[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 19 (Monday, January 31, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S397]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Kentucky

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, Senators spent last week in our home 
States. We got to hear firsthand updates about the real issues facing 
real families that we all represent. I was especially glad to return to 
Western Kentucky to keep working on our recovery from the catastrophic 
tornadoes that hammered our State in mid-December.
  Kentuckians are tough. They are resilient. But many are still reeling 
from the impact of these storms. They have lost homes, businesses, even 
loved ones.
  I spent last week meeting with local leaders, small business owners, 
and Kentuckians in the hardest hit areas. We talked about our work here 
in Washington and the help they can expect to receive from us.
  Kentuckians in the affected areas have been grateful for the quick 
and efficient way that FEMA has begun distributing recovery aid. We 
know recovery will be a very long process, but my office and I will be 
standing with our people every step of the way.
  And the entire State is excited to improve our roads, bridges, 
railways, and broadband thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure deal 
that Congress struck last year.
  But like working people across America, Kentuckians also have serious 
concerns about significant headwinds. Kentucky families are feeling the 
pain of the worst inflation in 40 years. Our country has been hammered 
by 7 percent inflation over just the past year. Employers are trying 
hard to keep up.
  Even as they face inflation across all their expenses, businesses 
across our region have significantly upped their spending on wages and 
benefits, and many workers have gotten raises. But, actually, it is 
only on paper because the historic inflation on the Democrats' watch 
has more than canceled the average increase in wages. Inflation is 
turning pay raises into pay cuts. This is just one of the many 
significant problems we confront.