[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 17, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S2526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              THE ECONOMY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, now on another matter, by early 2020, 
before the pandemic, Republican policies had helped create one of the 
best economic moments for working Americans literally in our lifetimes. 
Unemployment was low, inflation was low, and real take-home pay was 
rising steadily. In fact, we had wages rising faster for the bottom 25 
percent of the wage scale than for the top 25 percent.
  The incoming all-Democratic government was handed a reopening economy 
and a million vaccines going into arms per day. The country was packed 
with optimism and primed for a comeback. But through their far-left 
policy choices, Washington Democrats have driven our economy right into 
the ground. Inflation is setting 40-year records in consecutive months; 
gas and diesel prices have set new all-time highs on consecutive days; 
and sticker shock continues to cause headaches for Americans buying 
household essentials.
  One college student in California said that buying groceries has him 
``taking extra loans to pay for my expenses. I'm maxing out my credit 
cards.'' A woman in Virginia reports she has taken to visiting three 
different food stores in one trip to make sure she is getting the best 
prices on everything she needs. A warehouse worker in New Jersey says 
she and her husband are spending more time hunting for coupons.

       It's not a lot, but I'm trying to buy healthy things that 
     also fill us up.

  Overall grocery prices have jumped 10 percent in the past year, just 
one part of why many Americans say the Biden economy is not working for 
them. Fewer than one in four American consumers say the current 
economic conditions are even somewhat good, and fewer than one in five 
say the Biden administration's policies have done anything to help.
  Democrats made runaway reckless spending their new normal here in 
Washington. So historic, painful inflation has become the new normal 
for working families everywhere else.

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