[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 17, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S1603]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Biden Administration

  Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, last month, the American people 
created 379,000 new jobs across our country. The unemployment rate fell 
to 6.2 percent. Our economy is recovering. We are actually on our way 
back to normal.
  In early February, the Congressional Budget Office published a report 
on this. The report says that our economy will reach the same size that 
it was before the pandemic, and it will do it in just a few months. It 
says this summer our economy will be back to normal.
  Now, the CBO made that projection weeks before the Democrats passed 
and the President signed into law a $1.9 trillion wish list. In other 
words, our economy would be back to normal even had they never passed 
the bill. We would be back to normal without a dime of this incredible 
high amount of spending
  We didn't need the liberal wish list. The country doesn't need it. 
Yet it is obvious why Democrats rushed--rushed--their liberal wish list 
into law. They wanted to stamp their name on the recovery that was 
coming, no matter what. I have no doubt that that is the goal.
  Yet the truth is clear: This is not President Biden's recovery. 
President Biden inherited three vaccines--successful vaccines, vaccines 
that work and are safe. President Biden inherited 2 million tests a day 
for coronavirus. President Biden inherited falling coronavirus numbers. 
He also inherited a recovering economy.
  Last year, we saw the fastest economic recovery in American history. 
The unemployment rate fell by half in 6 months. The American people 
created more than 12 million jobs coming back from the pandemic. They 
did it in just 6 months. That is more jobs than were created in the 8 
years of the Obama-Biden administration.
  Now, this was in large part because of the foundation laid by 
Republicans before the pandemic, with President Trump's economic 
programs in the White House. Republicans cut taxes for the middle 
class, on job creators. We cut regulations, and we cut government 
redtape. We made a better trade deal with our neighbors. Our agenda 
worked.
  Just before the pandemic hit, the unemployment rate was down to 3.6 
percent. The American people created more than 7 million new jobs under 
President Trump. We saw record-low unemployment for Hispanic Americans, 
Asian Americans, and African Americans. We reached the lowest 
unemployment rate for women in 60 years.
  When America began to reopen, the success of that agenda helped us 
recover at a record pace. The economy is also recovering because we are 
making progress against the virus.
  With Republicans in the White House and a Republican majority in the 
U.S. Senate, we passed more than $4 trillion in coronavirus relief. 
Unlike the Democrats' relief wish list, all five of our bills were 
bipartisan. They each got 90 votes in the Senate or more.
  Operation Warp Speed broke records for vaccine development. A new 
vaccine typically takes about 10 years from the lab to people's arms. 
The previous record for a vaccine was for mumps. It took 4 years. Last 
year, we achieved two coronavirus vaccines in 10 months. We broke 
records, and it wasn't even close. The Food and Drug Administration 
made dozens of cuts to regulations in order to make this happen.
  The Biden administration has not played it straight with the American 
people about coronavirus. We remember when Vice President Harris said 
that there was ``no national strategy or plan for vaccinations.''
  We were delivering millions of doses of vaccines in December. 
President Biden said: ``We got into office and there was nothing in the 
refrigerator''--``nothing in the refrigerator.''
  The Biden campaign and now the Biden administration has repeatedly 
misled the American people on the coronavirus. They have repeatedly 
taken credit for things for which they deserve no credit.
  Mark my words. This summer they are going to try to take credit for 
our recovery. If they do, they will be flat-out wrong.
  Our recovery was booming under the Republican agenda, and it was an 
agenda of low taxes and fewer regulations. That is the agenda that the 
American people need to get our economy booming again.