[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 21, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S3019]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               INFLATION

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, the Senate is back in session, and 
still we have no indication from the White House or my Democratic 
colleagues that they have a plan to lower inflation.
  Tennesseans are frightened. You would be, too, if you consistently 
found more month at the end of your paycheck than paycheck at the end 
of your month. It is getting harder to stretch the pennies and nickels 
and dimes, and talking points aren't going to fix this problem.
  The White House keeps telling people that if they hang on just a 
little bit longer, they are going to be all right, but that is not how 
it works in the real world. In the real world, at a certain point, you 
run out of rope to hang on to.
  People are looking at this transition economy, and they are saying: 
What are we transitioning to? It is not what they want for their 
economic future. It is no longer a matter of just trying to make things 
work; you just can't pay the bills anymore. The gas tank stays empty or 
you go to bed hungry.
  Now, it is clear that Joe Biden and the Democrats know that the 
country has reached a tipping point, but rather than offering hope, 
they have settled into blaming everyone from congressional Republicans 
to foreign dictators for the problem. That is not what the American 
people want to hear. They know who got us in trouble, and they know it 
wasn't Vladimir Putin; it was Joe Biden and the Democrats.
  It is the people--the Democrats who are controlling every branch of 
government in this town. Yes, they have done it, and no amount of 
scapegoating will change the fact that the American people have been 
watching closely over the past year and a half, and they know things 
have gone terribly wrong.
  The Biden administration abandoned our recovery, spent trillions on a 
reckless spending spree, and then panicked when all that spending 
caused record-high inflation. No, it is not temporary. The country 
doesn't need a pep talk; they need Joe Biden and the Democrats to 
reverse course before we fall into a recession, if we haven't done so 
already.
  There are things the administration can do right now that will pull 
us back from the brink.
  It is time to take the taxpayer-funded credit card away. The American 
people can't afford what the Democrats are selling, and they wouldn't 
want it even if they could afford it. They know this is wasteful, out-
of-control, reckless spending.
  Next, the President must stop expanding the size and power of the 
Federal Government. Stop hiring bureaucrats we don't need at salaries 
we can't afford to write regulations that only exist to take more money 
out of people's paychecks.
  Democrats would also be wise to get the regulators we do have out of 
the way--especially when it comes to the energy sector--restart the 
Keystone XL Pipeline, and make America energy independent again. Go 
back to drilling in Alaska, offshore, fracking. Return it all so that 
we once again are energy independent.
  Finally, there is something we can do right here in the Senate that 
would keep future spending and inflation in check. I have introduced 
legislation that would require a supermajority to pass a spending bill 
during times of high inflation. It is good common sense, so we should 
put it up for a vote.
  It is time for each of us to go on the record and let the American 
people know what our priorities are. They are tired of what they are 
seeing coming out of Washington, DC. I am glad they are paying 
attention. I am so pleased that Tennesseans are paying closer attention 
now than ever before.
  I do think that it is appropriate that President Biden, the White 
House, the executive branch, and the Democrats who are in charge of 
Capitol Hill go on the record and decide if they are going to stand 
with that ``Build Back Broke'' agenda, stand with the radical left, or 
are they going to stand for the prosperity and safety of the American 
people? Tennesseans know what the right answer would be.
  Whether I am in church, whether I am out at one of the grandkids' 
sporting event, whether I am at the MoonPie Festival in Bell Buckle, I 
hear it from everyone--this spending is out of control.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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