[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 143 (Wednesday, September 6, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S4221]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Bidenomics

  Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, 22 years ago, Apple released the first 
desktop version of its macOS operating system. The first Harry Potter 
movie and the first Lord of the Rings movie both came out. Alicia Keys 
and Destiny's Child were topping the charts, and Bill Clinton left 
office.
  Twenty-two years ago was also the last time that mortgage rates were 
as high as they are now. Yes, they are higher now than they were during 
the 2008 financial crisis. Mortgage rates were the lowest in American 
history in January of 2021. Then Joe Biden became President. Over the 
past 2\1/2\ years, mortgage rates have almost tripled. In the meantime, 
inflation rates are still climbing higher.
  This past month, as I traveled Nebraska during the Senate's State 
work period, I visited with dozens and dozens of middle-class 
Americans. It is truly the best part of my job--meeting with small 
business owners, ag producers, schoolteachers, nurses, students, and 
employees all across my home State, but this year it was so frustrating 
to hear about the economic struggles that Nebraskans are facing.
  Middle-class Nebraskans are scraping by financially, and what is 
ironic is that they are doing it on the watch of a President who calls 
himself ``Middle-Class Joe.'' President Biden's line recently has been, 
``When the middle class does well, everyone does well.''
  You know, I agree with him. I would just add that, right now, 
everyone is not doing well. That is especially true for the middle 
class, and it is because this administration's ill-advised policies 
keep pumping air into an economy that is already bloated. The so-called 
Bidenomics agenda is poison, described as a ``cure-all'' for middle-
class Americans. That is not an exaggeration. Last month, I saw 
Bidenomics up close in Nebraska so let me tell you how it is going.
  One Saturday this August, I visited a small town in Western Nebraska. 
That afternoon, a small business owner told me that his electricity 
bills had shot up over the past couple of years both for his home and 
for his business. Electricity, groceries, gas--you name it--these 
essentials are tough to afford, if not impossible to afford, for the 
average middle-class American. That is Bidenomics in Nebraska.
  Business owners and families alike shared that they can hardly pay 
increasingly high rents and mortgage rates. In fact, all year, an 
increasing number of middle-class Nebraskans has resorted to asking the 
Salvation Army for money so that they can pay their utilities. That is 
Bidenomics in Nebraska.
  As I traveled the State, the issue of childcare affordability came up 
over and over and over again. Childcare costs have skyrocketed, and 
dads and moms are at a loss as to how to afford these rising rates. 
That is Bidenomics in Nebraska.
  The Bidenomics agenda has made many promises, but I haven't seen the 
administration keep a single one. Remember the President's American 
Families Plan? Almost 2\1/2\ years ago, the President promised that 
low- and middle-income families would spend no more than 7 percent of 
their income on childcare.
  In leading up to the fourth year of Biden's Presidency, here is what 
family life looks like: Nebraska's families are already struggling due 
to inflation. They have seen price increases on bills, groceries, and 
almost everything else. In many cases, both parents need to work so 
they can make enough so that they can pay off debt or afford those high 
mortgage rates. When childcare costs are through the roof, it is 
impossible for both parents to work. According to the Economic Policy 
Institute, childcare costs rose 24.4 percent more per year than the 
average rent and 53.5 percent more than instate college tuition--53.5 
percent per year. That is Bidenomics in Nebraska.
  From the American Families Plan to the Inflation Reduction Act, this 
administration's efforts to grow our economy from the middle class out 
have totally failed.
  My message to the President is this: When the middle class does 
badly, everyone does badly.
  We need to undo the harmful, excessive regulations that are making 
middle-class Americans suffer. We need to put the priority on reducing 
costs for everyday Americans. We need to unleash American energy to 
lower our gas prices. We need to support an economic plan that will 
lower inflation, and we need to pull the plug on wasteful policies that 
don't help anyone.
  So stop with the slogans, Mr. President, and spend more time 
listening to real Americans' concerns.
  Bidenomics is not working in Nebraska, and let's be honest, it is not 
working in the other 49 States either. This administration needs to 
hear this. It is 2\1/2\ years past time to make a change.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.