[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 187 (Friday, December 2, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H8728-H8729]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON HARDWORKING AMERICAN TAXPAYERS FACE ECONOMIC 
                                 CRISIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2021, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rutherford) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. RUTHERFORD: Mr. Speaker, this Christmas season, hardworking 
American taxpayers are facing an economic crisis. American families 
have been suffering with record-high inflation for the last 18 months.
  Mr. Speaker, over the last of couple months, I have had an 
opportunity back home in northeast Florida to talk to some of my 
constituents about the impact that these record-high inflation prices 
are having on their lifestyles.
  One of my constituents from St. Augustine shared with me that her 
energy bill has already gone up 40 percent--40 percent. The gas prices 
have limited her ability to see family and friends. In spite of just 
celebrating her 80th birthday--she is 80 years old--she is now having 
to go back to cutting her own grass and to doing her own home repairs 
so that she can stay within her fixed budget.
  Mr. Speaker, we think this inflation is bad for those who are working 
and hardworking taxpayers. It is even worse for those on a fixed 
income. In fact, I had an elderly couple tell us that these high food 
and high fuel costs have actually caused them--they were looking 
forward to their retirement--have driven them to cut back on many 
essentials.
  Mr. Speaker, this is not a small amount of money we are talking about 
in this inflation. We are talking about $700 a month. That is more than 
$8,000 a year out of the pockets not only of hardworking, taxpaying 
Americans, but those elderly on fixed income.
  This is bad news for all of us. Yet just the other day, President 
Biden boasted of ``slowing'' price hikes earlier this week as a sign of 
good news for this holiday season.
  This is his exact quote: ``Inflation at the grocery stores, thank 
God, is beginning to slow. Prices for things like new clothes, 
televisions, and appliances are going down. That's good news for the 
holiday season.''
  Mr. Speaker, last I checked, food is up over 12 percent, energy and 
gas are both up over 17 percent, electricity is up 14 percent, public 
transportation upon which many of our working poor depend is up 28 
percent, flour is up 24 percent, chicken is up 14 percent, and eggs are 
up an incredible 43 percent. Finally, milk is up 14 percent.
  Everything is more expensive under this Biden administration.
  Mr. Speaker, do you know why?
  Because this administration believes we can spend our way out of this 
problem. But that very reckless spending is what got us here in the 
first place. The value of the dollar cannot recover if we just continue 
printing money.
  In the last 2 years, this is what we have seen with one party, one 
rule. I am going to ask people to just reflect back, if you can, to the 
economy that this country was enjoying in 2019, just 2 years before the 
pandemic shut down our economy, before COVID destroyed an economy that 
was the best this country had ever seen.
  The Trump economy was growing. The GDP was growing at over 3, 3\1/2\ 
percent.
  Now what do we face after one party, one rule for 2 years?
  Higher interest rates on our Federal debt that is now at a record 
level--$31 trillion-plus. We passed an American Rescue Plan in which 
the Democrats gave us $1.9 trillion, over $1 trillion in Biden 
executive order spending.
  The Inflation Reduction Act--which is kind of a misnomer, obviously--
spent another $745 billion.
  Then, finally, most recently, another $500 billion for student loan 
cancelation.
  This spending is not sustainable.
  The good news is that the American public chose not to accept this, 
and they put an end to one party, one rule, and come January we will 
put an end to that.

                              {time}  1200

  Hopefully, we can get back to that 2019 economy. In January, when the 
Republicans take back this majority, Mr. Speaker, after we defund the 
87,000 IRS agents, we need to start looking at restoring America's 
energy independence. Right now, today, Americans are gearing up to pay 
more for energy, as they prepare for this holiday season, in an attempt 
to heat their homes.
  This energy crisis does not just impact us at the gas pump. All goods 
cost more because energy is consumed, and more expensive, when it is 
across every level of our supply chain.
  Meanwhile, the President continues to reject commonsense solutions 
that could alleviate this energy crisis that we are facing. It is 
almost unconscionable that he sits on 4,600 drilling permits and will 
not allow them to be released. Instead, he restricts the possibility of 
American energy independence and goes to OPEC, hat in hand, asking for 
their assistance to pump more oil, or he goes to authoritarian 
dictators like Maduro, asking for more Venezuelan oil.
  Then his Inflation Reduction Act, which is anything but, that $745 
billion instead of reducing inflation is really a socialist climate 
deal that caters to very special interest groups. I will give you just 
a couple of examples.
  People who buy electric vehicles get tax credits. They are buying 
$60,000-plus vehicles, and we are asking the hardworking taxpayers to 
help pay for those. Companies that use union labor get billions in 
green giveaways. Tech companies producing semiconductors got a special 
carve-out so that they can take their $24 billion of new taxpayer 
subsidies to the bank. Corporations can purchase new electric vehicles 
and trucks on the taxpayer dime.
  That is what we are doing with their money. Companies that have 
employed bribery, who are breaking the law and have to pay fines and 
penalties, they now get to take that off their book minimum tax. That 
simply overturns the tax code's current prohibition on such benefits. 
Those should never be tax deductions, not when you are paying penalties 
and fines for criminal behavior.
  U.S. energy independence impacts every area of our lives, but the 
President would rather solely blame this

[[Page H8729]]

conflict on Ukraine and not admit that he could have done more to 
bolster our energy independence.
  Instead, he is taking the tack that we are now really at a national 
security level where we are in danger because our Strategic Petroleum 
Reserve is at dangerously low levels. We withdrew our strategic energy 
reserves and then sold that to the Chinese Communist Party. You know, 
Americans all across this Nation are still scratching their heads on 
that one.
  Yet, the President recently spoke of the reduction in fuel costs. 
Gasoline is going down, and he is happy with that. The fact of the 
matter is, the national average for a gallon of gas is $3.52, a dollar 
more than when Biden took office. It was $2.39 in January 2021.
  His energy policy is an America last policy. It continues to 
exacerbate the oil supply and demand crisis right here at home. America 
was strongest when we had energy independence and could rely on our own 
resources.
  Now, I can tell you that for our constituents who are depending on us 
in Congress to do great things for this country come January, we are 
going to have some real difficulties because it is not going to be one 
party, one rule. The Republicans won't have the same benefit of having 
the Senate and the White House that the Democrats have right now, so it 
is going to be tougher. We have to make a commitment to America, and we 
did.
  Mr. Speaker, we are going to do everything we can to make this 
economy stronger and everything we can to make this country safer. A 
country that is more free, and a government that is absolutely more 
accountable, that is our commitment to America.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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