We shouldn’t foot bill

President Biden recently signed the infrastructure bill into law. While I think we all can agree that infrastructure is important, the bill signed into law was full of provisions unrelated to infrastructure in the traditional sense, and it came along with a price tag of $1.2 trillion, $550 billion of which is new spending.

I’m thankful the Arkansas delegation stood together to vote against the additional spending in this bill, especially at a time when we’re seeing the highest inflation in over 30 years and we’re paying more for groceries and gas.

Of the $1.2 trillion, it seems only 9 percent will go to improving roads and bridges across the nation. The state of Arkansas will see less than 1 percent of $1.2 trillion. Instead, it appears this bill is going to the improvement of blue states, at the expense of “forgotten” states.

Hidden in the legislation were subsidies for electric-vehicle owners and policies that prioritize rail travel over air travel, which won’t benefit Arkansans as much as it will large cities with mass transportation. There are billions of dollars included to tear down and rebuild highways in more “equitable” locations, and it significantly expands the size of federal government through even more funding for federal agencies.

We are seeing the highest rate of inflation in over 30 years. If the past 10 months have shown us anything, it’s that inflation will continue to get worse. The left’s constant spending doesn’t help.

Thank you to Representatives Hill, Womack, Westerman, and Crawford for focusing on the big picture: Infrastructure is good, but money for infrastructure needs to go to infrastructure, not the Democratic agenda.

Arkansans should not be left to foot the bill for pet projects from Democrats who’ve never even stepped foot in the state.

JONATHAN BARNETT

Siloam Springs