[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 24, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S233-S235]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Biden Administration

  Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, this past Saturday, January 20, marked 
3 years since President Biden took his oath of office. Since then, 
President Biden has had nearly 1,100 days in the White House to enact 
the policies that he campaigned on.
  I can tell you what has been clear to me. The lives of Americans are 
not better now than they were 3 years ago. Our country is not safer 
than it was 3 years ago, and the state of the Union is not stronger 
than it was 3 years ago.
  Time and again, President Biden has let his tenure be defined by 
weakness, as opposed to strength. This lack of leadership has had 
negative implications across a variety of sectors of American life and 
left millions of people across the country and the world in situations 
that were unavoidable.
  It just really doesn't have to be this way, President Biden.
  Perhaps, none of the Biden administration failures is as glaringly 
obvious as the one at the southern border, which I have talked about 
numerous times from this desk, and the continued fallout we are seeing 
as a result of a President who is, basically, asleep at the switch on 
this issue or ignoring it or maybe encouraging it.
  There have been 6.7 million illegal encounters at the southern border 
on his watch. It is hard to imagine the scope of what 6.7 million human 
encounters really mean. But think of it this way: Only 17 U.S. States 
have a population higher than 6.7 million. Mine, of course, is not one 
of those. This massive flow of humanity is the equivalent of adding 
another State to our country that is nearly four times the size of my 
home State of West Virginia.
  But President Biden's border failure just doesn't stop there. Since 
fiscal year 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized 536,000 
pounds of meth, 250,000 pounds of cocaine, and 56,000 pounds of the 
deadly substance fentanyl. With hundreds of thousands of admitted 
``get-aways''--those people who aren't in these statistics--it is 
impossible to know the amount of narcotics that made it across the 
border into our homeland.
  When it comes to the southern border, the only thing President Biden 
has improved, in my opinion, is the business of the cartels, which are 
receiving cover to continue their crimes every day, whether it is drug 
peddling or human smuggling, every day we do not respond to this 
crisis.
  The list of consequences as a result of President Biden's inaction on 
the border is long and has led to everything from violent crimes 
committed by individuals not lawfully in this country, to our hospitals 
and health clinics being pushed to the brink, to our children being 
forced to vacate their schools and remote learn to make room for 
migrate shelters; and even calls from the leaders of blue States who 
sent a letter on Monday asking for Federal assistance to handle this 
crisis. Rather than properly defending our homeland, President Biden 
has incentivized a crisis that urgently needs a solution.
  Unfortunately, for this administration, when it comes to failures, 
the border is just the beginning. Let's look at the economy or where 
the unrelenting pursuit of Bidenomics--which, by the way, I don't think 
the President uses that term anymore. President Biden and his 
supporters want the American public to believe that the same positive 
trends are signs that his policies are working. But if you spent any 
time in middle-class America over the past 3 years or in the grocery 
store, you would know our families are continuously being squeezed by 
high prices, and businesses are being taxed and regulated out of 
existence.
  The quality of life for American families is designed by their 
ability to put food on the table, to earn an honest living, and to put 
a roof over their heads, not by these broad microeconomic indicators--
arrow going up, arrow going down.
  Unfortunately, there is no relief in sight for American families 
under Bidenomics. Cumulative overall prices since January of 2021 have 
risen 17 percent. Food prices have increased 20 percent, energy prices 
have increased 32 percent, and rent prices have increased 19 percent, 
all while average weekly earnings for all employees have decreased by 
4.5 percent. The basic truth is that under the President, Americans are 
spending more and getting less.
  Additionally, these policies defined by Bidenomics are failing our 
small businesses and manufacturers, as well. Small and medium 
manufacturing companies continue to have historically low levels of 
optimism about their future, and 23 percent of small business owners 
report that inflation was the single most important problem to their 
business operations. I would say the supply chain and the workforce--
all are contributing.
  Another area in which this administration continues to fail is our 
national security and the standing of our country on the world stage. 
The same President who vowed that ``America is back'' in one of his 
first addresses has instead come to own a foreign policy record that is 
marred by botched withdrawals, open displays of weakness, and regretful 
decision making.

  Look no further than the United States' disastrous withdrawal from 
Afghanistan in 2021, which undoubtedly has damaged the trust between 
our allies, broadcasted weakness on the world stage, and displayed a 
lack of resolve that emboldened our adversaries.
  When it comes to Iran and the Middle East, President Biden has made 
disastrous decisions, like the decision to delist the Houthis as an 
FTO, the same Iranian-backed terror group that has perpetrated more 
than 30 attacks on vessels transiting the Red Sea; or the 
administration's willingness to be strung along by Iran with fruitless 
nuclear negotiations.
  Today, it is clear that these negotiations were a waste of time. They 
are attacking our bases. They are providing dollars for all of these 
terror attacks in that region. And Iran now is rapidly increasing their 
production of highly enriched uranium.
  And how could we forget the decision to unfreeze $6 billion in assets 
to Iran--and to do so on 9/11, of all days.
  The foreign policy of President Biden has been defined by 
skyrocketing attacks on U.S. troops by foreign adversaries, a large-
scale ground war in Europe, and the unprecedented buildup of China's 
military, amid concerns about the health of our own defense industrial 
base here at home.
  While there is an undeniable lack of American leadership in our 
executive branch, we must remind ourselves that it is not too late ever 
to reverse course. While the congressional Republicans didn't create 
the issues that we have at hand, we accept the responsibility of trying 
to solve them. That is why Republicans stand for solutions that

[[Page S234]]

change the border policies--policies, not money--that have allowed this 
crisis to thrive, rein in our Washington spending, support our small 
businesses and manufacturers and middle-class families, unleash 
American energy, and then prove that the true strength and standing of 
the United States in the world is as good as it could ever be.
  Our country cannot--cannot--continue to accept the level of failure 
that this administration has made normal over the past 3 years.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mr. RICKETTS. Madam President, yesterday marked the 1-year 
anniversary of my joining the U.S. Senate. I wanted to take the 
opportunity to join this body because I believe America's best days lie 
ahead of us and that we needn't look any further than in States like 
mine to find the solutions to our Nation's problems.
  I often say that Nebraska is what America is supposed to be. When I 
was Governor of the State of Nebraska, we spent 8 years delivering on 
excellence and making government work for the people. We proved that 
government can work together and put taxpayers first. And we did it 
while respecting individual freedoms and limiting our spending, running 
government well, and keeping people safe.
  Those are the things I am working on in the U.S. Senate. This year, 
my team and I got to work for the people of Nebraska by fighting 
against the Biden administration's overspending and overregulation. It 
is driving inflation, and it is costing Americans money. Since Joe 
Biden has been sworn in as President, inflation broadly is up by 17.2 
percent. Groceries are up 20 percent. Rent is up 19 percent. 
Electricity is up 24 percent. Gas is up 34 percent. And your average 
American home is spending $11,434 more today to have the same standard 
of living as they did when Joe Biden was sworn in as President. 
Americans are hurt by Joe Biden's policies.
  We made government work better in Nebraska, and I pledge to do the 
same thing here in DC. My proven solutions for Nebraska work here in 
DC, and they are small steps to make things better here in Washington 
and to put taxpayers first.
  My SNAP Next Step Act, which I introduced here, will help our 
families on SNAP get better jobs and get out of welfare.
  We have introduced bills to provide tax relief to our veterans and to 
our seniors, and we are fighting to allow consumers choice. For 
example, with my Flex Fuel Fairness Act, it would push back against the 
Biden administration's EV mandate and provide consumers choice with 
biofuels that we know will save them money at the pump, help clean up 
our environment, and help make us less energy dependent.
  I am also going to keep fighting to help keep Americans safe. Joe 
Biden's failed border policies have made every State a border State.
  Over the weekend, News Channel Nebraska reported on a man from Mexico 
who was sentenced to prison in Bellevue, NE, after being convicted of 
conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
  This 43-year-old man was in the country illegally. He was arrested in 
a motel room with nearly $15,000 in cash, and 11\1/2\ pounds of 
methamphetamine. It turned out he had been previously deported for drug 
charges. And if drug trafficking doesn't scare you, the national 
security threat should.
  In years past, we would have single-digit numbers of people crossing 
our southern border on the Terrorist Watchlist. Last year, 169 crossed 
our southern border on the Terrorist Watchlist. Over 8.8 million 
encounters along our southern border since Joe Biden has become 
President.
  That number of encounters with individuals on the Terrorist Watchlist 
that used to be in single digits pales in comparison with the number of 
people coming here illegally. And that is why I am working with my 
colleagues to pass legislation that would attack Biden's failed border 
policies head-on. We are working to fix our broken asylum system, to 
build a wall, and to go after the drug cartels.
  We are fighting to reform the parole system the administration is 
abusing. If you look back on the average number of people who were 
paroled in this country during the Obama and Trump administrations, it 
was about 5,600 people a year. Last year, Joe Biden paroled into this 
country 1.2 million people trying to come here illegally. Folks, that 
is about two-thirds of the population of the State of Nebraska.
  We have also got to stop the human trafficking that is going on at 
the southern border. Children are being recycled. They are being 
brought across the border by adults who know it is easier to get in if 
they have a child with them. Yet the Biden administration stopped the 
DNA testing that would prove that these children belong to the parents, 
and Customs and Border Protection personnel tell me that sometimes 30 
to 50 percent of the kids they used to test did not belong to those 
adults. And inexplicably, the Biden administration has stopped that, 
putting these kids at risk.
  And President Biden's appeasement-first foreign policy has left us 
weakened and in a dangerous world.
  Our disastrous pullout from Afghanistan emboldened dangerous 
dictators like Putin in Russia, Xi in China, and Khomeini in Iran. Iran 
is the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism, and yet this 
administration has given them over $50 billion in sanctions.
  As a result, Houthi rebels sponsored by Iran, funded by Iran, are 
shooting at our ships in the Red Sea, including our U.S. Navy. Hamas, 
also backed by Iran, has attacked one of our greatest allies: Israel. 
Biden's weakness encouraged Putin to invade Ukraine, and the Chinese 
Communist Party has increased their aggression toward Taiwan. All of 
this must stop. This world is less safe because of Joe Biden's policy.
  I will continue to push back on Washington's overregulation and 
overspending to introduce measures to make government work well and to 
keep people safe. I think we have to ask ourselves: Are we better off 
today versus 3 years ago? And the answer is no.
  I will continue to push back on this Biden administration and the way 
they have driven inflation to bring our proven Nebraska solutions to 
Washington, DC, and to fight to keep Americans safe both here and 
abroad.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. SCHMITT. Madam President, I rise to bring attention to the abject 
failures of the Biden administration 3 years on.
  Let's briefly recap the last 3 years from Joe Biden: executed a 
disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan that led to the death of 13 
brave members of our Armed Forces; targeted parents at school board 
meetings and floated the idea of deeming them as domestic terrorists in 
an official memo; declared outright war on domestic energy production 
and then pillaged our Strategic Petroleum Reserve causing gas prices to 
soar; attempted to force tens of millions of Americans to get a vaccine 
or lose their jobs; recklessly spent billions and billions of dollars, 
which led to historic inflation and soaring prices.
  He refused to enforce the laws in place that we currently have at the 
southern border and proactively fought those laws in court, leading to 
recordbreaking numbers of illegal immigration; created the largest 
censorship enterprise in American history and worked with Big Tech 
companies to censor Americans' voices; repeatedly vilified half the 
country as MAGA extremists in speech after speech; attempted to 
unilaterally cancel a half a trillion dollars' worth of student loan 
debt; weaponized agencies like the FBI to go after Catholics and, more 
broadly, American citizens; projected weakness on the world stage; and 
has emboldened our enemies.

  I could go on, but I think you get the point. Joe Biden has 
weaponized Federal Agencies against his fellow Americans; worked with 
Big Tech companies to censor Americans' speech; poured gasoline on the 
inflation fire; stifled domestic energy production; refused to secure 
the border; and has supercharged the growth of the administrative 
state.
  Americans can barely afford household items and needs, and they are 
incurring historic levels of credit card debt. Our national debt is 
skyrocketing.
  The so-called Inflation Reduction Act actually caused inflation to 
skyrocket. Bidenomics is a failure, no matter how this administration 
tries to spin it.

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  Millions and millions of illegal immigrants are flowing across the 
border and into the interior of the United States. The Biden 
administration has fought every reasonable tool they could to stem the 
crisis at our southern border in court and is illegally--currently 
illegally abusing the parole system.
  Fentanyl and other drugs are flowing into our communities as a 
result. The whole of the Federal Government has been weaponized against 
the very people it is supposed to serve. Joe Biden was the architect of 
the largest censorship enterprise our country has ever seen.
  The FBI has targeted Catholics, and Joe Biden wanted to label parents 
who wanted to stick up for their kids in school board meetings as 
domestic terrorists. And our adversaries can clearly see the weakness 
that is being projected by Joe Biden.
  China is militarizing islands in the South China Sea, and they are 
playing for keeps. Iran-backed insurgencies are attacking ships in the 
Red Sea and are launching attacks against our own military 
installations. There are still hostages being held by Hamas.
  The simple fact is, the Biden administration and the Biden Presidency 
has been a disaster for the American people and for our country as a 
whole.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip.