[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 151 (Tuesday, September 20, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S4830]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Inflation

  Mr. President, now on another matter, Washington Democrats' runaway 
inflation has caused a nationwide crisis. It has put working families 
and small businesses in a bind from coast to coast.
  Since President Biden took office, inflation has shot up a staggering 
13.2 percent. For the average American household, this translates to 
hundreds and hundreds of extra dollars every month, working overtime 
just to barely--barely--tread water.
  In my home State of Kentucky, for example, the Democrats' inflation 
has forced proud, hard-working families to ask for help putting food on 
the table; in some cases, for the first time in their lives.
  The director of the Jessamine County Food Pantry in Nicholasville 
says:

       Our numbers here are going up like crazy. . . . We have 
     problems actually getting food now. We're actually not giving 
     away as much as we were just a couple months ago because I 
     can't find it, and I can't afford it sometimes when I can 
     find it.

  And, of course, these challenges aren't limited to the Commonwealth.
  In Clifton, CO, the director of one local food bank reports that she 
had served 1,000 more families in the first half of this year than in 
the first half of last year. Here is her quote:

       They cannot short their rent bill, but they can short their 
     grocery bill. And so they come here so I can fill the gap.

  In coastal Georgia, the director of a network of food banks says 
distribution at her facilities had increased 38 percent from July to 
August. Meeting the increased demand has meant stomaching steep spikes 
in meat and dairy prices.
  In Concord, NH, the director of the Friendly Kitchen says no one is 
ever turned away, but more and more people keep showing up for dinner.

       I'm nervous it's going to get worse. I think it's going to 
     get worse before it gets better.

  Washington Democrats' inflation is absolutely hammering States like 
Colorado, Georgia, and New Hampshire. And Senate Republicans--we tried 
to stop it. We warned against inflation. We tried to block their $2 
trillion inflationary bill. We offered amendments. But all three of 
those States have two Senators who both voted in lockstep on party 
lines to ram through trillions--trillions--of dollars. One hundred 
percent of the U.S. Senators from those States voted to bring this on.
  This is what happens when Washington Democrats put their own 
priorities ahead of our people.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.