[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 27 (Thursday, February 10, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S631-S632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Economy

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, the average American household spent an 
estimated $3,500 more in expenses last year as a result of inflation--
$3,500. Now, that may not sound like much to a wealthy Democrat 
politician, but for most American families, that is a lot of money. For 
a lot of families, $3,500 is the difference between putting something 
in savings or living paycheck to paycheck. An additional $3,500 in 
expenses can mean having to forgo essential home repairs or needed car 
work. It can mean putting off braces for a child or forgoing needed 
medical care.
  Now, the White House Chief of Staff may have the budget to regard 
inflation as a high-class problem, which is how she referred to it, 
described it, but for ordinary Americans, inflation is a very real 
problem--a problem that is eating up their wage increases and lowering 
their standard of living.
  We are in the midst of an inflation crisis, a supply chain crisis, 
and as if those weren't enough, a border crisis. Huge numbers of 
illegal immigrants are pouring across our southern border and have been 
pouring across our southern border for months, creating a security, 
enforcement, and humanitarian nightmare.
  So there is a lot for our country's leadership in Washington to be 
focused on right now. What is the majority party doing about these 
crises? Well, not much. In fact, most of the time, you can be forgiven 
for thinking that neither the President nor Democrat leaders even 
realize there is an inflation crisis or a supply chain crisis or a 
border crisis. The President, for one, seems to be hoping that if he 
ignores these crises for long enough, they will just go away.
  So what are the President and congressional Democrats doing with 
their time if they are not addressing our border crisis or inflation 
crisis? Well, for one thing, they are attempting to double down on the 
strategy that helped get us into this mess in the first place. That is 
right. The inflation crisis Democrats would like to ignore is actually 
something they helped create by flooding the economy with excessive 
government spending in their so-called American Rescue Plan last March.
  For months, they have tried to double down on that bill with another 
massive spending spree that would flood the economy with more 
government money and undoubtedly make the inflation crisis worse.
  The President has attempted to justify this massive spending 
legislation by claiming that it will help inflation. Right. So the 
first massive spending spree helps push us into an inflation crisis, 
but a second massive spending spree will fix it? I am pretty sure that 
the definition of ``insanity'' is doing the same thing over and over 
again and expecting different results.
  But massive inflation concerns haven't stopped Democrats. After all, 
why deal with a boring inflation crisis when you could be thinking up 
new ways to expand the Federal Government and new ways of taxing 
Americans to pay for it? Of course, Democrats' Build Back Better plan 
isn't all tax hikes. Democrats did manage to include a tax break in 
their tax-and-spending proposal--a tax break for blue State 
millionaires. If they succeed in passing it, I am sure wealthy Democrat 
donors will be grateful.
  While an inflation crisis has raged, Democrats have pushed for new 
ways to spend taxpayer dollars and expand the reach of the Federal 
Government into Americans' lives: a huge expansion of government's 
involvement in childcare that would disadvantage the religious 
providers so many Americans choose for their children; a massive 
increase in the size of the IRS; a proposal to allow the IRS to examine 
the details of Americans' banking transactions; energy policies that 
would drive up the cost of electricity and gasoline for American 
families; billions for priorities like tree equity and environmental 
justice programs at well-funded colleges and universities. The list 
goes on.
  But it would be unfair for me to suggest that Democrats have expended 
all their energy on tax-and-spending sprees. The administration has 
also found time to implement provisions of Democrats' original spending 
spree, the American Rescue Plan, including, apparently, until they got 
caught, free government crack pipes and other drug paraphernalia.
  Democrats spent a lot of time pushing election legislation that they 
hope will give them an advantage come November.
  On the COVID front, the administration struggled with testing, but it 
has found time for vaccine and mask mandates, some of which I believe 
have far exceeded the administration's authority. Fortunately, the 
courts have stepped in to check some of the administration's excesses, 
like the administration's attempt to impose a vaccine mandate on large 
private-sector employers or the administration's decision to impose a 
mask mandate for 2-year-olds--yes, for 2-year-olds.
  Your Democratic government at work, ladies and gentlemen.
  In November, the administration issued a mask mandate for Head Start 
programs requiring all children 2 years of age and up to be masked 
inside and outside--out on the playground. Now, is there scientific 
evidence to support this? Not really. The World Health Organization, in 
fact, recommends against masking for children aged 5 and under, but 
that hasn't stopped the administration. Democrats seem determined that 
nothing, including science, will pry their masks from them--or perhaps 
I should say pry our children's masks from them--since Democratic 
politicians have not always demonstrated the consistency of mask-
wearing that they expect from our children.
  Democrats wonder why Republicans think we should be careful how much 
power we give the Federal Government.

[[Page S632]]

If Democrats really wanted to help American families, they would be 
focusing on our inflation and supply chain crises and addressing the 
security nightmare posed by our border crisis. Instead, they are busy 
focusing on ways to secure their hold on power and vastly expand the 
reach of the Federal Government into Americans' lives. I guess we will 
have to see how that strategy works out for them.
  I yield the floor.