[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 26, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H7156-H7157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE IMPACT OF INFLATION
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 4, 2021, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill) is recognized
until 10 p.m. as the designee of the minority leader.
General Leave
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous materials.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arkansas?
There was no objection.
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I appreciate my 5 minutes for 1 hour under
the House rules, which I don't believe is very helpful to my
colleagues.
So let me begin that we are here to talk about inflation and the
impact of inflation on our constituents.
I will start out briefly and talk about Melissa from Adona, Arkansas.
She says: It is severely impacting us, with gas and grocery prices so
high that we couldn't make our $300 car payment last month because my
husband had four doctor visits to make. We have to do without air
conditioning unless it gets above 97 degrees. Our grandkids come over
and say: We thought y'all bought groceries. And we tell them we did,
but that is all we could get. My husband is a disabled veteran, and we
could barely make it before. With the rise in prices, we just have
faith in the Lord that we can meet our needs.
Madam Speaker, that is Melissa from Adona, Arkansas.
All of our constituents are suffering.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr) to
talk about the impact of inflation in his district.
Mr. BARR. Madam Speaker, whether it is Putin's price hike, corporate
greed, transitory--depending on the day, Madam Speaker, these are just
some of the false narratives in the laundry list of excuses President
Biden and Democrats have used to try to explain away the impact of
their disastrous economic policies.
The truth is, Madam Speaker, that this historic inflation crisis, the
fastest rate of inflation in 40 years, is the direct result of policy
errors.
The latest excuse from the President comes in this tweet from
yesterday: Can you believe it? At current prices, the average driver
will spend less than they would if prices had stayed at their peak.
The problem is, Madam Speaker, the peak was under his policies.
Here is the real--here's the real tweet: At current prices, Americans
will spend $1,200 more per person for gas and a whole lot more than
they would have if Joe Biden had not been President of the United
States.
The reality is, our country went from energy dominant to energy
desperate, and gas prices have almost doubled in less than 2 years from
$2.36 per gallon to $4.32 today.
Not only did that peak occur under President Biden's policy, but I
think I
[[Page H7157]]
speak for all Americans when I say I never thought I would see the day
when an American President would celebrate gas prices north of $4
nationwide.
My story is Charlie from Fleming County, Kentucky. He is a farmer,
and he cannot afford these diesel prices. He told me: I don't know,
Congressman, where you come up with these numbers in Washington, D.C.,
9.1 percent inflation. To us in America, it feels two or three times
that much.
This inflation is hurting Americans. Time to reverse course and end
these disastrous policies of war against American energy.
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Kentucky for his
strong words.
While Mr. Donalds is coming forward, I got a note from Ron in Little
Rock. He is a 100 percent disabled veteran. He is not eating well. He
is not able to go places because of the cost of gas in this country. He
has to conserve his gas money in order to go to the VA for his primary
care.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Donalds),
my friend from Florida's 19th Congressional District.
Mr. DONALDS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr.
Hill) for yielding.
Energy prices are up over 35 percent. Groceries have surged more than
11.9 percent. The consumer price index is up 9.1 percent. The producer
price index is up close to 12 percent.
None of this was happening before the American Rescue Plan was passed
by Congressional Democrats and signed into law by Joe Biden. Before
that time period, our inflation rate was holding steady between 2 and 3
percent.
What happened? What happened was the Congressional Democrats and the
President of the United States, Joe Biden, unleashed a labor shortage
on the United States. People did not have to go to work in order to
continue to buy goods. So what happens when you take people out of the
workforce is that they have money to spend, but there is not enough
supply in the economy because enough people are not working to provide
the products for enough goods. So if there are not enough goods, but
everybody has money, prices go up. It happens every single time.
This is very simple. Even Lawrence Summers, who was an economic
adviser to Bill Clinton, said that the American Rescue Plan was going
to unleash a massive inflation in the United States. House Republicans
said if you pass that bill, it is going to unleash a massive inflation
the United States.
So the American people need to know and understand that it is the
policies of Congressional Democrats and Joe Biden that have unleashed
the worst inflation most Americans have ever seen in their lives.
Mr. HILL. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California
(Mrs. Kim), who will tell us how inflation is impacting her
constituents.
{time} 2200
Mrs. KIM of California. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend, French
Hill, for yielding.
Families, workers, and small businesses are hurting from the highest
inflation in over 40 years, and in Southern California where I am from,
everything is more expensive.
Inflation doesn't discriminate. It impacts every American and hurts
small businesses and workers with less income the most.
For example, Raul and Rosalina Davis, owners of Tlaquepaque
Restaurant in Placentia, in my district, told my office: ``Higher gas
prices and issues with our supply chain are leading to increasing costs
from everything from beverages to meat for ingredients, to workforce
shortages. As a restaurant, we run our small business with very tight
revenue margins, and a small change in prices can really hurt our
bottom line. If we have to pass on higher costs to our customers, it
puts us in a tough place when we are competing against bigger
restaurants that can absorb higher costs.''
While the Biden administration calls inflation temporary and seeks to
redefine the long-established meaning of a recession, I have introduced
bills to combat inflationary spending, lower taxes on Californians, and
support job creators.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mrs. KIM of California. Policies from Congress should make life more
affordable, not less.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman is no longer recognized.
Mr. GIMENEZ. Madam Speaker, Thank you, Congressman Hill for taking
the time to put together this special order.
From Arkansas to South Florida, every hardworking American is facing
the same dilemma under Biden's presidency.
Look, we all know the facts. Record high inflation, 9.1 percent, a
shrinking economy.
But what we often overlook is just how devasting this Biden's
inflation is on everyday people and the real-life, practical impact it
has on hardworking families. Inflation is the worst tax on American
workers.
Over the last week, my office has been hearing a lot about Biden's
inflation. Many families desperate to make ends meet, having to choose
between feeding their families and putting gas in their car.
Genevieve from Cutler Bay reached out to my office saying quote: ``we
were already living paycheck to paycheck with very little savings. Now
we are dipping in our savings just to make ends meet. I am worried that
I will not be able to pay for after school services for my children
when the school year starts.''
Marianela from Miami shared similar concerns, saying quote: ``I have
less money to save or spend. My groceries are to a minimum. Costs of
gas are a consequence of Mr. Biden's executive orders which have a
domino effect on everything we have to buy.''
Maria from Key West also reached out to us saying quote: ``Constantly
negative in the bank because bills have doubled in price, had to use
credit cards after being debt free because of how expensive everything
is. I was a stay at home mom and will have to return to work sooner
than planned.''
When you go out and talk to people at the grocery store, at the gas
pumps, parents at our schools, they all share the same stories. Biden's
9.1 percent inflation isn't just some fictional economics stat.
It means Americans are 9.1 percent poorer today than they were a year
ago. Hardworking Americans are feeling the heat. It's time President
Biden grow a backbone and do the work needed to increase our domestic
energy, arrest the out-of-control spending, and get our economy working
again for all Americans.
Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Madam Speaker, Six hundred and seventy-seven
dollars.
That's how much more--per month--Georgians are spending on everyday
goods due to Biden's inflation crisis.
That's gas. Groceries. Retirement. That's money people need to live
their lives.
Instead, they're using it to subsidize Biden's far-left agenda.
And unlike the President, the American people can't just change the
definition of a word and watch their problems go away.
Regardless of what the White House's latest blog says, we are headed
towards a recession. In fact, we may already be in one.
The single mom trying to feed her family and the trucker paying more
for diesel are feeling the sting of this Administration's policies
daily.
Recession isn't just a word to them--it's a lived reality that leads
to lost income, jobs, opportunities, and even hope.
Where the White House sees the so-called ``strength'' of the economy,
my constituents see weakness.
That weakness is emblematic of a failed President who is willing to
look us in the eye and say that we are not in a recession, that the
$4.30 you're paying for gas is a gift.
He's wrong.
Washington Democrats' one-party rule is robbing Americans blind.
We know how to fix this! Unleash American energy independence, rein
in the runaway spending, and pass a budget, which was supposed to
happen months ago, so that the American people know what their elected
officials value and how their tax dollars are being spent.
It's time to put the American people first.
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