Scott Fitzgerald

Agriculture drives Wisconsin's economy and plays a central role in our state heritage. We wear our badge as “America’s Dairyland” proudly and for good reason. The agriculture industry contributes $104.8 billion annually to our state’s economy and creates 435,700 jobs annually.

As a former small business owner, I know how tough it can be to ride the waves the economy sends our way. The pandemic sent a tide that reverberated throughout the entire country, and Washington policies have made life harder, not better, for American businesses and workers.

It took the Biden Administration all of one day to sharply depart from their message of unity. Just hours after he was sworn into office, President Biden halted construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The project would have secured many good-paying jobs for hardworking people in Wisconsin, and the pipeline would have secured a safe and reliable way to transport energy.

 

All Americans deserve access to quality, affordable healthcare, but a government run healthcare plan is not the answer.

My plan to fight inflation:

1) Instead of pressuring the oil and gas industry to cap prices, the President should streamline the permitting process for federal land and allow projects like the Keystone XL pipeline to continue. This will not only create thousands of high-paying jobs at a time when Americans need them most but decrease our reliance on oil from our adversaries.                                                                                                                     

2) According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the manufacturing industry lost 7.5 million jobs since its peak in 1969, with the most significant drop between 2000 and 2017. Ensuring our tax system is favorable to manufacturers is one way to reverse that trend. Congress and the Administration could work together to make permanent the 100 percent bonus depreciation credit passed as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which is set to begin phasing out at the end of 2022. According to Tax Foundation estimates, making the TCJA bonus depreciation provision permanent would result in higher wages, a larger economy, and 172,300 new full-time jobs.                               

3) Since taking office less than two years ago, President Biden’s added $1.9 trillion in debt through the passage of ARPA, lobbied Congress to pass the $2.15 trillion Build Back Better agenda, raised the federal debt limit, and recently endorsed nearly $1 trillion in new spending with more than a third for Green New Deal initiatives. Inflationary pressures will only worsen if we do not work to cut reckless spending.