By Jason Smith
As the summer season heats up, Americans all across the country are heading outdoors, trying to get back to the lives we had before the pandemic. Unfortunately, millions of Americans are being hit with sticker shock when they go to put gas in their cars, food on their table, medicine in their cabinet or clothes on their back. They are seeing the crunch of rising prices combined with the closure of their favorite small business who can’t afford to compete with government programs paying people more to stay at home. You would think that the Biden administration’s priorities would be focused on these issues, on putting money back in the pockets of working-class Americans, strengthening the economy and getting this border crisis under control.
Instead, they’re focused on fighting to tear down parts of American culture in the hopes that they can build back with liberal values.
As Republican Leader of the Budget Committee, I ran into the latest example of just the type of culture wars we are up against when I received the U.S. federal Government Budget Submission from President Biden. This week while I was reading through the budget, I noticed something strange.
President Biden’s administration changed two words in a section about maternal health. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but when I re-read the section, I was shocked by what I saw.
The section in President Biden’s budget reserved for programs to support expectant mothers, specifically removes the term “woman” or “mom”, and instead calls them “birthing persons.” No, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you. You read that right. This White House is so focused on making their vision for American culture a reality that they think the words “woman” and “mom” are standing in the way.
It used to be that Republicans and Democrats wanted the same thing – a stronger, safer, and more prosperous America. We just disagreed about how to get there. But recently, Democrat leaders in Washington have been trying to use the government to move the goalposts and smuggle in their leftist vision of American culture.
One of the proudest moments in my mother’s life was when she earned the title “mom.” It’s not something government can just bestow on a person or take away – it has to be earned through hard work, love, and dedication. Instead of trying to take motherhood away from moms, we should be celebrating them.
This is why when I appeared on the show Fox and Friends this week, I told host Brian Kilmeade that Washington was being turned into crazy town. The White House even confirmed for me that they believe the term “birthing person” is more inclusive language. But in trying to be more “inclusive” this administration is actually excluding millions of normal, working moms and women around the country who deserve to be appreciated for their sacrifice, not talked down to by Washington bureaucrats.
This administration would rather fight for inclusive words in their budget instead of defending working-class Americans who are struggling in the wake of this pandemic. The American people know that actions speak louder than words, but in the Biden Administration they use words to cover up their inaction.
So far, this President is not delivering on his promise to rebuild America. Since Joe Biden took the oath of office, monthly inflation has quadrupled. Core inflation in April increased at the highest level in nearly four decades. The President’s budget proposes $69 trillion in spending but does not account for the price increases this spending will cause for food in the pantry or medicine in the cabinet for the working class.
While Joe Biden wants to change words, he can’t change facts. His administration is trying to rename “illegal aliens” as “undocumented immigrants,” but it doesn’t change the fact we had over 180,000 people illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in May – a new 21-year high in border crossings. If Joe Biden and the Washington Democrats spent as much time on strengthening the working class than they do on policing our language to appease their “woke” base, America would be stronger and everyone – including the mothers Joe Biden wants to cancel – would be better off.
Congressman Jason Smith (R-Salem) represents Missouri’s eighth congressional district. Send an email to RepSmithPress@mail.house.gov.
