.S. isn’t in a recession and that their new, partisan tax-and-spending spree will reduce inflation. IT’S ALL LIES,” Scott said. “Joe Biden’s Recession has begun and more spending will NEVER equal less inflation. It’s time for Republicans and Democrats in Washington to wake up and stop endorsing reckless, inflation-fueling spending that is crushing American families.”
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Recessions are defined by two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth and are characterized by high unemployment, low or negative GDP growth, falling income and slowing retail sales, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), which tracks downturns.
Fox Business’ Megan Henney and Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report.
