Georgia’s economy and Dalton manufacturing would be hit hard if the inflation-reducing bill currently under consideration by Congress becomes law, said Herschel Walker, Republican Party candidate for the US Senate.
“It’s going to cripple American manufacturing,” Walker said Wednesday at Dalton’s Performance Fabrics Technologies. “It will raise taxes.”
Walker faces incumbent Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver in the November 8 general election.
Walker criticized Warnock for voting in favor of the bill and urged him to hold a debate on the bill.
“I want to explain to him that this will affect a lot of companies in Georgia,” Walker said.
Walker said the bill would cost American workers jobs and make American industry less competitive with China and other nations.
Warnock’s campaign said the bill would benefit Georgians.
“Rev. Warnock is fighting to bring costs down for Georgians, and this bill would do just that, capping the cost of insulin at $35 a month and lowering the price of prescription drugs for seniors,” said Meredith Brasher, Warnock’s communications director for Georgia. “Herschel Walker’s opposition to this exoneration is another example of his unwillingness to represent Georgia in the US Senate.”
Performance Fabrics Technologies manager Tom Peeples said he spoke to business leaders in Dalton and across the state about the bill.
“If (Warnock) had spoken to any of the businessmen I spoke to in the state of Georgia, he would have had a different opinion on this bill,” he said. “I’ve been told this will increase our taxes by $350 billion.”
The Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation predicts that the bill would result in a net tax increase of $350 billion over the next decade and that taxpayers at almost all income brackets would raise their taxes. Democrats have said they disagree with that assessment.
The Tax Foundation, which says it is an independent nonprofit tax policy, predicts the bill would result in a $304 billion net tax increase and reduce economic growth.
“That alone will increase my suppliers’ costs, which will be passed on to me, and I’ll have to pass them on to my customers, who will pass them on to consumers, which will bring the economy to a standstill,” he told People. “This affects me for my business and the people who work in these companies.”
“I trust him,” Peeples said of Walker. “He approaches politics the way we approach our business.”
State Senator Chuck Payne, R-Dalton, said Georgia’s elected officials should recognize the importance of manufacturing to the state.
“In 2020, Georgia was the first to reopen (after the COVID-19 lockdown),” he said.
“Georgia was the first country to let our manufacturing workers go back to work,” he said. The “Biden-Warnock Act” would hurt manufacturing and increase costs for consumers, he said.
“Raphael Warnock went to Washington and forgot the workers in Georgia,” Payne said. “Herschel will not forget those who work every day.”
State Senator Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, said the bill would “cripple manufacturing, it will cripple the lives and jobs of the people of Georgia.”
“We’re #1 in America to do business with,” Mullis said. “But that will hurt even Georgia.”
Walker said in Dalton he agreed to debate with Warnock.
“I told him don’t be afraid,” he said. “I’ll do it in your garden.”
According to Georgia Public Broadcasting, Walker earlier this week accepted an invitation to a debate in Savannah on Oct. 14 sponsored by Nexstar Media Group, which owns television stations across Georgia. Warnock has agreed to debates sponsored by press organizations in Atlanta, Macon and Savannah. So far, however, neither has agreed to participate in the same debate as the other.
