[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 165 (Thursday, September 23, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6654-S6655]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Business Before the Senate

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, this week, we have heard from many of 
my Democratic colleagues about the various ways that Republicans have

[[Page S6655]]

supposedly dragged this country to the brink of collapse. But what they 
have ignored in their manufactured hysteria and disgust in some part is 
the fact that it is, indeed, Democrats who have control of the entire 
U.S. Government at this point. It was the Democrats who chose to govern 
alone starting on day one of the Biden administration.
  Over the past 8 months, Joe Biden and his Democratic friends have 
indulged their worst instincts and taken unprecedented steps to bring 
every single aspect of American life under the control of the Federal 
Government.
  They are the ones who are now threatening the American people with 
shutdowns and default rather than using the tools at their disposal to 
raise the debt ceiling and fund the government.
  They are the ones who chose to squander the trust of the American 
people on a spending spree that would waste trillions of dollars on 
liberal pet projects and a rapidly expanding welfare state. The 
Democrats have repeatedly claimed that these programs will make us 
happier, healthier, wealthier, freer, but in reality, their agenda has 
done nothing but make things worse.
  Historic spending has given rise to historic inflation that is on 
track to stay with us until the end of Joe Biden's Presidency. In 
Tennessee, it is one of the things that I hear about most. Groceries 
are more expensive than ever. Gas prices are at a 7-year high. Rent has 
skyrocketed, along with natural gas prices, which are set to break a 
decade-old record just in time for colder weather to set in. It is bad 
for hard-working taxpayers. They are tired of it.
  According to the Wall Street Journal, not even a well-earned hourly 
raise will be enough to pull these workers out of the hole. Inflation 
is so bad, it has negated the budget padding these people should be 
enjoying from bigger paychecks. Pay adjusted for inflation actually 
fell. It fell half a percent in August. These aren't luxuries. The 
policies advocated by the Democrats have made life itself too expensive 
to afford. From the second they wake up in the morning to the moment 
their head hits their pillow at night, the American people are bleeding 
cash, paying higher taxes, and some are beginning to lose hope.
  Still, the Democrats insist that if we surrender even more control, 
all will be well. Well, that talking point might work when you are 
talking to the camera, but it is not going to work on the people. It is 
not working on Tennesseans because they understand that ceding control 
means surrendering freedom, and freedom is about all that we have left.
  When I talk to Tennesseans, they are not holding back how they feel 
about this so-called transformative agenda. For them, this isn't just a 
battle of ideas. They are fighting a war against the onslaught of 
radical socialism. They are afraid of Joe Biden's runaway White House 
because they have seen how destructive the administration's unilateral 
decisions can be. They have watched thousands of jobs evaporate and the 
southern border turned into a lawless war zone because the President 
wanted it this way.
  So here is what Tennesseans want to know. If they can't trust the 
Democrats to do the bare minimum, why should they trust that even more 
spending and more centralized control and more big government will work 
out in their favor? They have had 8 months' worth of proof that the 
exact opposite is true.
  This country might be hanging on by a thread. For my part, I will 
listen to my fellow Tennesseans and will play no role in facilitating 
the erosion of freedom and the dignity of American life.
  I implore my colleagues in the majority: Listen to the people. They 
have the right to live their lives on their own terms, not with 
lockdowns and mandates--on their terms. They don't want have to depend 
on a government check to feed themselves or get their children back to 
school.
  There is a reason that our Constitution is one of the enumerated 
Federal powers. It is not the place of Congress or the Executive to 
flip this concept on its head and force the American people to justify 
their right to live free from this destructive cycle of debt and 
dependency. Our rights come from God, and I assure you, no government 
body could ever improve upon them.
  I yield the floor.