President Joe Biden is in office for less than a year. Rep. Bob Good, R.Va., believes the nation would be more successful without him.
If Biden “went home, back to Delaware to his beach house … and never came out, the country would be much better off,” Good says. “Everything he’s done has been harmful to the country.”
As America’s national debt hits $30 trillion, Good joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain the greatest challenges facing the nation and how the Biden administration should address rising prices and the crisis at the southern border.
Also on today’s show:
- Defense Department press secretary John Kirby announces Biden’s plans to deploy 2,000 troops to Germany and Poland.
- Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urges state governments to stop requiring children to wear masks in schools.
- Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer for University of Pennsylvania is in trouble.
Listen to the podcast or read the lightly edited transcript.
Virginia Allen: We are one year into President Joe Biden’s presidency. How is the country doing under Biden’s leadership? Here to answer that question is Congressman Bob Good, from Virginia. Thank you, Congressman, for being here.
Rep. Bob Good: Virginia, thank you. It was great to be with you.
Allen: So, we’re a year in, how is President Joe Biden doing? Is America stronger than it was one year ago?
Good: It’s really incredible, his poll numbers are historically low, and you’ll see numbers saying he’s maybe 35% approval. Who are those 35% of approval?
I was in a meeting with a group of Republicans and Democrats from my home state not too long ago, right before the Virginia elections, and I asked my colleagues across the aisle, “What would you point to? What are the good things? What policies are successful? How would you validate the Nov. 20 election?” And they had no answer.
They looked at me quietly, silently, just like you’re looking at me now, and didn’t try to persuade me that there was anything that was going well under this administration.
Many people thought he would be a bad President. We didn’t know how good he would be at doing a bad job. And this is a president who makes it all possible. [former President Jimmy]Carter appears competent [former President Barack]Obama appears to be moderate, which I find amazing.
Allen: In 2021, Pew Research conducted a study to determine what issues Americans are most concerned and focused on. The deficit was one of the top three answers. People are really concerned about our national deficit that’s just hit $30 trillion.
Good: That’s right.
Allen: What are we doing to improve that? What are you seeing in the Biden administration? Is there any concrete action being taken to reduce the deficit?
Good: No, they’re doubling down their spending. You’re right. It was announced yesterday that we have crossed the $30 trillion threshold. This equates to $91,000 per American citizen. So say, a family of three, that’s $273,000 that they owe, their share of the national debt.
It’s already the third-largest budget item with these artificially low interest rates just to pay the debt. It’s crushing us and it’s growing at a rapid pace, as we know. It’s mortgaging or bankrupting our kids’ future, and the Democrats are showing no concern for it.
Matter of fact, we just came from a conference meeting this morning, and I won’t call him out, let him speak to himself, but one of my colleagues in the House Freedom Caucus called out our own party on leadership: What are we going to do about the national debt? Because it is an issue. And when I ran, I identified it as one of the three greatest threats to the country, was our national debt, that’s why I wanted to be on the Budget Committee.
However, our Republican Study Committee, which was the task force, put out a balanced budget last year. We’d like the whole conference to adopt that as our official Republican position, it would balance in five years. We’ve got to be honest with the American people and preserve Medicare and Social Security, quite frankly, by reforming it so that it saves it for the future.
Allen: On that honesty with the American people, I think that’s key because right now, it seems like, from those on the left and even maybe some on the right, there’s this sense of, “Oh, it’s not a big deal. It’s not a big deal to keep on spending,” but I’m sensing that it is. At some point, the shoe’s going to drop, right?
Good: Yes. And every increase by one point in the interest rates—the fed is talking about increasing interest rates now [to]Stop the massive inflation caused by the Biden policies. Every single point increase in the interest rates will cost $300 billion per year to service the debt.
So it takes a bigger bite out of the apple that causes the deficit to grow even further, because we’re obviously borrowing to pay the debt to begin with.
It is very serious and a threat to the nation. And we, Republicans, have to come together and agree to balance the budget, make the tough decisions, earn their trust with the American people that we’re being honest with them, and we’re going to save them, the country fiscally.
Allen: You mentioned that you are on the Budget Committee. I know how important spending is to you. It’s a big deal. Of course, inflation, as you say, it’s on all of our minds right now. Every time you go to the grocery store, every time you fill your car up with gas, we’re all feeling that. Can we blame President Biden? Or was he dealt a bad deal when he took office amid the pandemic, the labor shortages, and so on.
Good: Well, quickly, the answer is that, we didn’t have inflation before he became president. This is a record high of 40 years. This is a backwards trend that dates back to the Jimmy Carter era. These inflation levels that we’re seeing—and it’s gas prices, as we know, which is a direct reflection of his energy policies, or lack thereof.
Gas prices have increased by about 60% since he took office. This has decimated low-income, middle income Americans, and fixed-income Americans. They fill up their gas tank. As we all know, everything is shipped so it drives up costs. Housing prices have risen, auto prices have risen, and grocery prices have risen as well. This is because Joe Biden’s policy has created a hidden tax that will affect the American people.
Allen: Is there light at end of tunnel for inflation
Good: There’s light in the fact that at least in November, we can take back control on the legislative side of this government because the Democrats are doubling down. I fear they will say, “Hey, we’re going to do as much harm as we can for the time that we have left.” There is no recognition on their part that they need to reverse cards.
Some will say, “Oh, we need to message better and explain to the American people how well our policies are working.” Well, you can’t tell the American people—whether it’s crime, whether it’s the border, whether it’s inflation, whether it’s energy costs, and our diminished standing on the national stage, you can’t fool the American people.
Allen: So, of course, there’s so many issues that we could talk about. But just big picture, as we look back over the past year, what do you think are maybe one of President Joe Biden’s successes and what do you think is his biggest failure?
Good: Honestly, I can’t point to any successes. Sometimes I’ll get asked that when I’m doing a town hall-type discussion or a meeting with folks: “Hey, where do you agree?” And I’ll say, “Well, would you point to the issue where you think he’s doing well or where you think we ought to compromise and help him?” The truth is, he’s doing very poorly on every issue.
The country would be much more successful if he returned to Delaware on Jan. 20 to his beach house in Rehoboth. Delaware.
Everything he’s done has been harmful to the country. None of it’s working and it’s all going poorly. You wonder about this State of the Union address that’s scheduled for about four weeks out now. They’re saying they’re going to give each party 25 seats to be in the House Chamber for it. I’m not sure that the Democrats are lining up to identify with Joe Biden. They’re in the House Chamber to hear the speech.
Allen: I know that education is one of the topics you are always speaking out about. You are on the Education and Labor Committee. Talk about this moment in American history. I know so many individuals have pulled their kids out of public schools because they’re nervous about, “What is my child going to be learning?” What is your message to the American people? How are you serving Virginia’s constituents on the education issue? How can you help ensure that our children have a strong future in education?
Good: Yes. When I ran for office in 2020, I identified three major threats to the country: our immigration border situation and our national debt. Then there was education. How we were losing generations philosophically, ideologically, and culturally due to our failure in education.
The one positive from the China virus situation and the shutdowns that government mandated, with schools being closed and remote learning, let’s call it remote learning, is that parents saw what was happening. Parents saw what’s happening in these government schools and what’s happening, whether it’s [critical race theory], radical ideology, whether it’s radical transgender policies going on, or whether it’s just general shutdown in putting teachers ahead of kids.
History will judge us harshly for how we sacrificed children during this China virus situation and during this health crisis. Teachers and teachers unions were more important than children. We put government above children. How can we ever make up two more years of learning for the children?
We attended numerous school board meetings to encourage parents to show up and make their voices heard.
We saw some conservatives win in our district and beat incumbents for control of their school boards. This was a positive sign. [Virginia Gov.] Glenn Youngkin. We urge him to do so, and to repeal the school mass mandates. We need to stop vaccinating children who are almost at no risk of contracting the virus. We need to have accountability on what’s taught in the schools, how the teachers are trained.
I’m on the Ed and Labor Committee, and the Biden administration is trying to tie federal dollars to the teaching of 1619 Project and other [critical race theory]-type ideology in our schools to indoctrinate our kids with a view that is dishonest, it’s divisive, and it does not recognize the progress that’s been made.
We also have our choice bill. This would allow federal funds that parents receive for education in the public schools to go towards private school expenses, homeschool expenses, and public schools outside their area. It would be especially targeted at low-income and middle-income families who really need support to ensure their children have the best education possible.
Allen: Yeah. This option of school choice is crucial. It’s something our folks here at The Heritage Foundation talk a lot about and have done so much research on. It makes perfect sense that these dollars should be used to support a child, if you look at the information.
Good: It’s an 80% issue. Just about all parents are in favor school choice. We have very little school choice in Virginia. I’m glad that new Gov. Youngkin believes in that, and he’s going to fight on that in the state level as well.
Allen: Absolutely. Obviously, election integrity has been a major issue in recent years. The One Citizen One Vote Act was introduced by you recently. Talk a little bit about that piece of legislation, what’s in it, why it’s important.
Good: Everyone should want election integrity. It should be bipartisan. We want faith and trust to our election system. Integrity in the election system has been challenged and questioned over the years and has been a divisive issue.
But our bill, One Citizen One Vote Act, would say that the federal dollars that are allocated to states and localities, that they would not be eligible to receive those funds—there’s five things—if they don’t have voter ID. Everybody should be for voter ID. And that’s an 80%-ish. Everyone wants to see that people who vote are the ones they claim to be.
They also won’t grant funding if they allow uninvited mass mail balloting. So in other words, you have a mass mail ballot sent to anyone who’s ever been registered at that address. So you could have a college kid who’s moved away, someone who’s deceased, or someone who used to live there, what have you. This is a great place to commit fraud.
Also, if there’s ballot harvesting or drop boxes outside of polling places. And then finally, if they allow noncitizens to vote, like they’re trying to do in New York City.
Allen: So, out of all these different issues that we’ve covered today, and I know you are working on in the House, if you had the opportunity to sit down with President Biden this afternoon and have lunch with him and he said, “Congressman, what do you think I need to be focused on?”, what would you say to the president?
Good: Well, I’ve signed on impeachment articles last year because of the border alone. Our president has done more damage to the United States than any other president in American history.
There have been 2 million illegal border crossings over the past year. All of his resources to the border situation have been used to facilitate more illegal crossings. They’re flying individuals from 160 countries in the dark of night all over the country, without even a requirement to have a court date to report. They’re not stopping them based on criminal record, based on health situation.
It’s a national security issue. It’s a health security issue. It’s a social services issue. It’s an education issue if schools are required to take in people who don’t even speak English and to educate them in our schools. It is a travesty what he’s done.
I’ve been in the border three times. I don’t think he’s been yet. We don’t have any documentations he’s ever been to the border. I plan to go again here in the first quarter for the fourth time in my first year because it’s such an important issue.
It’s an invasion on our southern border. These are not registered Democrat voters and they are also trying transform the country. These are globalists who don’t believe in American sovereignty. Others have said, “Hey, we care about the sovereignty or the border in Ukraine, but we don’t care about our own southern border.”
President Biden, how do you do it to your country? How do you do it? It’s doing irreparable harm to our country and it’s a travesty. He should be impeached.
Allen: During those trips that you’ve taken to the border, what have you seen?
Good: Well, I’ve met with ranchers who live on the border and suffer from immediacy of the invasion. These policies are again making every town, every municipality, and every state a border town, border town, and border state.
But those who live there, local law enforcement—we’ve met with Border Patrol who are not allowed to do their job. They’re essentially day care workers. They’re essentially processing citizens into our country, along with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], and they’re not stopping them. The Border Patrol’s morale has dropped to an alarming level.
We met with a rancher couple who lost a loved one to the murder of an illegal alien they had come across. We had a shooting between Border Patrol and us while we were there. [illegal aliens]It is possible to come across.
You discover that the Mexican crime cartels control everything and everyone that crosses the border. They’re making hundreds of millions of dollars in profit a month from sex trafficking, human trafficking, child trafficking.
Everyone who comes across comes as an indentured servant that owes thousands of dollars to the Mexican cartels, who will kill you at home, kill your family, I should say, at home if you don’t pay the debt that’s owed to you. They can also traffic drugs for the cartels, instead of paying the debt. And because of the profit that they bring to the cartels, that’s how they pay the debt that they’re owed. It’s unbelievable.
I’ll just end with this. I flew from McAllen, Texas to Dallas on my last flight. We had dozens of passengers. [illegal aliens]Again, I was able to see the pilots and their IDs on the flight.
As a congressional member, I must present my ID to board the flight. This is just like any other citizen. And that’s how it should be. But these are not the only things. [illegal aliens] don’t even have government-issued IDs, and they’re flying at taxpayers’ expense wherever they want to go without a requirement even to appear in court.
Allen: These are the kind of things that make me feel discouraged. And then you think about America’s future. Are you worried about America’s future success?
Good: Very concerned. You only carry that over four year for border policies. We’re one year in with 2 million. This president has assigned the vice president to be the border czar, and she doesn’t go either. And she says, oh, she’s trying to figure out root causes. I’ll tell you what the root cause is. The root cause is America’s the greatest country in the world. Everybody wants the opportunity to travel here. So then, she’s going to visit other countries, see what the root cause is.
These countries cannot be elevated to the United States. We can’t make them as free-loving, prosperous, and democratic as the one we have here. We can’t make them like us. Their policies will, over the next four years, bring it to its conclusion. And I think that’s their goal.
I believe that the American people will reject this in Virginia in November. You saw a response to brutal, raw, and unchecked Democrat Control here in Virginia. And people will reject it from across the country when they get to vote in November. That is the brightest light.
Allen: Congressman. Thank you so much. We are very grateful for your time. Thank you, Congressman Bob Good of Virginia.
Good: Thank you. It was great to be with you.
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