[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 110 (Thursday, June 24, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H3119-H3126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ECONOMIC RECOVERY AFTER THE PANDEMIC
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 4, 2021, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Cawthorn) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
General Leave
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from North Carolina?
There was no objection.
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, what is the American businessman to do
[[Page H3120]]
when the American worker will not come into work?
For the past nearly 7 months, this President has held America's small
business owners hostage and declared a de facto strike on the American
economy.
Following the end of this COVID pandemic, the Biden administration
has been granted the political gift of a lifetime: take a staggering
American economy, still reeling from the economic collapse, and simply
let it return to normal. If the Biden administration had done nothing,
zero, if they had sat on their hands and twiddled their thumbs, if Joe
Biden had taken more naps, then experts say our economy would be in a
much better place than where it is right now.
Instead, the Biden administration's efforts place the American
economy in a financial choke hold that threatens to obliterate hundreds
of small businesses in my district.
It was John Adams that said: ``Facts are stubborn things; and
whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations or the dictates of our
passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.''
Let's cast our eyes over the facts, shall we?
Back in April, economists predicted over 1 million new jobs to be
added to our economy. Biden added just over 250,000. In May, economists
adjusted their expectations, acknowledging this administration simply
cannot deliver the type of job growth past administrations could.
Even with adjusted expectations, the Biden administration still fell
short of the mark. There is no debate that the Biden administration of
free handouts has dramatically undercut efforts to restart our economy.
His massive increase of unemployment benefits has kept workers at home
and left store owners scrambling to keep up with the growing consumer
demand.
In my own district, business leaders in Asheville, Hendersonville,
Franklin, and Macon County, have spoken with me about the difficulty in
getting employees back to work. Who can blame them? Biden is literally
paying American citizens to stay home instead of getting them back to
work.
Who would fault an American husband or mother when they decide to
stay home with their family and earn double their salary while doing
it?
The Biden administration knows that their policy of handouts harms
and is hurting business owners, but the game has always been about
creating a welfare class, not empowering our economy. It is disgusting.
With those thoughts in mind, I now recognize one of my fellow North
Carolina champions, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Bishop).
Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman and
my fellow North Carolinian, Mr. Cawthorn, for having this Special
Order.
My comments will echo his. Look, the pandemic is over. Thank
goodness. Our economy should be seeing robust growth. Instead,
businesses cannot fill the record number of jobs available.
In fact, the number one issue that I hear, not only from business
owners and managers, but from all constituents, is that folks will not
come to work, businesses cannot find workers.
Last month, despite 9.3 million job openings, there were only 69,000
more new hires than in the month before. How is that possible with
unemployment at 6 percent?
Simply put, President Biden and Democrats have insisted on continuing
to pay people more to stay home than to work.
Despite consistent warnings from Republicans and economists, the so-
called American Rescue Plan continued expanded unemployment benefit
programs enacted in the heart of the pandemic.
In my home State, in North Carolina, these expanded benefits are
worth $650 a week. That is about $50 more than the Progressives'
preferred minimum wage of $15 an hour. You don't have to be an
economist to see why small businesses can't fill job openings, and it
is beyond time that Congress fix this self-inflicted wound.
That is one reason that Representative Jodey Arrington and I
introduced the Jump-Start the Economy with Jobs Act. This bill, which
ought to move promptly in this Congress, requires an individual who is
currently receiving enhanced unemployment benefits to recertify that
they do not have a job offer waiting for them in order to continue
receiving enhanced benefits.
If their former employer would receive a communication, and if they
say we are prepared to give an offer to that person to come back to
work, then they can't continue to receive unemployment benefits. How
appropriate. That would tailor the program to those people that
continue to need it because of a job dislocation they cannot resolve.
Enhanced unemployment benefits should continue for those who truly need
them and not for those who have a job waiting for them.
The extended Federal unemployment benefits implemented during COVID-
19 had their time, but they should not be the mainstay now. They are,
instead, artificially reducing the workforce.
Across the country, let's all be thankful, communities are opening up
their economies and getting back to normal.
It is past time for this government to stop holding back the recovery
and to stand up for small businesses, job generators, by ceasing to pay
people to stay home.
A good first step would be to enact the Jump-Start the Economy with
Jobs Act.
Mr. CAWTHORN. Thank you very much, Congressman Bishop, for those
words. I echo the sentiments of both Jodey Arrington and Dan Bishop of
wanting to jump-start this economy again.
With the fact that there are 9.3 million job openings in this country
right now, we do need to change something to be able to actually fill
the hire rate that has not increased at all. In fact, last quarter it
only increased by 4.2 percent.
My friends, we will have artificial inflation if we do not do
something to act quickly, and I believe the Jump-Start the Economy with
Jobs Act is a great idea.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize another North Carolinian, a
lion of our mountains, my dear friend, the gentleman from North
Carolina (Mr. Budd).
Mr. BUDD. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague,
Congressman Cawthorn, for organizing this.
Last month, the NFIB, or the National Federation of Independent
Businesses, reported that 48 percent of small businesses currently have
unfilled job openings, and that is an all-time high. Right now--you
have heard the number mentioned--9.3 million jobs remain unfilled
nationwide.
This sluggish recovery is a direct result of the Federal Government
paying people not to work. Essentially, the Federal enhanced
unemployment benefit constitutes a ``stay-at-home'' bonus for millions
of people.
Instead of following the lead of dozens of other States, North
Carolina's Governor refuses to end this very backwards incentive.
That is why I introduced a solution that would help. It is called the
Back to Work Bonus Act. First and foremost, my proposal would end the
$300 Federal unemployment bonus on day one.
Second, the bill would allow a new worker to receive a $900 back-to-
work bonus only if they get back in the workforce and stay on the job
for at least 4 weeks.
Now, to be clear, someone would only receive these dollars if they
not only accepted the job offer, but fully went back to work.
Third, I want to highlight that this legislation is a specific
solution to what we hope is a temporary problem, using already
appropriated funds that would expire on August 14.
Look, we simply can't continue to pay people to stay at home. For
workers that stayed in the workforce throughout the pandemic, we need
to cut their taxes, so they get to keep more of their hard-earned
money.
We need to get the economy booming again, like it was during the
Trump years. We need to stop the overspending in Washington that causes
inflation to soar and eat away at a family's buying power.
But above all, our number one priority needs to be getting folks back
to work as quickly as possible. There are just too many opportunities
out there, 9.3 million of them, to be exact. So let's get America back
to work.
Mr. CAWTHORN. Congressman, thank you for introducing that bill.
[[Page H3121]]
If you think about it, $387 is the amount the average American
receives from their home State in weekly unemployment benefits. You add
to that the $300 boost that the Federal Government is putting on, on
top of that, and it is no wonder why people aren't going back to work.
They get to stay at home with their families while making $17.17 an
hour. That sounds like a good deal to me.
But I genuinely hope that we can find some way out of this, because
there is a real spiritual poverty created when you don't actually work
for your living.
It is now time for me to recognize a dear friend of mine from a
Carolina that is not as good a North Carolina, the gentleman from South
Carolina (Mr. Norman).
Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for offering this
Special Order. It couldn't come at a better time and a better place in
history.
Mr. Speaker, Americans have been subjected to one of the most testing
years we have ever seen. Just as they are starting to get back on their
feet and the great economic engine that is the American economy is
starting to turn over, this administration and my Democratic colleagues
are proposing to shut down the engine that we had running so robustly
for the last 4 years under President Trump.
Six trillion dollars in spending, with no offsets, is downright
irresponsible and unfair to the American taxpayer. We are not going to
get this economy on the right foot by expanding our Government even
more.
Growing inflation concerns have already begun to hit our constituents
where it hurts the most, at the gas pump--have you tried filling up
your car lately? It has hit you in the grocery stores. It has hit you
in the checkbooks.
This oncoming crisis is putting hardworking Americans on rocky
footing, and this President is proposing to pull the rug out from
underneath them. Another cash infusion will do nothing more than kick
those Americans while they are down by driving prices up even more.
Enough is enough.
Businesses are opening up, construction projects are expanding our
neighborhoods and cities, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel
and the light is a bright one. Don't shut the door on that light by
throttling the demands of everyday items.
Ultimately, there are a variety of reasons for these rising prices,
many of which are industry specific. However, it is important to
remember that big government spending is only going to make this
problem worse.
I was elected to Congress to take care of the American people. I was
not elected to bankrupt this country. I was not elected to burden them
even more. It is clear that the American economy wants to make a
comeback. The only question is, will bureaucrats, will politicians,
will government get out of the way.
{time} 1715
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, Congressman Norman was elected to take
care of the American people, but right now the Democrats in Congress--
although it is hard to call them Democrats because right now I believe
that they have a socialist agenda, which is sabotaging America's jobs
recovery with a crippling tax hike that targets our small businesses,
the backbone of our economy.
Their plans raise small business taxes to the highest point in a
generation, halt new projects and small business growth by doubling
taxes on investments, and Democrats supercharge a second death tax, if
you can believe that, where they want to tax you more. It would hit
farms, machine shops, and other small businesses.
With all that in mind, I now yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania
(Mr. Keller).
Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, one of the greatest threats that emerged
from this pandemic is an expanding government unwilling to relinquish
control and restore Americans' God-given rights.
We see it all across our country. President Biden and liberal
Governors tout the ``follow the science'' talking point while failing
to follow the science themselves, keeping in place pandemic
restrictions while knowing full well that our economy can fully reopen.
While the left virtue signals, pushing radical policies like vaccine
passports and critical race theory, American families are still
struggling to make ends meet. Tens of thousands of businesses have
closed their doors for good, and our children have fallen behind
because they are denied in-person learning.
Some Federal agencies are still not operating at pre-pandemic levels.
We have American veterans who cannot access records they need for
treatment and benefits they earned because of career bureaucrats who
can't be bothered to go back to work. This is wrong and completely
avoidable.
Here, in Congress, we see the hypocrisy of the left on display.
Speaker Pelosi lifts the mask mandate for the House floor, but keeps
the people's House closed to the public. We have Members of this body
not showing up and voting in person. The people that we represent go to
work every day, and they expect us to do the same. Americans have never
been and never will be a nation ruled by fear and control.
Reopen the Capitol Building, reopen our country, and restore freedom
and power to the American people.
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, I can see why Pennsylvania loves their
Congressman so much.
When I think about what is going on in Congress and I see that
Democrats are prioritizing wasteful spending over hardworking
Americans' paychecks, I realize that the Democrats' socialist agenda
won't produce long-term growth or greater economic security for
American families.
A majority of Americans say they fear for an impending crash
following the injection of Federal stimulus money during the pandemic.
This is an unsettling thought for those who are trying to deal with
dining room politics.
With all those thoughts in mind, I am very pleased to yield to the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Nehls), my dear friend and America's sheriff,
who represents Texas' 22nd District.
Mr. NEHLS. Mr. Speaker, it is time to get the American people back to
work. The vaccine has been available for all Americans for weeks. Cases
across the country are drastically decreased, and businesses are
opening back up. Thank God.
Why, then, is the Federal Government still paying people not to work?
Why, then, are we still considering multitrillion-dollar proposals
when there is billions upon billions of previously appropriated COVID
relief money that hasn't been touched?
Inflation is higher than at any point in over a decade. Americans are
paying more for goods they need to survive. Businesses that are open
and want to expand their workforce can't find the employees willing to
come to work because the government is paying them to stay home.
And amidst all of this, the Biden administration is proposing tax
increases on job creators. It doesn't take an economics Ph.D. to
conclude that raising taxes on job creators amid record levels of
inflation and this underperforming economy will lead to economic
disaster.
Small business owners in this country are trying to rebuild and get
people back to work. Raising taxes on them will only hurt them and the
Americans they want to hire.
The Biden tax-and-spend model is failing our country. We need to get
back to the free-market approach that we had under President Trump:
Slashing regulation, reducing taxes, and increasing economic freedom.
That is the light at the end of the Biden economic crisis tunnel. But
to get there, we need Democrats to stop playing politics with the
future of our country and work with the Republicans.
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from Kansas
(Mr. Estes), a dear friend of mine who represents the Fourth District.
Mr. ESTES. Mr. Speaker, we should be experiencing one of the greatest
economic booms in our history as we emerge from COVID, yet prices are
climbing, consumer sentiment is plunging, and there are more than nine
million open jobs without workers to fill them. That is the most ever.
In my State of Kansas, we have 3.6 jobs available for every job
seeker. Subsidizing people not to work and spending without restraint
is stalling out this recovery and causing inflation.
[[Page H3122]]
In May, core inflation rose at its fastest pace since 1992. That is
because Democrats' untargeted spending has acted like kindling for
inflation. There is too much money chasing too few goods. Recent
surveys show that 70 percent of Americans are concerned that President
Biden's spending plans could lead to inflation. But if you have filled
up your gas tank recently or entered a grocery store, you know that it
is already there.
Instead of working to quickly reopen and prioritize getting America
back to work, upon entering office, President Biden took his eyes off
the ball and squandered the recovery that President Trump had handed to
him. In the first five months of 2021, the current administration has
added 500,000 fewer jobs than the last 5 months of 2020. President
Biden should be concerned about his economic crisis.
Biden's slow-growth agenda calls for $6 trillion in government
spending with $3 trillion in new taxes. That would crush small and
midsized companies, resulting in far fewer jobs down the road.
One of the most antigrowth policies in President Biden's agenda is
his plan to revert America's business tax rate to one of the worst in
the world again at 28 percent, a move that would return us to the old
tax code that incentivized jobs to be shipped overseas.
Biden's budget even acknowledges that a real recovery isn't their
priority. It only forecasts a meager 2 percent GDP growth by 2023, with
it dropping even lower until 2029.
The American people should contrast Biden's tax-and-spend agenda with
what Republicans have done and are fighting to do. In 2017, we put the
American people first by passing a progrowth tax code while removing
massive amounts of government regulation. That created an economic
atmosphere that enabled wages to grow for historically disadvantaged
workers, brought the unemployment rate down to the lowest in 50 years,
and allowed more people to find jobs in America than at any point in
our history. The income gap was even shrinking as lower income wages
were increasing faster.
We need to get back to that. It is not hard to see the impact that
commonsense, progrowth policies can make. Our focus should be on
filling available jobs and rebuilding our economy, not to line the
pockets of progressive special interest groups with millions in Federal
spending, as Biden's agenda would do. It is hard to ignore that, across
the country today, the six States with the lowest unemployment rates
all have Republican leadership.
Mr. Speaker, President Biden and Speaker Pelosi need to prioritize
economic recovery, not unrestrained government spending.
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, I think Congressman Estes touches on a
great point. Under Republican leadership, under the last
administration, business applications were at record levels. The TCJA
encouraged business creation, as the amount of business applications
reached its highest level ever, of over 880,000.
Now, you contrast that with what is going on in America today. There
are many people who own restaurants in my own district, who are having
to literally pay people $50 just to turn an application in, and then
they never show up for the interview or even for work.
Because of how bleak things are looking, I am very happy to yield to
the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. McClain), the most loved and the
most feared woman in all of Congress.
Mrs. McCLAIN. Mr. Speaker, for more than 40 years, Joe Biden has been
a staunch supporter of the Hyde amendment. So have the American people.
Just this past January, polling found that nearly 6 in 10 Americans
oppose using tax dollars to terminate innocent lives. That number
includes a majority of Independents and nearly one-third of Democrats.
For decades, congressional Democrats joined Republicans in a truly
bipartisan effort to ensure tax dollars of hardworking Americans do not
pay for abortions. Unfortunately, President Biden is trying to shatter
years of congressional bipartisanship with a radical budget that has no
Hyde amendment protections.
The President ran on unity, yet his first budget proposal immediately
divides. This Congress must take back its congressional responsibility
and craft spending bills which protect the lives of the unborn, just as
past Congresses have done since 1976.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committees on Energy
and Commerce, Ways and Means, and the Judiciary be discharged from
further consideration of H.R. 18, and ask for its immediate
consideration in the House.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. As the Chair has previously advised, that
request cannot be entertained absent appropriate clearance.
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has 37 minutes remaining.
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota
(Mr. Stauber).
Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, over the past year, it really has felt like
our small businesses, our middle class, our communities have really
taken one punch after another.
First, we were handed mandatory shutdowns of our restaurants, our
small businesses, and our churches, while Walmart and Lowe's and other
big box retail stores were allowed to remain open. In some places
around the country, we were not even allowed to leave our homes unless
it was for a purpose that the government deemed essential.
Like all Americans, I am extremely excited and pleased to see that
most of the economy in our communities have reopened. But we can't help
but observe that it seems like the reopening is occurring because of
the independence and resilience of the American people, despite the
best efforts by some to keep us shuttered indefinitely.
It is baffling that during this time when our neighbors have the
opportunity to finally get back to work, Democrats are pushing policies
to hurt them.
Oh, you are trying to find employees for your diner so you can
reopen?
Well, they are paying those employees more to sit at home.
You have a corner store in central South Dakota?
Sorry, but President Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline and
instantly caused your customers to lose their jobs.
You want to go back to work, but have two children at home?
Well, unbelievably, the Biden education plan included zero
requirement that your son's or daughter's school reopens.
You were excited for your hotel to be busy this spring?
Well, the CDC was still advising Americans not to travel, even if
they were vaccinated.
Your bait shop along the Canadian border has been struggling since
the border closure?
Too bad President Biden and Justin Trudeau decided that couldn't be
solved at the G7 last week.
You need gas to get to work, to get to your job site?
Well, it costs you $50 more this year than it did last year.
Mr. Speaker, this is a staggering laundry list of policies that
individually would be an enormous impediment to our success, but
together it is a brick wall. Without urgent changes to these antijobs,
anti-small business policies, our communities will continue to struggle
to reopen completely, and more families will feel the negative impacts
of the Biden-Pelosi economy.
As a small business owner myself, I know what these men and women are
going through. I know that they were the ones who built their business,
not the government. And despite opposing efforts, they won't let the
government take it away from them either.
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, I believe we are created to work, and I
believe we are created to work hard, and the right to work and the
determination to build with one's hands is as foundational to the
American ethos as it can be.
We were not set in this universal orchard to stand still as trees.
There is no substitute under the heavens for productive labor. It has
been said that a firm work ethic is the process by which dreams become
realities. It is the process by which idle visions become dynamic
achievements.
This administration seeks, though, to strip employment from the men
and
[[Page H3123]]
women of America, to replace work with welfare and service with
subservience. I reject that notion.
Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter),
my dear friend.
{time} 1730
Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the most important issue facing
our country today: the reopening of the U.S. economy.
For 16 long months, the U.S. economy has been held hostage by
government, both elected and unelected. What started as a 15-day
shutdown to allow hospitals to brace for the coming wave of COVID cases
has ballooned into over a year of shifting goalposts, evolving science,
and political power grabs.
Since the pandemic began, over 200,000 small businesses, which the
President once claimed were the backbone of the U.S. economy, have been
shuttered for good. This has left their owners jobless and futures
uncertain.
Those whose businesses did survive the long lockdowns still face
harsh restrictions. For too long and in too many cases, we have seen
restrictions on controlling how many customers they can serve, how
their employees can conduct business, and, by default, how much revenue
they can bring in.
Worse, the reopening of our economy has been prolonged even further
by the misguided attempts from the political left to provide relief.
The example I hear the most from constituents and businesses back in
George's First Congressional District is the increased unemployment
benefits. Under these expanded benefits, many Americans have been able
to receive more money not working than they did actually working. This
is a poor incentive to get people back into jobs, especially as our
economy continues to see record-high job openings.
Businesses coming out of their long hibernation will continue to
struggle to find employees as long as this benefit is in place.
There are not enough taxpayer dollars in the world to give these
businesses the relief they need, but we can remove the Federal
Government as an obstacle to returning to normalcy.
We need policies that incentivize Americans to find jobs and allow
businesses to stand on their own. Ultimately, we need to put an end to
all COVID business restrictions nationwide.
It is hard to say what the long-term impact of prolonged shutdowns
will be, but it does not take a Harvard economist to know that losing
200,000 jobs in small businesses alone does not spell good fortune.
The sooner we get Americans back to work and our economy back to full
capacity, the sooner we can return to normal or, at the very least,
stop the damage from continuing.
To borrow a quote from President Trump, we built the greatest economy
in the world, and we will do it a second time.
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, when we started looking at the American
Families Plan, we realized the tax hikes it would increase would raise
capital gains and dividends tax from 20 to 39.6 percent, almost two
times the normal price. It would impose capital gains taxes at death,
which creates a second death tax, although I can't believe that we
would ever need to tax anyone more than we do now. It would expand the
3.8 percent Obamacare surtax to hit even more small businesses' income
than it already does.
Lastly, it would increase the IRS' auditing power, including
monitoring bank accounts, because the very first thing that we need to
reopen our economy at a better pace is to give more power to three-
letter agencies.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good), my
good friend.
Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, as a Nation founded on a history
of rugged individualism, the American people are resilient and self-
reliant. They will flourish and prosper absent the intrusion and heavy-
handed weight of the government.
Apart from national defense, safety, and security, the less our
government does, the better, especially here at the Federal level.
In fact, our country would be far better off if we had just paid this
President and his administration to stay home, and they did nothing
over these past 5\1/2\ months. It is sadly true that the less this
government does to us while pretending to do things for us, the better
off we will all be.
Incredibly, this administration's disastrous economic policies have
produced fewer jobs in their first 5 months of the year than the Trump
administration produced in the last 5 months of 2020 when the
government restrictions and lockdowns in the name of the China virus
were far more widely and strenuously enforced.
Unfortunately, at present time, we have employers, businesses, and
job creators literally competing with their own government for
employees because of the enhanced $300 a week Federal unemployment
benefit.
Every business owner that I talk with in my district tells me that
this is a major, ongoing problem. Every business has up signs saying:
``Help Wanted,'' ``Employees Needed.''
We even have this problem in my home district in the city of
Charlottesville, in Albemarle County, with the Postal Service. They
can't get people to come to work for the starting wage of $18 an hour
for a mail carrier because they are getting paid $17 an hour to stay
home and not work.
However, the tone-deaf, economically illiterate Democrats, especially
those I serve with on the Education and Labor Committee, they tell
businesses they simply need to raise their wages so far above what the
Federal Government is paying folks not to work--again, $17 an hour in
my home State of Virginia--that folks will finally refuse the free
income not to work and return for a higher paycheck--this as businesses
are struggling to recover from the government shutting them down for a
year, again, in the name of the China virus.
We need to fully reopen our economy, end all restrictions, open our
schools so parents can go back to work, and stop sending confusing and
harmful messages, like requiring masks on public transportation.
In this very House, it was only a couple of weeks ago that we were
pretending that even in a Special Order, speaking to an empty Chamber
with no one near you--within how many feet?--you needed to wear a mask
to keep us safe because we wanted to appear to the American people back
home that we were doing something, the theater of wearing masks just a
few weeks ago.
That is continuing now on public transportation. What kind of a myth
and harmful message does that send to folks?
We need to stop paying folks not to work, reopen our economy, and
turn the American people loose.
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado
(Mr. Buck).
Mr. BUCK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I
thank the gentleman for his leadership on this important issue. I think
it is something that America needs to talk about, and I am glad we are
talking about it on the floor of the people's House.
During the COVID shutdowns, more than 600,000 businesses shut their
doors. This is 200,000 more businesses than typically close in a year
due to natural market influences.
Unsurprisingly, many of these most severe lockdowns across the
country were implemented by liberal Governors who caved to
fearmongering and hostility to former President Trump.
To be clear, I recognize the dangers posed by this virus. However,
reactionary and overreaching shutdowns significantly worsened the
impacts of COVID on our Nation.
One of the most glaring examples of these negative impacts has been
on our children who missed a year or more of in-person education
because their schools were closed.
The resilience and creativity of many teachers to adjust to these
tragic circumstances are admirable. However, the reality is that these
closures resulted in deteriorating mental health among students and
less effective educational environments for children across America.
Importantly, these shutdowns disproportionately affected children
with disabilities, minority students, and students facing economic
hardships.
America is beyond ready to reopen. Today, more than half of Americans
have been vaccinated, and broad mask
[[Page H3124]]
mandates are clearly no longer necessary for most communities. The
science overwhelmingly demands that the restrictions continuing to
burden our communities be lifted, and efforts by liberal politicians to
extend these mandates only serve to reveal their ideological
motivations.
I urge our national, State, and local officials to follow the
science, unshackle our economy from these burdensome and unnecessary
restrictions, and reopen our country.
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, when we start thinking about what is going
on here in our country with unemployment, in the week ending May 1,
2021, about 16 million people collected unemployment. Now, that is a
staggering statistic when you realize that over 6.6 million of those
people would not have been eligible to receive unemployment benefits in
a traditional environment. But because of the trumped-up and boosted-up
unemployment benefits the Federal Government is sending out, we are
basically incentivizing people by giving them $34,000 a year to not go
to work, thus creating more and more inflation. There is no production
so, therefore, there are too many dollars chasing too few goods.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Moore).
Mr. MOORE of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding. I certainly appreciate his leadership on this and giving us
an opportunity to speak about small business issues in our country.
Mr. Speaker, as restrictive government mandates on Americans have
relaxed, our economy has begun recovering from the worst of the
pandemic. Many businesses have reopened their doors, and there are now
millions of new returning jobs and available jobs across the Nation.
Unfortunately, I hear from businesses large and small across my
district that Big Government is getting in the way of the return of our
booming prepandemic economy.
It is a bizarre paradox, but under the Biden administration, we are
simultaneously facing an intense labor shortage and widespread
unemployment at the same time, when our economy should be thriving back
to prepandemic levels. Sadly, this is a common story in every corner of
our country.
It is clear that the primary driver of this problem is federally
subsidized unemployment benefits. In many regions, particularly in
rural areas, would-be job seekers make more staying at home than
reporting to work.
Recently, I was speaking to a friend of mine, and he called an
unemployed driver that he was going to hire. The unemployed driver's
response was this: I am going ride this mule until it drops.
Basically, what he was saying was: I am going to take this free money
until it goes away.
Many small businesses are facing that very same issue. Some
businesses have even offered cash bonuses to interviewees, but small
businesses cannot afford this.
There are plenty of examples back home in my district. For example,
in Houston County, there are 124 unemployment claims and over 2,000 job
openings as we speak. In Coffee County, there are 57 unemployment
claims and 570 job openings, with many more coming. In Dale County,
there are 47 unemployment claims yet 350 job postings.
It is very simple. Small business cannot compete with government
handouts. I am glad that many red States, including my great State of
Alabama, have ended all federally funded pandemic unemployment
benefits. I hope our numbers will improve as a result.
Removing these payments that were meant to be short-term is necessary
to advance our economic recovery. But this is a real problem that
betrays the Biden administration and congressional Democrats'
fundamental misunderstanding of what powers an economy.
Mr. Speaker, the best welfare program in the world is a job, not
government. I know that many of my Democratic colleagues agree with me.
Let's get Americans back to work by empowering workers and removing
incentives to stay home. Only then can we truly reopen this economy.
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, I am disheartened to know that with this
Federal unemployment stimulus that we are sending out around the
country, although it might solve some short-term financial woes, it is
creating a spiritual poverty in the hearts of men and women across this
country that I believe cannot be described.
When you start to think about how devastating it would be to one's
morale and one's own honor and one's own self-esteem to think that you
don't actually create anything, you don't actually build anything, you
are not truly benefiting society, it makes me shudder to think about
how I would feel about that.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Mann).
Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for hosting this Special
Order.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce you to the newest resident of
western and central Kansas. She greets every store's patrons at the
business front door and every farmer at the farm gate. She is in the
newspaper, on the radio, and all over social media. She goes by Help
Wanted, and you have probably met her, too, as she has made herself
quite popular under President Biden's policies.
It has been more than a year since the pandemic shut down the
country. America is finally getting back to normal. Businesses across
the country are ready to reopen and welcome back customers.
Unfortunately, President Biden's bonus, the monthly unemployment checks
being distributed on top of the already existing unemployment checks,
is paying a premium for potential workers to remain at home rather than
finding work.
The data doesn't lie. There are nearly 8 million job openings in
America right now, a new record. Businesses in the Big First of
Kansas--agriculture, hospitality, food service, manufacturing,
construction, and healthcare--cannot find workers, leading to reduced
hours or closures to accommodate the staffing shortages.
{time} 1745
Help is wanted at the North Central Kansas Hospital, short 50
employees and regularly turning away patients as the hospital is unable
to properly staff and serve them.
Help is wanted in McDonald's in that same north central Kansas town,
closing early each night.
Christina, the owner of hair salons in Garden City, Hays, and Dodge
City, Kansas, wants help as she temporarily shuts down one location,
only opens another for a few days a week, and shortens hours at all
three.
Help is wanted at the ethanol by-products plants in south central
Kansas, unable to find workers even after offering a salary of a
$35,000 plus health and retirement benefits.
And PureField Ingredients, a food ingredient manufacturer in Russell,
Kansas, wants help as they are staffed at only 30 percent of their
normal levels.
Mr. Speaker, hear me say this: If you can get to work, you should. Do
it for our local businesses and our State's economy. Do it for your
family. Most of all, do it for yourself.
I recently joined fellow Kansas Republicans in urging the Kansas
governor to opt out of the enhanced unemployment benefits.
Additionally, I cosponsored the Help Wanted Act, which addresses the
severe labor shortages caused by the Federal unemployment policy and
the Get Americans Back to Work Act, which would shorten the extension
of the pandemic unemployment checks.
It is time to take off the masks, get our kids back to school, get
our businesses open, get people back to work, and get the country back
on track.
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have
remaining?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has 17 minutes remaining.
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Colorado
(Mrs. Boebert).
Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, I am so excited for Congressman Cawthorn's
leadership on this issue tonight. I thank him for making time to
address the American people.
Mr. Speaker, there are three people who come to mind when I think of
people who cannot even give their money away:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, do you remember when her donations were
returned to her by Members of Congress
[[Page H3125]]
because they didn't want to be associated with her?
Harvey Weinstein. And Joe Biden.
Those three cannot even give money away. In fact, by July 3, 25
States across America will have rejected President Biden's Federal
unemployment benefit bonuses.
I meet with organizations every day that request funds for worthwhile
endeavors. Sadly, America is $28 trillion in debt and can't afford to
spend the money on many of these worthy causes. But leave it to Joe
Biden to try to spend money in a way that actually hurts our economy
and is rejected by Republican and Democrat governors across our entire
country. That is a special level of basement incompetency.
We have got 9.3 million unfilled jobs. And I hear it back home,
businesses can't get people back to work because they are making more
to sit at home on the couch. They would rather watch Dave Portnoy eat a
slice of pizza. But then, again, maybe that is not his viewers. Maybe
it is more of the folks sitting back, watching Joy Behar and ``The
View'' cackle and demonize our country and all of our worthwhile
efforts to restore dignity in this Nation.
The Biden regime is literally incentivizing laziness. But then again,
they set that example on a regular basis, calling it quits in the
middle of the day. When is the last time the President hasn't called a
``lid'' before his afternoon snack?
In my home State of Colorado, many corporations are offering bonuses
that small businesses can't afford. We are seeing massive signing
bonuses, from $10,000 to $30,000 for utility and HVAC workers, and that
is simply unsustainable.
According to the Colorado Restaurant Association, more than 90
percent of restaurants are having issues finding workers. I am one of
them. I have had employees say, ``I cannot work more than 2 days a
week. I cannot exceed 12 hours of work because it will cut into my
benefits.'' That is un-American.
Joe Biden is quickly becoming the greatest threat to small businesses
since Fauci's fraud. While small businesses across my district and
across America are struggling to find workers, struggling to stay open,
Joe Biden is struggling to stay awake.
I am calling on this administration to end these excessive Federal
COVID payouts and stop disincentivizing work.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Madison Cawthorn for his leadership
on this issue.
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her always
incredibly accurate and fierce comments.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert),
another similarly fierce Congressman.
Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate my friend,
Congressman Cawthorn, holding this because it is important.
You know, to some people, it is just about, ``Well, it is the
economy. It is an inconvenience.'' Well, that is for rich people, like
the billionaires that donated to the current President's campaign. They
sure didn't help the former President.
Well, what are we talking about? We are talking about a President
that is so out of touch. As he has said, ``I keep forgetting I am
President.'' It is very unfortunate.
But if you go back to his days as Vice President, you find what this
President, the current President, was doing in the previous
administration, and these policies are now coming back.
It ran up the price of oil and gas--natural gas, propane. It ran up
the price of gasoline. And unfortunately, for the working people in
America, for those that haven't been in Washington for 50 years or so--
like the current President--they are getting strangled with debt. They
are getting strangled with increasing prices because it just so
happens, we don't have a lot of electric 18-wheelers. We don't have a
lot of massive electric engines that are pulling countless numbers of
cars down the train tracks.
That means every time this President takes another step to raise the
price of oil--which raises the price of gasoline--he is economically
crippling people that are working, people that are on Social Security,
people that have fixed incomes. They are getting hammered. Yeah, it is
an inconvenience to the mega wealthy that donated to the President, or
people like here in Congress that are millionaires, but it is
devastating.
And I go back to when President Biden was Vice President, and a lady
from Panola County told me, she said, ``I am 80 years old, and my gas
is getting so expensive, I am afraid I am going to end up in a home
like I was born in, where the only energy we had was a wood-burning
stove.''
And I said, Oh, ma'am, I am so sorry to be the bearer of bad news,
but if Biden and Obama have their way, you are not going to be able to
even have that wood-burning stove you had when you were born. You are
going to be at home without any kind of energy. And that is where this
President is now wanting to go back to.
We enjoyed the days of cheaper gasoline, cheaper energy. America was
vibrant; and people spent and they went out to eat and they bought
clothes, and it generated jobs. And this President is killing those.
And he is devastating the people on fixed incomes. The people that are
working and poor, he is devastating them--the people that he is
supposed to care about.
Well, it is time for this administration to think about somebody
besides themselves and their mega-billionaire donors. It is time to
think about the American people and the damage that this administration
is doing to them.
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congressman for his remarks.
Mr. Speaker, as I continue to consider that the Democrats' plan must
be to destroy our economy by incentivizing laziness, by incentivizing
people not going to work, I shake my head and say, No, that can't be
true. That is just one mistake that they made.
But then when I start to look through all the points that I have
outlined--of the ridiculous tax increases on dividends, the tax
increases on capital gains, the tax increases on small businesses, the
tax increases which will increase the cost of living for the middle
class, I am sure that they are trying to destroy our economy.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady), the
most powerful and the most humble man in Congress.
Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Cawthorn for his
leadership on behalf of working families, small business--of which he
is one--for getting this economy going again. I thank him for allowing
me to be part of this Special Order.
Mr. Speaker, when President Biden promised to focus on climate
change, I didn't realize he meant changing the climate of the U.S.
economy by cooling off the jobs recovery. The President inherited a
strong recovery, life-saving vaccines, a reopening economy, and
trillions of dollars in COVID stimulus.
Yet, in his first 5 months of this year, America is nearly 550,000
fewer jobs than in the last 5 months of 2020 under President Trump--
550,000 fewer jobs. Inflation is running twice as high as wage growth.
In fact, for Americans, their pocketbook, their paycheck has actually
declined in buying power since President Biden took office.
America's jobs recovery ought to be surging, but instead, April/May
reports were just disastrous. Main Street businesses, Congressman
Cawthorn, as you said, they are struggling to find workers.
Labor force participation is back in the 1970s. Inflation has hit a
13-year high, and a lot of Americans are fearful about the impact of
rising prices and slow growth economy when the sugar high from all this
COVID stimulus goes away, which is exactly what President Biden's
budget admits will do.
This President is sabotaging America's jobs recovery, with crippling
tax increases and antibusiness policies that hurt working families and
Main Street businesses and drive U.S. jobs overseas.
Treasury Secretary Yellen, the other day, conceded that just as you
heard tonight, these lavish Federal employment bonuses really are
hurting Main Street and hurting hiring. Thankfully, half of American
States, including one blue State, have opted out of these benefits to
help reconnect workers and help our economy survive.
A recent analysis of the Ways and Means' staff shows that Congress
has
[[Page H3126]]
already approved, for an average family of four, where both parents are
out of work, we have already approved over $109,000 in stimulus checks,
unemployment checks, and child checks.
We were incredibly generous during COVID to help people get back on
their feet, defeat this virus, and move back. But the time for
emergency spending is over; the time for endless government checks is
over. We cannot become the Olive Garden of never-ending government
checks. It won't help people rebuild their lives. It won't help us
rebuild the economy.
Unfortunately, because of these Federal bonuses on unemployment, we
are seeing a record 9.3 million unfilled jobs. It is hurting Main
Street businesses; they are struggling. And frankly, it will hurt
families who are not going to be able to reconnect again when all these
checks run out. And our job creators shouldn't have to compete with the
Federal Government.
Instead of helping America get back to work, the Biden administration
is pushing crippling tax hikes that will cost us millions of new jobs.
I am proud to have led, on behalf of President Trump in a Republican
Congress, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that reduced tax cuts across the
board, or reduced taxes across the board, redesigned our Tax Code so
American businesses could compete and win anywhere in the world.
It made America the most competitive economy on the planet, lifted
millions of Americans out of poverty, and stopped U.S. businesses from
moving overseas. But now, we face a big risk. President Biden's
insistence on repealing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will cost 6 million
U.S. jobs. For that family of four, middle class, making maybe $73,000
a year, it will rob their family budget of over $20,000 over time.
The attack on American energy will cut jobs by 1.5 million U.S. jobs
and repealing stepped-up basis on family farms will cost us another 1
million jobs over 12 years.
Congressman Cawthorn's efforts to lead commonsense proposals, stop
these crippling tax increases, and get the economy back on task is
exactly what our country needs today.
Mr. Speaker, I thank him for letting me join him.
{time} 1800
Mr. CAWTHORN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Brady for his
leadership on the Ways and Means Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I think with everything that has been said from all of
these Representatives from all over the country, each of them
representing nearly 730,000 people, I believe it is overly and
abundantly clear that it is time to end the emergency spending. It is
time to end the trumped-up unemployment checks, which are incentivizing
laziness. It is time to end government-mandated joblessness in America.
There is a labor shortage in this country, and if we don't end it, we
will see inflation, the likes of which our country has never seen
before, and I don't know if we will be able to recover from that.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from
engaging in personalities toward the President.
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