[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 119 (Wednesday, July 12, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2337-S2341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              The Economy

  Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I rise today to talk about something we 
have been hearing a lot about recently, and that is Bidenomics. The 
President and his Cabinet have been traveling the country trying to 
convince the American people into believing that the President's 
economic vision for the

[[Page S2338]]

country has our Nation on the right path.
  Well, I can assure you, after being home for the last 2 weeks, that 
these false messages are not really resonating with the American 
public. Polling data between June 6 and July 7 of this year shows that, 
on average, two-thirds of Americans believe that our Nation is going on 
the wrong track. If you spend a few minutes at the supermarket, a car 
dealership, or a retail store, or if you are looking to purchase or 
rent a home, or if you face energy and utility bills or the prices at 
the pump that middle-class American families are having to pay--
everybody is paying--this should be no surprise.
  So what exactly is Bidenomics? Let me break down a couple of 
definitions of this term as they relate to American folks outside of 
the beltway, and certainly those would include people whom I represent 
in West Virginia, which I consider the backbone of our country.
  Bidenomics means you are getting less while spending more. According 
to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, since President Biden took 
office, grocery prices have increased 20 percent, energy prices have 
increased 38 percent, prices for fuel oil have increased 45 percent, 
gasoline prices have increased 52 percent, natural gas prices have 
increased 20 percent, electricity prices have increased 26 percent, 
prices for used cars and trucks have increased 35 percent, prices for 
new vehicles have increased 20 percent, apparel prices have increased 
10 percent, and airline fares have increased 39 percent. But the list 
goes on and on.
  Bidenomics means that inflation is just a part of everyday life. 
Today's inflation report marks the 30th straight month that year-over-
year inflation is over the target rate of 2 percent. The President is 
touting this decreasing inflation as something to celebrate, but there 
is really nothing to celebrate here. Americans have felt the blunt and 
unapologetic force of inflation for over 2 years.
  Bidenomics is certainly not a science. If it were, it would be a 
shifting one. Remember when inflation was only supposed to be 
transitory? The individual who voiced that opinion, who himself is not 
an economist, got a promotion from the President and is now Chair of 
the Council of Economic Advisers.
  Bidenomics means, if you are looking to rent or buy a home, you might 
just be out of luck. Rampant spending from the American Rescue Plan and 
the Inflation Reduction Act were main contributors of high inflation 
and, in turn, the source of soaring interest rates.
  So, on top of that, rental prices for a primary residence have 
increased 15 percent, furniture prices have increased 19 percent, the 
average rate of a 30-year fixed mortgage is now 7.22 percent, and, just 
this May, home prices hit record highs. All of this combined leaves the 
prospect of buying a home seemingly unattainable to many American 
families and compromises the American dream.
  I would add here that young families can't get in the game of buying 
a house, fixing it up, living there for a while, and moving on to a 
little bit nicer, better, bigger home as their family grows.
  Bidenomics means that if you have a small business, it will be harder 
to maintain and grow, and if you want to start a small business, it is 
nearly out of the question. Increased taxes felt directly by mom-and-
pop shops combined with skyrocketing costs have made it very difficult 
to support a business along our Main Streets. Increased prices on 
consumer goods and basic needs means that wage growth cannot keep up 
with employers' rising costs.

  Bidenomics means the destruction of the financial health of a lot of 
our American families. The Feds's ``Economic Well-Being of U.S. 
Households'' report was just released Monday. And it stated that 
``[o]verall financial well-being declined markedly over the prior 
year'' and that one-third of Americans say they are worse off 
financially than they were the year before.
  These are devastating statistics, but, unfortunately, they show the 
dire straits of an economy that has a 71-percent probability of 
recession, according to the New York Federal Reserve's recession 
probability model.
  One aspect of Bidenomics that really baffles me is the President's 
willingness to take credit for the current state of our economy and his 
efforts to make this the centerpiece of his White House.
  There is a long list of achievements that our President has failed to 
adequately address and accept accountability for. Certainly, the crisis 
at the southern border is one, the weakened status of our military 
another, and the out-of-control spending that has defined his time in 
power. Yet, surprisingly, President Biden is more than happy to accept 
responsibility for the state of our Nation's economy. And in this one 
instance, he does have the right of ownership because they are his 
policies that have been put into place.
  So for my State of West Virginia, Bidenomics is costing West Virginia 
families an additional $713. That is not a year. That is a month. That 
is a month.
  President Biden and his administration continue to lead our country 
down the wrong path, but if we look at Republican-led States where 
Republican Governors are in charge and have been able to prove their 
resilience among these enormous headwinds: increased earnings in States 
like North Dakota and my colleague's home State of Nebraska, booming 
manufacturing sectors in States like Florida and Texas, or States with 
record surpluses like my own State of West Virginia where Republican 
leadership is leading the way.
  So moving forward, our Republican colleagues and I will continue to 
fight for proven solutions that rein in unnecessary spending, that 
bring down inflation, that increase market competition, that lower tax 
burdens on our small businesses, and spur the economic development that 
every State in this Nation needs.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mrs. FISCHER. Madam President, when it comes to the economy, we hear 
a lot about numbers, the inflation rate, how much more groceries cost, 
or how many businesses are struggling to find employees. Those numbers 
are important.
  They tell us the big picture story of where our economy is and where 
it is going. And right now, that is not a pretty picture. But as 
elected representatives, we work for our people. It is critical that we 
listen to the voices of the people who live in our States and who are 
being deeply affected by the numbers we read in Bloomberg or the Wall 
Street Journal.
  In a speech he made last week, President Biden promised that his 
economic policy is helping across the board ``in rural America, the 
heartland, all across America.''
  He claimed that Bidenomics is the silver bullet for financial 
struggles among middle-class Americans around the country.
  I don't know who the President is talking to, but my experience 
hearing from Americans in the heartland is a lot different than what he 
said in that speech. Many Nebraskans are struggling under an 
unforgiving load of inflation, kick-started by this administration's 
almost $2 trillion stimulus package in 2021.
  So today let's zoom in on Nebraska. When I am back in my home State, 
I am constantly hearing stories of hardship from my fellow Nebraskans, 
whether they are farmers, teachers, or small business owners. It is 
truly painful to hear about some of the experiences people are having 
due to inflation.
  So let me tell you about Bidenomics in Nebraska. When I stopped by a 
coffee shop in 2022, the owner told me his electric bill had 
skyrocketed from $40 a month to over $300 a month, and that coffee shop 
owner is now gone. He couldn't afford Bidenomics, and he closed his 
shop. That is Bidenomics in Nebraska.
  A year later, not much has changed. As one of our Nebraska farmers 
told me a few weeks ago, ``prices take the elevator up, but the stairs 
down.''
  Inflation causes costs to rise quickly, and they stay up there for a 
long time. One big economically irresponsible move from the 
administration--well, that sets the stage for years of struggle. That 
is Bidenomics in Nebraska.
  Several rural businesses in the States shared their struggles with 
the local newspaper earlier this year. Many of these business owners 
feel ``at a loss'' for what to do as their livelihoods crumble under 
the pressure.

[[Page S2339]]

  A honey farmer shared that consistently rising prices squeeze his 
family into a difficult position when doing things as simple as putting 
their honey in jars. Sometimes they could only afford to get the 
container; sometimes they could only afford to get the lids--but not 
both.
  He said:

       We're kind of forgotten about way out here.

  That is Bidenomics in Nebraska.
  That doesn't line up with the President's boasts of an economy that 
works for middle-class Americans in the heartland. Instead, while the 
Biden administration chatters on about its support for the middle 
class, thousands of people in that category are pulling out all the 
stops to pay their necessary expenses.
  The Salvation Army of Lincoln, NE, reported a couple of months ago 
that it has seen a 50-percent increase in service requests in just a 
year. People are going to charities to get help paying rent and 
utilities as the economy suffers.
  A Salvation Army officer said:

       For people who are on medical equipment, having their 
     electricity on is a very important aspect.

  That is Bidenomics in Nebraska.
  The President has a middle-class problem. Average Americans are 
hollowing out their savings, and they are taking on record debt just to 
keep up with the stunning levels of inflation--or as the White House 
likes to call it, Bidenomics.
  The President said last week:

       Bidenomics is just another way of saying restoring the 
     American Dream.

  Wrong.
  Since when does the American dream include taking a second job just 
to be able to afford rent, or having to choose between containers and 
lids for honey jars, or racking your brain for ways to catch up on an 
electricity bill that will not stop rising?
  The President should step off the podium; he should stop delivering 
empty promises; and he should actually get down to business fixing the 
bloated economy that he has created.
  Nebraskans are not listening to the administration's inflated claims 
about helping the middle class, but they are listening to the mortgage 
increases and to their dwindling savings accounts. Americans know what 
Bidenomics looks like, and it looks like failed leadership.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. We just heard my friend from Nebraska say that Biden 
wants Bidenomics to be all about restoring the American dream. Well, 
for most Americans, it is turning out to be a nightmare. Inflation 
brought on by the Biden administration's misguided policies has 
Americans trying to figure out how to afford everyday necessities. One 
thing that they are not buying is the Biden administration's latest 
catchphrase: Bidenomics.
  Over the Fourth of July break, I held meetings in 24 of Iowa's 99 
counties. There was a very common theme there. That common theme was 
that families and businesses are struggling with the economic impact of 
inflation.
  It is not just Iowans who are feeling the pain from the economy under 
the Biden administration. According to a recent Associated Press 
survey, only 34 percent of Americans approve of President Biden's 
handling of our economy. President Biden's message to these Americans 
is: Don't believe your bank accounts.
  Well, that message doesn't resonate. Iowa families are hit with 
ballooning bills and higher prices at every corner. For 2 years, Iowans 
have been stretched thin because of decades-high inflation stoked by 
Democrats' reckless $2 trillion spending spree, a spending spree that 
would not have happened if they had listened to their own Democratic 
economists, particularly the outstanding Harvard economist and former 
Secretary of Treasury in the Clinton administration and economic 
adviser to other Democratic Presidents. Their own Larry Summers told 
them, before this President took over, that the economy was already 
turning around; don't spend any more money or you will have inflation.
  So what do we see? On average, American consumers are facing prices 
that are 16 percent higher today than when Biden took office. While 
prices have climbed, wages have failed to keep up. American workers 
have seen their paychecks shrink by more than 3 percent in real terms.
  Now, we heard the word ``transitory''; that inflation was going to be 
transitory so you didn't need to worry about it. And this was what the 
Biden administration claimed when they took office, and of course 
inflation has proved persistent.
  Just remember, 1.4 percent inflation the day this President took 
office. It rose to 9.1 percent a year ago, and it is still at 4.5 
percent.
  In its effort to tame inflation, the Fed has hiked interest rates to 
the highest level in 16 years, putting mortgages and businesses and 
their loans out of reach for more and more Americans. Half of the small 
businesses report delaying plans to grow their business due to rising 
interest costs.
  A rebranding of his far-left agenda as Bidenomics is cold comfort for 
Iowans and Americans everywhere who are coping with rising prices, 
falling real wages, and ballooning interest rates.
  As we saw with last year's partisan tax-and-spending package that the 
Democrats named the Inflation Reduction Act, as you see, labels are 
often deceiving. Contrary to the bill's name, this partisan tax-and-
spending package had nothing to do with reducing inflation or providing 
relief to Americans struggling with inflation. The nonpartisan 
Congressional Budget Office--and I emphasize the word ``nonpartisan''--
confirmed the Inflation Reduction Act will worsen inflation. And, of 
course, recent estimates show it will add hundreds of billions more to 
the Nation's credit card.
  Rather than providing relief for Americans struggling to make ends 
meet, this legislation raised Americans' taxes while showering 
Democrat-favored industries with corporate handouts with the government 
taking an increasing role in choosing winners and losers in our 
economy. Unless you are a corporation or a wealthy individual looking 
to buy an $80,000 electric SUV, the Democrat ``Inflation Enhancement 
Act'' has little to offer. And I think changing the name from the 
Inflation Reduction Act to the ``Inflation Enhancement Act'' is exactly 
the intellectually honest thing to do.
  Bidenomics isn't about growing the economy from the middle out or the 
bottom up, as the President claims in almost every speech. It is the 
same old top down, Big Government agenda Democrats have always pursued. 
It means then, as you know, higher taxes, more reckless spending, and a 
growing national debt as far as the eye can see into the future.
  It is time for a change in policy, not merely a change in messaging. 
President Biden needs to redirect his message to the facts, the real 
facts of life, because Bidenomics is not selling.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Rosen). The Senator from Kansas.
  Mr. MARSHALL. Bidenomics. Bidenomics. I think everyone knows that you 
don't give yourself a nickname. You don't get to do that. Your friends 
get to do that for you. Who could imagine back in grade school giving 
yourself a nickname? By the same token, you don't get to name an 
economy after yourself either. You have to earn it.
  Just like JLo. Before there was JLo, there was Jennifer Lopez. For 
Jennifer Lopez to become JLo, she had to go out and prove herself. She 
had to become a great singer.
  Before Taylor Swift was known as the Country Pop Princess, Taylor had 
to compose music, play instruments, and sing to the hearts and souls of 
millions of people across the world.
  Margaret Thatcher, before she was the Iron Lady, she had to go out 
and earn that nickname because of her iron fist, the way she ruled her 
country.
  Ronald Reagan, the Great Communicator. Could you imagine Ronald 
Reagan stepping onto his first stage telling you: Hey, I am the Great 
Communicator. It took him years to earn that nickname.
  One of my favorites: Mr. October, Reggie Jackson. Reggie didn't get 
to name himself Mr. October. He had to go out and be a star player for 
the New York Yankees in October, not in May.
  Derek Jeter--another great nickname, the Captain. Did Derek Jeter 
give himself that name? No, his teammates did.

[[Page S2340]]

  Mr. President, you don't get to give yourself a nickname, and you 
don't get to name an economy after yourself. You have to earn it. The 
nickname this White House has earned for this economy is Bidenflation. 
He has earned it. It is deserved. When my grandkids and my great 
grandkids open up their history book and they get to the 46th President 
of the United States, the title will be ``Bidenflation'' and the 
subtitle, ``The Worst Economy in 40 Years.'' Certainly, it is the worst 
economy in my professional life time.
  So when I say it is the worst economy, I want to start by saying I 
have not had one person in recent memory in the past 2 years who has 
come up and say: Hey, this economy is great. I just love that I am 
paying so much more to make a living. Whether it is food or groceries 
or housing, no one has come up to me and say: Hey, I love this economy.
  It is actually just the opposite. I want to take a closer look. You 
may come up with some different conclusions, but you can't argue with 
these facts I am about to give you. The average Kansas family is paying 
$800 more per month just for basic needs--$800 more a month. When we 
gave them the tax cuts in the previous administration, the average 
Kansas family was able to put more than $2,000 back into their pocket. 
Now this administration is taking an extra $800 to pay for their basic 
necessities. I don't have to remind anybody that gas prices doubled 
under this President. Groceries are up 20 percent.
  Utility bills. I can't tell you how many people called me to tell me: 
My utility bills have actually doubled compared to previous winters.
  Housing, let's just take a minute and talk about housing. The average 
monthly payment for a person searching for a new home has doubled under 
this President. Let me say that again. The average monthly payment for 
a person searching for a new home has doubled under this President. The 
White House economy has made housing totally uncomfortable, especially 
for first-time home buyers.
  Let's think about what the American dream is. I think every American 
dreams of owning a home--in Kansas, a truck and a fishing boat. But 
under this President, none of those are happening.
  I recently had the Builders Association from Kansas in my office--the 
largest number from that group I ever had--all with long, long faces. I 
knew their concerns before they even gave them. I hear it every day, 
every week when I am back home. I hear it from friends. I hear it from 
family members, business owners, union workers, senior citizens. I 
really hear it from my senior citizens that the cost of living is just 
unbearable. Young families with kids starting off--maybe that first job 
out of high school or out of college--those are the ones that are being 
stung by Bidenflation. There is no one immune from it.

  Before they could go through their list of concerns, I asked them a 
serious question: Is there any policy remaining that this White House 
could implement that would hurt their business more? Was there one 
policy the White House hasn't turned over yet that could hurt their 
business more? And they sat there silent--crickets. They couldn't think 
of one more thing this White House could do to hurt their business. 
They don't have workers because the White House pays more to stay home 
than go to work. They need lumber, they need nails, they need bolts, 
they need plumbing supplies, heat and air. If they could get them, 
those are all through the roof.
  Interest rates. Nothing kills housing like higher interest rates. Of 
course, we know the higher interest rates are a direct reflection of 
Bidenflation. Just to state it very briefly, Bidenflation has made 
housing unaffordable. Think about this. This government spends 
millions--perhaps billions--of dollars on affordable housing, but 
inflation has destroyed any gain that we made recently.
  Mr. President, you are not Ronald Reagan. You should not put your 
name on something that is a miserable failure. Reaganomics gave us a 
great opportunity--perhaps the greatest economy of my lifetime. But 
your economy--why would you put your name on the worst economy in 
nearly half a century?
  No matter what you say, no matter how you spin it, you are not going 
to convince the folks back home that this economy is good. They are 
smarter than that. Americans know otherwise.
  Bidenflation--that is the title of the chapter in the history book.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. BARRASSO. I come to the floor to join my colleague from Kansas, 
Senator Marshall, in talking about the economy. President Biden has 
spent the last 2 weeks trying to define and then redefine what has been 
come to be known as Bidenomics. The President now wants to talk about 
his economic record. Well, I would say, let us have that conversation.
  Here is what Bidenomics means to working families in my home State of 
Wyoming. It means record inflation. It means hollowed out savings. And 
it means crushing interest rates.
  Bidenomics is a radical recipe causing more and more Americans to 
fall further and further behind. It means families are faced with tough 
decisions every single day--decisions about how they are going to make 
ends meet; decisions about what they can afford at the grocery store, 
how much gas they could put in the vehicle; decisions as they are 
trying to pay their bills sitting at the kitchen table. Bidenomics is 
spelling a summer of suffering for every single American.
  Before the President took office, inflation was practically 
nonexistent, 1.4 percent. But under the Biden-Harris administration, 
prices have risen 16.6 percent. American households are spending $900 
more per month just to keep up. The average household has spent over 
$2,300 more on energy alone since Joe Biden came to the White House--
that is to fill a tank of gas, to keep the lights on, to heat the house 
in the winter and cool it in the summer.
  Wyoming families are worried about our Nation and our Nation's 
future, and they believe this country is on the wrong track. It is what 
I heard all over the Fourth of July recess from families from Cody to 
Gillette, Casper to Pinedale. That is what they shared with me. They 
are so much in agreement with families all across this country because 
the high cost of everything is the top issue that people are talking 
about and thinking about nationally. That is the impact of Bidenomics. 
That is what Joe Biden has done to this country. The pain and suffering 
that the American families are feeling was nothing to celebrate over 
the Fourth of July, but that is what the White House is trying to do.
  You wonder how we got here. Let me tell you. This agenda by the 
Democrats and Joe Biden and his colleagues in the House and in the 
Senate, the Democrats have an agenda of runaway spending, of government 
overreach, and of reckless tax hikes. We warned our Democratic 
colleagues that the Biden-Harris spending would send prices soaring. 
That is exactly what happened.
  The spending also drove interest rates higher. Sky-high interest 
rates are sapping savings. They are putting an additional burden on 
working families. People are actually dipping into their savings 
account or taking on additional credit card debt just to pay current-
day bills.
  Credit card debt recently hit a record of nearly $1 trillion. That is 
roughly $10,000 per household in this country. These are drastic 
measures that people are being forced to take because inflation has 
outpaced wages for 26 months in a row.
  Adding to the pain of record-high prices and more debt is the 
administration's excessive and continued government overreach. The 
Biden-Harris administration's regulatory agenda is the most expensive 
of any administration in modern history. The administration is 
surrendering America's energy and economic dominance and they are doing 
it to adversaries like China. And they are doing it right now as John 
Kerry prepares to go to China and continue this American surrender. The 
President wants all Americans driving electric cars no matter what it 
costs. Here is the catch. The electric cars are going to be slapped 
with ``Made in China'' stickers.
  What happened last week? China choked off supply of critical minerals 
that are used for solar panels that Joe Biden wants us to make here.

[[Page S2341]]

  China controls the supply chain for the minerals needed to build the 
electric cars and the batteries. But we are not allowed to mine for it 
here--no. His Department of Interior shut down mining in Minnesota for 
critical minerals. He is making China richer and America poorer.
  Joe Biden is turning to China, not American workers, for the critical 
minerals needed for these cars. Bidenomics is selling out to communist 
China.
  America isn't blind to the blunder of Bidenomics. Here is a quote 
from a recent CNN story. It says:

       Most Americans are convinced the economy is in bad shape, 
     and they blame the president.

  A new poll from the Associated Press and the National Opinion 
Research Center found that 64 percent of Americans--almost two-thirds 
of Americans--disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling the economy. 
A Harvard-Harris poll said that 74 percent of Americans say their 
financial situation is not improving under this administration. Yet you 
see Joe Biden touring the country, and Democrats giving victory 
speeches. Bidenomics is ravaging our wallets, wrecking our savings, and 
ruining our economy, and the Democrats are saying: Great.
  Senate Republicans have solutions to get America back on track, and 
it starts with spending less and reducing redtape and unleashing 
American energy.
  As the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee, I will tell you that unleashing American energy is my top 
priority. To accomplish that, we need to pass true permitting reform. 
Our plan is going to make life more affordable by making it easier to 
produce every type of American energy.
  We will need traditional, reliable forms of energy like oil, coal, 
and natural gas for years and years to come in spite of what the 
President may foolishly believe. We also need to produce more energy 
from resources like nuclear, wind, and solar. We need it all.
  Unleashing American energy with permitting reform is the key that 
unlocks American dominance again. This is what we need to do to reverse 
the damage, the destruction, and the devastation of Joe Biden and 
Bidenomics.
  Bidenomics is a grim reality for too many people in Wyoming and 
across the country. Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Washington Democrats 
cannot keep ignoring the pain they are causing. Nobody can afford 
another bad day of bad Bidenomics.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
  Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, I join my colleagues on the floor to 
talk about Joe Biden's economy.
  Over the past few weeks, the President has traveled across our great 
country. He has been giving speeches on what he calls Bidenomics. He is 
bragging about how good our economy is.
  I have got news for the President: The American people aren't buying 
what you are selling.
  Two-thirds of the American people disapprove of him on the economy--
two-thirds. Three out of four Americans say our country is on the wrong 
track. Most economists think we are going to have a recession within 
the next year. We all hope that doesn't happen.
  Nevertheless, I agree with the American people. Bidenomics has been a 
disaster, a complete disaster, for the people of this country.
  When Joe Biden took office, this economy was ready to take off. We 
were opening back up after the pandemic, but obviously Joe Biden took 
credit for that too.
  The Congressional Budget Office said the economy didn't need any 
stimulus--no more money. We were expected to fully recover within just 
a few months. Guess what. Our President didn't listen. He signed the 
biggest stimulus bill in history. Joe Biden spent $2 trillion that we 
didn't need. It wasn't paid for. We didn't have the money, but we 
approved it anyway, in this room. That $2 trillion is going straight to 
the national debt--$32 trillion. Embarrassing.
  Even the Democrats' own experts warned them not to do this. President 
Obama's economic adviser, Jason Furman, said:

       I don't know any economist who is advocating for a spending 
     bill that size.

  Bill Clinton's Treasury Secretary, Larry Summers, said it would cause 
inflation. Well, sure enough, a month after the Democrats passed their 
spending bill, inflation started going up, and now prices are 14 
percent higher than they were when President Biden took office--14 
percent. Gas prices are still up by more than a dollar a gallon since 
this President took office. The price of diesel is raising costs for 
farmers in my State of Alabama and across America, and they are 
struggling. In total, inflation has cost the typical American family 
more than $8,000 annually since Joe Biden took office.
  Last summer, Joe Biden and the Democrats started spending trillions 
in taxpayer money again. Didn't learn a lesson. It was an election 
year, and they must have thought it was going to help them in the 
election.
  As of today, Joe Biden has authorized more than 4 trillion--that is 
not billion; that is trillion--dollars in spending. That is more money 
than we spent in World War II. Again, this is after the Congressional 
Budget Office said we didn't need any stimulus, and again, it was money 
that we didn't have. We didn't have it. It is no wonder we have had the 
highest inflation in 40 years, and it is no wonder Joe Biden is the 
least popular President since Jimmy Carter.
  Record inflation has caused the fastest increase in interest rates in 
40 years, and it is self-inflicted. The American people didn't do that; 
this city did that. The interest rate on a mortgage has doubled since 
Joe Biden took office--doubled. More and more young people are giving 
up on the goal of owning their own home because they can't afford it.
  Last summer, Joe Biden also raised taxes on nearly every person in 
this country. He wants 85,000 more IRS agents to shake people down 
because they need the money. They need the money to help pay this debt 
down, but they are going to take it away from the American people. That 
should never happen.
  So now we are paying the price for inflation, and we are paying more 
because of higher taxes.
  Last fall, there was a Gallup poll that showed that a record number 
of people have given up on the American dream--given up. That is what 
everybody wants to come to this country for, is the American dream.

  Folks, it ain't here anymore. It is gone.
  According to the poll, the majority of Americans do not think their 
kids will have a better standard of living than they had when they were 
growing up.
  Joe Biden shouldn't be bragging right now. Joe Biden ought to be on 
an apology tour across this country because it is embarrassing what we 
have done to the debt and what we have done to inflation and prices all 
over the country. He ought to apologize to the American people for 
robbing them of thousands of dollars that they worked for, that they 
shouldn't have to send to this place to spend when they don't need it 
to be spent. He ought to apologize to the people who are giving up on 
the American dream.
  Two-thirds of the American people disapprove of the handling of Joe 
Biden's economy. And I agree with the American people. Bidenomics has 
been a total disaster, and it will go down in history. It will go down 
in history. It will be remembered, and it will be studied--how not to 
run an economy. Totally wrong.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip.