[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 84 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1716]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Issues Facing America

  Mr. McCONNELL. Last week's inflation report reinforced what working 
families across America already know: Washington Democrats' inflation 
is still packing a punch. Prices climbed 4.9 percent from this time 
last year. Just in the last month, they accelerated nearly half a 
percentage point. The Biden administration called the news ``welcome 
breathing room for families.''
  Welcome breathing room for families? According to the latest data, 
families have paid thousands of dollars more just to put food on the 
table on his watch. In Colorado, your average family has paid over 
$2,000 in additional food costs since 2021. In Arizona, those same 
groceries have cost households $1,800; in Montana, over $1,700; in my 
home State of Kentucky, families have paid $1,600 more, on average, 
since President Biden took office. It doesn't sound like breathing room 
to me, especially at a time when workers' wages are failing to keep 
pace with out-of-control prices.
  Meanwhile, confidence with President Biden to do the right thing with 
the economy is at its lowest point since the great recession. That is 
hardly surprising when his top economic advisers refuse to even admit 
there is a problem. The President's latest pick to lead his Council of 
Economic Advisers has repeatedly said this administration didn't miss a 
thing on inflation.
  So, while the Biden administration pats itself on the back for a job 
well done, let's remember where we were just 2 years ago. Since the 
President took office, prices have climbed a staggering--listen to 
this--16 percent--16 percent since the President took office. Gasoline 
is up 54 percent, electricity is up 22 percent, groceries are up 20 
percent, and higher interest rates are making it harder for working 
families to borrow and save for the future. Washington Democrats' 
reckless spending and green energy fantasies are sending our economy 
deep into the red.
  For 2 straight years, Americans have had to tighten their belt just 
to get by. It is time for this administration to wake up and do more of 
the same.