[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 96 (Monday, June 6, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2778-S2779]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Inflation

  Madam President, for about the past year, our current President, 
President Biden, and many of the Democrats in the House and the 
Senate--where the Democrats are in charge of each of those Chambers--
they have spent a great deal of time blaming everyone but themselves 
for the historic levels of inflation that have ruined the economy and 
made the American people very nervous about what two more years of this 
``Build Back Broke'' agenda would mean for them.
  I have said before that Tennesseans feel like they have no idea who 
is in control in this country, over in the White House, or, indeed, if 
anyone over at the White House is in control in this country.
  And if you look at all the various characters featured in Biden's 
inflation blame game, you might be tempted to think that Biden himself 
is wondering the very same thing: Who is in control? Who is calling the 
shots?
  But the truth is that no one in the White House is confused or 
shocked by how bad things have gotten. They know exactly how we got 
here because they did it because every step they took along the way was 
a deliberate attempt to reject common sense and manipulate the people 
into accepting a radical economic agenda.
  Well, in July of last year, President Biden insisted that inflation 
was ``transitory'' and that if we could just bring on a little bit more 
time and a little bit more effort and hang in there a little bit 
longer, you know what, everything was going to be just fine.
  He didn't want the people to panic and start questioning the 
narrative that the White House was pushing forward every single day.
  Surprising no one, that argument didn't fly. The people weren't 
buying it. So in October, suddenly, not only was inflation a problem, 
but, guess what, it was former President Trump's fault. That is right--
not this administration's fault, not the Democrats', not President 
Biden, it was President Trump's fault.
  Well, the American people, they weren't having that either. They 
weren't buying that line, and over the next 5 months, the COVID-19 
pandemic, so-called global challenges, supply chain, and, of course, 
Vladimir Putin, and then Senate Republicans--everybody took a turn in 
the blame game seat for President Biden and the White House. It was 
everybody's fault but theirs.
  Isn't that absolutely amazing? Just amazing. The people in control of 
everything--the House, the Senate, the executive branch, the White 
House, controlling it all--they had nothing to do with this, they want 
you to believe.
  Well, yes, indeed, they had everything to do with it.
  So last month, the Democrats had exhausted this rotation of villains, 
as they like to call it. Well, they panicked and they decided, once 
again, that they had to just go out here and convince the American 
people that, yes, indeed, inflation was transitory. It was going to be 
short-lived. It was only 8\1/2\ percent, they would say--only.
  But go fill up the car. Go to the grocery store. You know they are 
wrong.
  Well, unfortunately for Joe Biden, the American people are much 
smarter and more in tune with day-to-day life than the left has given 
them credit for.

  This administration is now in damage control mode.

[[Page S2779]]

  Last week, Secretary Yellen threw up her hands and admitted that the 
political narrative on inflation that she enabled put us on the road to 
economic collapse.
  On the same day, President Biden published an op-ed in the Wall 
Street Journal, blaming Trump and Putin for his problems before touting 
the same radical policies the American people have already rejected.
  What we are seeing now is more than just the consequences of a failed 
political maneuver. It is the collapse of an economic philosophy the 
Democrats insisted was far superior to anything their political 
opponents would ever come up with.
  And the Democrats' response to this is what, exactly? To say, well, 
they are sorry. Then they just double down. They just keep on going. 
Not exactly a plot twist for this administration. They intend to double 
down on their failed policies.
  At this point in Biden's blame game, Tennesseans are accustomed to 
watching the administration fail, but that doesn't mean that they are 
not paying attention to the details and the steps this administration 
is taking.
  Tennesseans are nervous, stressed out. They feel like everything is 
out of control and nobody in the White House really cares about it.
  As I have been out, about, and around the State, inflation, the price 
at the pump, the price at the grocery store, the cost of fertilizers 
for our farm community, logistics costs, the cost of clothing, the cost 
of shoes and equipment for the kids to go to summer camp, fees at 
summer camp--everything is going up. Everything.
  And who do people blame for this? They blame this administration. 
They know that in June of 2020, a gallon of gas was $2.17. This week in 
Tennessee, that gallon of gas is $4.47. That is far more than 8 percent 
inflation. Coffee is up 143 percent. Ground beef is up, buns are up, 
eggs are up, bread is up. Everybody is complaining about what it costs 
to live every single day.
  The playbook really is pretty simple on this. What this 
administration is doing is just putting it all on our debt line. But 
you know what, the American people know they can't afford this, and 
they know that their children cannot afford this. They know that the 
programs that this administration is pushing--big, expensive programs--
the regulations that they are putting in place--primarily, of the 69 
regulations that President Biden has enacted since he took office--69 
regulations he has done--the majority of those are aimed at the energy 
sector. People know that it is all taxpayer money this administration 
is spending, and the taxpayers cannot afford this out-of-control 
spending spree, and they know that they cannot afford this far-left 
socialistic turn in this administration and in the policies of my 
Democratic colleagues.
  Now, why is this? It is because the Democrats' vision for the future 
isn't compatible with what families want for their future. They look at 
what Joe Biden is offering--more government control, less parental 
control; more government control, hardship on small businesses; more 
government control, less freedom to spend your hard-earned money--and 
they are saying: This is not what we want.
  So I think that when I listen to Tennesseans and when I talk with 
them about their hopes and dreams about what they want to see for the 
future, for their children, they are not in a jovial mood. They are in 
a very serious mood. They are confused that this administration and 
Democrats would go this far left and risk--and risk--good will. And I 
think that the American people have figured out we are completely on 
the wrong track with this administration's policies, and they have 
figured out that these policies are not a path to prosperity. They are 
a path to government control, and I think that many of my Democratic 
colleagues know and realize that. Certainly, Secretary Yellen has let 
us know that she realizes that, and probably the President knows it. 
But instead of saying: Stop--full stop--the Democrats have chosen to 
double down.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MORAN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.