Key Vote NO on the INVEST in America Act, H.R. 3684

On behalf of FreedomWorks’ activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to vote NO on the INVEST in America Act, H.R. 3684, introduced by Rep. Peter Defazio (D-Ore.). This bill is a grab bag of left-wing priorities and pork-barrel spending; members must vote against this irresponsible legislation.

The total price tag of this bill comes out to $715 billion over the next five years. This high cost includes Green New Deal policies of environmental justice, bad investments in little-used transportation programs, and the return of the currency of corruption: earmarks.

Advancing President Biden’s climate agenda, this bill includes $20 billion in environmental initiatives. These include $8.3 billion in carbon reduction programs that reward states that reduce their carbon emissions, $4 billion in zero-emission busses, $3 billion in projects emphasizing inclusive economic development and environmental justice, as well as $4 billion to expand electric vehicle infrastructure.

Despite years of subsidies and tax credits, electric vehicles remain an expensive luxury purchased only by the financially well-off. The continued push to throw money at electric vehicles is not only a textbook example of crony capitalism but also out of touch with everyday Americans.

The INVEST in America Act also throws a whopping $95 billion at passenger rail projects, including tripling the amount of funding for Amtrak — a public company that consistently operates at multi-million dollar losses — to the tune of $32 billion over the next five years. This dramatic increase in funding ignores the fact that for every mile Americans traveled by rail in 2019, they traveled 100 miles by road. This bill proposes a lousy investment for American infrastructure, dumping money into a program that Americans don’t use.

This bill also comes with the return of earmarks to the legislative process after a decade-long hiatus. Big spenders in Congress can once again stuff bills with billions of dollars worth of pork-barrel spending. This bill, in particular, contains nearly 1,500 individual member projects earmarked for spending.

Rather than focusing on improving America’s roads and bridges, this bill throws large sums of money at left-wing passion projects at the expense of the American taxpayer.

FreedomWorks will count the vote for H.R. 3684 on our 2021 Congressional Scorecard and reserves the right to score any amendments, motions, or other related votes. The scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the FreedomFighter Award, which recognizes members of the House and Senate who consistently vote to support economic freedom and individual liberty.

Sincerely,

Adam Brandon, President, FreedomWorks