[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 75 (Thursday, May 5, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2347-S2348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      National Small Business Week

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, it is National Small Business Week, a week 
that is set aside to honor the contributions that small businesses make 
to this Nation.
  Small businesses are an essential part of our economy. Ninety-nine 
percent--99 percent--of South Dakota's businesses are small businesses, 
and almost 60 percent of South Dakota employees work for small 
businesses.
  Nationally, small businesses make up most of the businesses in this 
country and are responsible for 62 percent of net new job creation.
  And small businesses are not only an essential part of our economy, 
they are also an essential part of our communities--doing everything 
from creating gathering spaces for community members to supporting 
local charities and sponsoring local sports teams.
  During National Small Business Week, I would like to be able to 
report that small businesses around the country are thriving. But the 
truth is, while some are doing well, a lot of small businesses are 
having a difficult time right now, not because of COVID, as Democrats 
might like you to think, but because of inflation. Inflation, which has 
hit American families hard, is also creating major difficulties for 
small businesses.
  Now, when I talk to small business owners in South Dakota, one of the 
first things they tell me is how inflation is affecting their 
businesses.
  In a recent survey from the National Federation of Independent 
Business, 62 percent of small businesses reported that inflation is 
having a substantial impact on their businesses, and 84 percent 
reported that they are experiencing lower business earnings due to 
inflation, and it is no surprise.
  Inflation has driven up the final price of goods and services. It has 
also driven up the cost of raw materials.
  The producer price index, which measures wholesale costs to sellers, 
hit 11.2 percent in March--its highest level ever recorded.
  And small businesses are struggling with high energy costs, which 
affect everything from production to the transportation of finished 
products to the cost of keeping a storefront open.
  Farms and ranches, which make up a substantial part of South Dakota's 
small businesses, are seeing huge price increases in the cost of 
essential inputs, like fertilizer, while the price of diesel, which 
powers farm equipment, reached an all-time high this week.

[[Page S2348]]

  Agriculture is already a challenging industry by its very nature. 
Many farmers and ranchers in South Dakota, for example, are currently 
dealing with a severe drought, and inflation is making things a lot 
worse, especially right now in the midst of planting season.
  We all know how we got here. Democrats came into office last year 
mere weeks after Congress had passed a fifth bipartisan COVID relief 
bill totaling more than $900 billion, and meeting essentially all of 
the current pressing COVID needs.
  It was abundantly clear that we were not in immediate need of 
trillions more in government spending.
  But that didn't matter to Democrats. Now that they were in charge, 
they were eager to take advantage of the COVID crisis to begin 
implementing their Big Government vision.
  And so in the name of ``COVID relief,'' they pushed through a massive 
partisan $1.9 trillion piece of legislation filled with unnecessary 
spending and handouts to Democrat interest groups.
  And the result was entirely predictable.
  The definition of inflation is too many dollars chasing too few goods 
and services, and that was exactly the situation that Democrats helped 
create.
  Democrats flooded the economy with unnecessary government money and 
the economy overheated as a result, and there is no clear end in sight.
  It is small wonder that, after months and months of high inflation 
and anti-growth policies from the Biden administration, our economy 
shrank in the first quarter of this year.
  Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to the inflation crisis 
Democrats helped create.
  One essential thing, of course, is to do no more harm, and that means 
no more excessive government spending and no bloated Build Back Better 
tax-and-spending spree, a spending spree that some Democrats are 
still--still--advocating for.
  Another essential thing is to unleash American energy production, and 
that includes conventional energy production.
  I am a strong supporter of clean energy. I come from a State that, in 
2020, derived 83 percent of its energy generation from renewables.
  But no matter how much Democrats and the President might wish it were 
otherwise, the fact of the matter is that our Nation is nowhere close 
to being able to eliminate our reliance on traditional energy sources. 
Clean energy technology is simply not advanced to the point where we 
can replace all conventional energy production with renewables. And 
cutting off investment in clean, responsible oil and gas production 
will do nothing but drive up energy prices for American families, 
farms, and businesses.
  Unleashing American energy production, on the other hand--including, 
I might add, production of oil and natural gas--could quickly result in 
relief for families and businesses and help ease our inflation crisis.
  Unfortunately, the President has made his hostility to conventional 
energy production very clear. He set the tone on day 1 of his 
administration when he cancelled the Keystone XL Pipeline, an 
environmentally responsible pipeline project that was already underway 
and that was paired with $1.7 billion in private investment in 
renewable energy to fully offset its operating emissions. The Keystone 
Pipeline was set to be what they call ``net zero''--net zero--when it 
comes to emissions.

  The President also immediately froze new oil and gas leases on 
Federal lands. And while his administration is finally conducting sales 
for new onshore oil and gas leases after being ordered to do so by a 
Federal judge, it has reduced the land available for such leases and 
substantially increased the royalty rate, sending a loud and clear 
signal to American energy producers that the administration is 
reluctant to collaborate with them.
  Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed 
requiring publicly-traded companies to comply with costly new climate-
related disclosures that would likely discourage investment in 
conventional energy production.
  In short, the Biden administration is creating a recipe for sustained 
high energy costs and a lot more pain for American businesses and 
families.
  But I and my Republican colleagues will continue to do everything we 
can to unleash conventional energy production here at home and drive 
down energy prices for Americans.
  I am grateful for all that small businesses contribute to our 
economy, and during this National Small Business Week, and every week, 
I will continue to work to mitigate the harm of Democrats' inflation 
crisis and advance policies that make it easier for our small 
businessmen and -women to continue to drive the American economy 
forward.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from Texas.