[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 184 (Wednesday, October 20, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7133-S7134]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, I come to the Senate floor today with a 
warning for Kansans and all Americans that the inflation we are seeing, 
Bidenflation, as I call it, is here to stay so long as those on the 
left continue to jam through reckless tax-and-spend bills.
  Unfortunately, the inflation we are seeing is a double whammy. You 
have less money to spend, and the things you want to buy cost more. It 
is hurting every hard-working American but none more than our seniors 
and young families living paycheck to paycheck. No, President Biden, 
inflation is not a problem of just the high class. Indeed, there is no 
equity in Bidenflation.
  Make no mistake, inflation and all of its lingering effects rest 
squarely on the shoulders of President Biden's failed social policies. 
It is yet another crisis created by this administration.
  Having personally lived through the seventies and eighties, I have 
seen inflation happen firsthand. I have seen it bring so many 
businesses down. And to put it in simpler terms, inflation is a vicious 
cycle, like a dog chasing its own tail and the tail is on fire. And, of 
course, the Biden administration has been throwing gasoline on this 
fire since the moment they took office.
  Today's inflation crisis began with Joe Biden's boondoggle stimulus 
bill and the proceeding labor shortages. For months now, we are seeing 
``Help Wanted'' signs everywhere, from the small mom-and-pop shops on 
Main Street to big hotel chains and fast-food restaurants. Employers 
are struggling to fill the open jobs they have despite raising wages 
and offering return-to-work bonuses.
  This labor shortage is having a rippling effect across our economy, 
from slowing down the supply and logistics chains to putting an unfair 
burden on employees who choose to show up. This ripple has turned into 
a tidal wave of inflation and now a full-blown tsunami.
  But the storm waves don't stop there. The cost of living has 
increased as a result of production delays caused by labor shortages. 
Higher costs at home, such as the cost of gasoline, vehicles, 
groceries, and energy costs caused workers to go on strike asking for 
higher wages just to make ends meet.
  Folks, I have got news for you: Wages never keep up with inflation. 
All this, in turn, drives up the cost of goods and services even more. 
You get the point.

[[Page S7134]]

Inflation is a vicious cycle. This is the dog chasing its own tail.
  But Bidenflation doesn't stop there now. Why? Because President Biden 
is throwing more gasoline on the fire with his unconstitutional vaccine 
mandate. I, too, have seen this firsthand. Just last week, I was in 
Kansas to meet with union members who are facing the difficult choice 
of keeping their jobs or getting the COVID vaccine.
  These folks aren't just mad; they are panicked. And it is literally 
job or jab for them. In fact, the unions I spoke with estimate they 
will lose 30 to 50 percent of their workforce due to Joe Biden's 
vaccine mandate. This will make both our supply chain shortages as well 
as inflation even worse.
  Mr. President, while I support the COVID vaccine and encourage folks 
to talk to their doctor about whether to get it, there is no doubt that 
President Biden's vaccination decree is an all-out assault on our 
private businesses, our civil liberties, and our entire constitutional 
system of limited government.
  And it is a slap in the face to so many people who stood on the 
frontlines of the COVID battle last year and never stopped working: 
nurses, doctors, first responders, and those union workers I met with 
last week. Trust me, I have heard loud and clear these few weeks from 
Kansans about what they want, and it is not an unconstitutional vaccine 
mandate. It is not the socialism that is born out of trillions of 
dollars' worth of spending and taxing that has led to reckless 
inflation, hampered our economy, and killed our jobs.
  The question is, Do Americans want Big Government socialism or do we 
want economic freedom and prosperity? Kansans agree that if you want 
strong roads, bridges, high-speed internet, good schools, and a strong 
military, we need a strong economy. That should be our focus right now, 
not continuing down this administration's socialist economic policies.
  Pre-COVID, we had the greatest economy in my lifetime. That came 
about because we lowered people's taxes; we lowered regulations; and we 
lowered energy prices. We need smart, targeted investments, not radical 
spending that leaves the country at a disadvantage.
  Unfortunately, in the meantime, everyone better buckle up and grab 
your wallets. Bidenflation is here to stay as long as this 
administration continues its reckless taxing, reckless borrowing, and 
reckless spending agenda.

                          ____________________