OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — U.S. Congressman Mike Flood denounced the Inflation Reduction Act, called for transparency into the circumstances around the FBI's search of Mar-A-Lago, and said he's open to debates with Patty Pansing-Brooks Thursday morning.
'Exactly the wrong thing to be doing'
As expected, Flood said he's a "clear no" vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, which is expected at the House of Representatives on Friday.
The Senate narrowly passed the wide-scoped legislation Sunday, 51-50, in what Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he's confident "will endure as one of the defining legislative measures of the 21st century," according to the Associated Press.
The $740 billion package includes the largest-ever federal effort on climate change, caps out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors on Medicare, and sets a 15% minimum tax for corporations bringing in more than $1 billion in income, per AP.
Flood criticized increasing taxes on industries "that will affect America's families" and for overspending.
He also said the bill will "further weaponize the IRS against the American people with 87,000 new IRS agents," which he pointed out is enough to fill the Nebraska Cornhuskers' Memorial Stadium. "Those agents...will be harassing American families at a time people are just trying to put food on the table."
Seeking answers on FBI search at Trump residence
Flood said he and others on the House Oversight Committee sent a letter to the National Archives seeking answers about the FBI's search warrant at Mar-A-Lago, the residence of Donald Trump.
He said in a statement after the interview that Merrick Garland's press conference Thursday addressing the search warrant "raised more questions than it answered."
Garland announced the Department of Justice was asking a court to unseal the warrant, so the public can see it.
"While President Biden's Attorney General disclosed that a subpoena had been sought, he declined to provide much more information in his five-minute statement," he wrote. "The House Committee on Oversight and Reform needs to be briefed, so that Members of Congress understand why the decision was made to carry out an unprecedented raid on the residence of a former president.”
He said the need to know answers is bipartisan.
When asked if Trump himself should release the warrant, Flood said "he has the same right as any other American to maintain his silence."
Flood said he'd like to see a hearing, even if closed to the public.
"I'll be honest, I have tremendous respect for law enforcement," he said, when Aaron Sanderford of the Nebraska Examiner asked if he believes the FBI is becoming more political. "What I'm looking at is the weaponization of federal agencies under the control of Joe Biden."
'No concern' on debating
A day after Flood faced calls from Nebraska State Senator Patty Pansing Brooks to accept invitations from two television stations to debate, Flood said he's "very open" to debates, especially in the Lincoln market.
Pansing Brooks said she "accepted these invitations weeks, even months, ago." Flood said, though, he just received a request from an Omaha television station on Friday, which he said he would address soon.
"I'm open to two debates," he said. "We have to work out the issues."
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