Editorial
Op-Ed: 
By: Congressman Jim Banks

On March 30th, 2022, President Biden decided to address the nation.  

Was he announcing a plan to restart the domestic energy production and reduce our dependence on foreign oil? Or a plan to rein in out-of-control inflation eating into working Hoosier’s paychecks? A plan to secure the border?

No, nope, and not a solitary chance.

President Biden spoke about transgenderism. He announced that the U.S. State Department is adding a new gender “X” option on passports applications. Then, he attacked state’s efforts to protect women’s sports, like Indiana’s H.B.1401, which passed the legislature before it was vetoed by Governor Holcomb. 

The media has criticized Republicans, including me, for focusing too much on “divisive” and “distracting” cultural issues. But we aren’t the divisive ones. Most Americans agree with bills like Indiana’s H.B.1401 and Florida’s Parental Bill of Rights, which prohibits discussing gender identity and sexual orientation for K-3^rd graders.

And Republicans do focus on kitchen table issues. But I also will fight against fundamental cultural changes that violate Hoosiers’ values. When the President announces he supports puberty blockers and mastectomies for 13-year-old children, elected representatives have a duty to speak out.

Even Biden’s far-left supporters should ask: Is this what Americans really care about? Is this really what the president should be focused on?

On Election Day 2020, a gallon of gas cost under $2 in Fort Wayne. Since then, it’s more than doubled. The average Hoosier household will spend around an extra $5,000 this year because of inflation. That means, Biden’s “hidden tax” is more than twice as large as Indiana’s state income tax. Hoosier farmers face spiking fertilizers prices and volatile input costs. And like many other states, Indiana suffered a record number of fentanyl deaths in 2021.

The trouble is, to fix these crises President Biden must take responsibility for his part in creating them. Instead, he’s doubling down on his failed first-year agenda. 

Since the campaign trail, President Biden has sought to “end fossil fuels.” That’s why he revoked the Keystone XL permit and banned new drilling leases on federal land. But even after gas prices doubled, the White House proposed a budget that would raise taxes on oil and gas companies by $43 billion and increase electric vehicle subsidies. Discounted Tesla’s won’t ease the financial pain of rising energy prices. 

President Biden’s bloated, $2 trillion pandemic spending package first triggered inflation. But even after inflation breached 7%, the President proposed the highest sustained spending levels in American history.

In 2021, we saw a 379% increase of illegal migrant encounters on our southern border and a 719% increase in fentanyl seizures. President Biden effectively opened the border to all comers, including to drug smugglers. But the White House plans to make things worse. Joe Biden has announced he is ending Trump’s Title 42 pandemic policy, which could lead to as many as 18,000 illegal border crossings daily. That’s roughly the population of Indiana’s 3^rd district, every 40 days.

Hoosiers deserve a president dedicated to making their lives more secure and more affordable.

During the 1980 presidential debate, President Reagan asked the audience a simple question: are you better off now than you were four years ago? Whoever wins the Republican nomination in 2024 should ask Americans the same question.