[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 129 (Tuesday, August 2, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3837-S3838]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Inflation Reduction Act

  Mr. President, on a different subject, the Democrats have had a tough 
few

[[Page S3838]]

days rolling out their latest reckless taxing-and-spending spree. It 
turns out that proposing huge, job-killing tax hikes and more runaway 
spending during inflation and a recession doesn't go over very well. 
Here are a few of the things nonpartisan--nonpartisan--experts have 
already proven about the Democrats' proposal.
  No. 1, the so-called Inflation Reduction Act would actually increase 
inflation in the short term and do nothing to tackle the problem in the 
long term. That is from the University of Pennsylvania.
  No. 2, their tax hikes would shatter President Biden's promise not to 
impact households earning below $400,000. Many billions of dollars of 
the new tax hikes would fall--listen to this--directly on the working 
class and the middle class. That, of course, is not from Republicans 
but from the Joint Committee on Taxation.
  No. 3, also from the Joint Committee on Taxation, fully half of the 
Democrats' $300-plus billion--billion--new tax on American jobs would 
come crashing down on American manufacturers in particular--
manufacturers in particular.
  Now, those groups that I cited are neutral and nonpartisan. But, just 
for fun, let's take a look at the most favorable numbers--most 
favorable numbers--for Democrats. Let's look at their own spin.
  One of the Biden administration's favorite outside economists, 
somebody who has consistently been overoptimistic about inflation and 
Democrats' policies, claims their bill will reduce the Consumer Price 
Index by a grand total--listen to this--of one-third of 1 percent--one-
third of 1 percent--between now and the end of the year 2031--wow--0.33 
percent over 9 years. That is one twenty-eighth of the inflation 
Democrats have caused in just the last 12 months. For goodness' sake, 
Democrats added four times that much inflation just in the month of 
June alone.
  So, listen, the friendliest estimate for Democrats says their taxing-
and-spending spree would take 9 years--9 years--to unwind literally 1 
week's worth of recent inflation. Hundreds of billions of dollars in 
tax hikes, hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending, and it 
would take 9 years to remove 1 week's worth of Democrats' inflation--
goodness.
  So let me repeat it one more time. This is the most generous estimate 
for Democrats. Neutral experts like the University of Pennsylvania say 
even this is too optimistic, and their bill would actually make 
inflation even worse in the coming months.
  So, look, this isn't an Inflation Reduction Act--not even close. It 
is just a catalog of tax hikes and green boondoggles that Democrats 
have wanted, literally, for years with a false new label slapped on the 
front. The Inflation Reduction Act won't reduce inflation any more than 
the American Rescue Plan actually rescued America.
  The Inflation Reduction Act won't reduce inflation any more than the 
American Rescue Plan actually rescued America. The only thing the so-
called rescue plan rescued the country from was stable prices and a 
functioning economy. And the only thing their inflation reduction plan 
will reduce is American jobs, wages, after-tax incomes, energy 
affordability, and new lifesaving medicines. Wow. What an 
accomplishment.
  So the Democrats say they need to pass another massive economic 
failure because their first huge economic failure has made it 
necessary. Well, the American people see things quite differently.