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Ron Johnson: “We did not simplify the tax code in 2017.”

Featuring: Ron Johnson, Republican | U.S. Senate, Wisconsin

Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges

Published May 25, 2025 | Video Starts at 23:43

But again, lower the rates, broaden the base. But we're not doing that. We lowered the rates and we made it more complex. We did not simplify the tax code in 2017. One of the reasons I actually want a two step process was to take time to simplify and rationalize our tax code. (23:43–23:46)

CLAIM

Asserts that the 2017 tax reforms did not simplify the tax code.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Ron Johnson

“Our average interest rate over the last 50 years on government debt is about 5.8%.”
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“Your dollar you held in 2019 is only worth 80 cents.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 21:08-21:11
“A dollar you held in 1998 is worth 51 cents [today].”
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“We spent something like 5 or 6 trillion dollars globally on climate change...we haven't bent the needle.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 27:28-27:35
“In 1930, the federal government spent about 3.5% of our GDP.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 43:18-43:29
“Now we're spending close to 24% [of GDP] at the federal level.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 43:38-43:42
“Our forefathers... entered World War II spending about 11.7%, ramped it up to 41% during the war.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 48:04-48:14
“The first goal of this Republican budget reconciliation should be don't add to the deficit.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 00:09-00:16
“The first goal of this Republican budget reconciliation should be don't add to the deficit.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 00:09-00:16
“President [Biden] is determined to not keep funding the deep state at buying levels, return to a reasonable pre-pandemic level.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 00:16-00:24
“You don't defeat the deep state by continuing to fund it at Biden's levels.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 00:20-00:24
“I don't think President Trump, he's not focused on reducing spending.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 00:28-00:32
“I can't be pressured by President Trump.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 00:37-00:39
“Obamacare is now called Medicaid expansion.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 03:31-03:34
“Other mandatory hit well over $2 trillion during COVID.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 04:38-04:51
“Last fiscal year was about $1.3 trillion. This year will be over a trillion.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 04:51-04:57
“We don't have a balanced budget requirement like states do.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 05:56-06:00
“The appropriation committees were literally set up because the authorized committees were big spenders.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 06:10-06:17
“Simpson Bowles didn't work. The Budget Control act didn't work.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 06:22-06:27
“The 10-year deficit projected by CBO is $22 trillion, averaging $2.2 trillion a year.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 07:46-07:58
“The CBO projection I'm looking at assumes we're going to gain another $4 trillion from increasing taxes.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 08:40-08:48
“Going from 37 to $59 trillion in debt is a rosy scenario.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 09:37-09:45
“They've just transferred [federal spending] into mandatory spending.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 10:13-10:17
“We are operating for this fiscal year under a continuing resolution.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 11:09-11:14
“The answer was something like $6.3 trillion because we had gone from 4.4 trillion in 2019 up to 6.5.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 12:55-13:03
“We're down here about 3, somewhere around 3% [interest rate on government debt].”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 15:27-15:31
“Clinton, if you use that process, go from 1.7 to 5.5 trillion.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 16:56-17:02
“Obama would be 6.2 [trillion], Trump's 2019, 6.5 [trillion].”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 17:03-17:05
“Show me a member of Congress who ever lost the election because they spent too much money.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 19:36-19:41
“I think it's insane that we've been shutting down coal fired electrical generation.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 25:26-25:31
“Congress was oblivious and ignorant of all this waste, fraud, and abuse.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 28:56-29:09
“The last time I looked at Doge's website, they were up to 165 things higher than that.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 29:55-29:59
“President Trump in his first administration sent up a $15 billion decision package.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 31:03-31:08
“Any Republican that voted would vote against the rescission package ought to pay a pretty huge political price.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 31:15-31:20
“The hard number accepted by and expected by a lot of senators...is $6.5 trillion of spending in 2026.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 34:50-35:01
“We've gone from 4400 billion to 7000 billion dollars worth of spending.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 35:05-35:09
“Right now we're expected to spend about 7.3 trillion next year.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 35:05-35:09
“So that implies about $8 trillion in deficit reduction rather than 1.5 trillion that the House has in their meager House reconciliation…”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 35:09-35:21
“We went from 4.4 to it'll be 7.3 next year.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 35:59-36:04
“The coalition they have made up of the media, primarily social media companies, that type of thing, their relentlessness of letting all…”
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“I think they do cheat in voting.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 39:46-39:48
“The Liberal candidate got 78% of Kamala Harris's vote. The Conservative candidate got 62% of Donald Trump's vote.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 40:03-40:13
“States are probably somewhere 12 to 15 [percent of GDP].”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 43:41-43:44
“As government grows, your freedom recedes.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 44:12-44:15
“As government grows, you get more and more people dependent on it.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 44:14-44:19
“I put together a video... President Trump at the State of the Union saying he was going to balance the federal budget.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 46:09-46:17
“I first focus on spending. Okay, 89.3 trillion.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 47:42-47:47
“That represents the just unprecedented, other than World War II increase in spending from 2019 of 58 to 60%.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 47:52-48:00
“By 1948, they were down to 11.4%.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 48:13-48:17
“Just lay them out. $22 trillion of additional deficit spending, that's a rosy scenario. That's $2.2 trillion per year.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 49:26-49:35
“Obama, he averaged about $900 billion a year deficit. Trump before the pandemic was about 800 billion, but binds up to almost $1.9 trillion.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 49:35-49:46
“We also have to focus on economic growth through the private sector, not fueled by government deficit spending.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 51:21-51:28
“I don't know what percent of our actual growth came from $2 trillion a year deficits. I think a pretty good chunk.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 51:28-51:35
“It is true that we beat the CBO estimates, but that's because of trillions of dollars of deficit spending starting the pandemic years…”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 51:47-51:58
“Prior to the pandemic, we weren't, we really weren't matching even the CBO's, you know, downgrade of revenue coming in after the TCGA.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 51:57-52:06
“This is what we have to do to win the majority, maintain the majority in the house in 2027.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 53:21-53:26
“When we have the majority in 2027, then, then we're going to actually spend the, you know, turn the spending curve down.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 53:34-53:41
“It's developing a process that will achieve, maintain a pre pandemic level spending, you know, just a lower spending level.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 54:40-54:48
“I would love to take that Doge team, those geniuses with all their AI and their computer skills, and get 100, 200 forensic auditors and just…”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 55:17-55:30
“OMB said we don't have enough time.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 56:16-56:19
“Senate leadership's the only one that's been fully behind what I'm trying to do here.”
Senator Ron Johnson Discusses Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reconciliation Challenges | Uploaded May 25, 2025 | 56:27-56:31