California Republican Representative Mike Garcia introduced the bill, called the Prioritizing Our Troops Over Tax Collector’s Act
A California Republican lawmaker and Navy veteran is launching an effort to get military service members fair pay by reallocating the $80 billion in President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act that Democrats gave to the Internal Revenue Service.
Rep. Mike Garcia, the only Republican who represents Los Angeles County in Congress, introduced legislation Tuesday night to prioritize our troops over tax collectors.
It aims to give each service member $15 an hour for an annual salary of $31,200.
Currently, there are 23,000 members of the U.S. military who are on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, according to figures cited by Garcia.
“That’s 23,000 too many,” Garcia said in a statement introducing his bill to redistribute the $80 billion.
“Giving our military personnel an appropriate base pay raise should be common sense.”
While the Democrat-controlled House is unlikely to support a bill that is a blow to Biden’s agenda, its introduction just before the November midterms suggests the GOP is looking to make dismantling Democrats’ spending bills a key priority if they win back Congress.
A House GOP aide told DailyMail.com, “I think this bill is the start of a two-pronged strategy for Republicans as they hit the majority.”
It’s aimed at reallocating funds in President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act aimed at improving the Internal Revenue Service
The strategy consists of having to “find a way to stop this funding to the IRS” and “get service members better pay,” the aide said.
Under the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, the $80 billion is going to improve the IRS, including hiring 87,000 new employees over the next decade to replace a shrinking workforce.
But Republicans are wary that the increase in resources will be used to crack down on the middle class, millions of whom are already struggling with decades-high increases in consumer prices.
The Biden administration has rejected this, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sending a letter to the IRS instructing them not to use the extra resources to audit anyone making less than $400,000 a year.
‘These service members put their lives on the line for our country, they should be paid adequately for their service. Our service members are our nation’s secret weapons, and it’s time we treat them as such, Garcia said in his statement.
He also cited the military’s increasingly severe personnel shortage as a reason to move forward with the bill.
“As we see record low military retention rates and growing recruitment shortages, this is an urgent issue that affects not only the well-being of our brave heroes, but also our national security,” Garcia said.
Democrats’ tax and spending bill allocates $80 billion to the IRS for measures that include hiring 87,000 new employees over the next decade
August’s inflation rate of 8.3% represented a decline from a 40-year high of 9.1% in June and 8.5% in July – but showed that inflation is still running hot and well above the Fed’s 2% target
The number of service members on food stamps will grow even more after the U.S. Army updated its guidance last month to encourage troops struggling with inflation to sign up for SNAP benefits.
‘With inflation affecting everything from gas prices to groceries to rent, some soldiers and their families are finding it harder to get by on the budgets they have set and spent before,’ read the guidance from Sergeant Maj. According to Michael Grinston Fox News.
‘Soldiers of all ranks can seek guidance, assistance and advice through the Army Financial Readiness Program.’
Meanwhile, the price of consumer goods has risen at a pace not seen in about four decades.
Inflation hit the highest level in 40 years of over 9 percent in June.
Although it fell to 8.3 percent in August, according to the most recent data available, high food and housing costs remain a financial headache for most Americans.
Garcia, a former Navy fighter pilot who currently represents California’s 25th Congressional District, is running for the newly redrawn 27th District against Democrat Christy Smith.
Smith, who has lost to Garcia twice before, is trying to build support from left-wing outrage over the Supreme Court’s overturning of federal abortion protections.
Garcia, like most moderate Republicans in the race, hammers Democrats on the economy and Americans’ frustrations with the rising cost of living.