[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.