[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 15, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3694-S3695]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Inflation

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, this morning's inflation report shows just 
how stubborn President Biden's inflation crisis is.
  For the 37th month in a row, prices have risen by more than 3 
percent, and there is still no end in sight. Overall, prices are up 
19.9 percent since President Biden took office. Grocery prices are up 
21.3 percent. Car repairs are up 30.2 percent. Rent is up 20.8 percent. 
And the list literally goes on and on.
  As Americans turn on their air conditioners this summer, they can 
contemplate a grim report from the Wall Street Journal, which notes 
that electricity prices have gone up 13 times faster under President 
Biden than they did in the previous 7 years.
  All told, it costs a typical family more than $1,000 a month just to 
maintain the standard of living it had when President Biden first took 
office--more than $1,000 a month just to tread water.
  So it is shocking to hear President Biden say things like he did last 
week when he suggested that people ``have the money'' to pay higher 
prices. But that is the kind of disconnect we have come to expect from 
the President, who claimed inflation would be ``temporary'' and who has 
persistently downplayed and denied the painful economic reality 
Americans are experiencing thanks to Democrats' reckless spending.
  That pain is real. As one working parent in Connecticut said:

       Every time I look at my bank account, it's always going 
     down.

  Luis, a truckdriver in Pennsylvania said:

       I can do my living, but compared to what I used to have, I 
     need to work extra to get what I used to have before.

  And a family farmer in Missouri described his input costs as 
``ridiculous.''
  They are not alone; 48 percent of voters say their personal financial 
situation is getting worse. Half of voters say they are worse off since 
President Biden took office. And 80 percent of voters say high prices 
are one of their biggest financial challenges.
  Meanwhile, the cost of dealing with inflation is adding to Americans' 
financial pain. Many Americans have had to turn to their credit cards 
to cope with higher prices. And with the Federal Reserve having to keep 
interest rates elevated to fight inflation, paying off that debt has 
gotten harder.

[[Page S3695]]

  High interest rates have also helped put the American dream of owning 
your own home increasingly out of reach. Prospective home buyers need 
to earn nearly twice as much to afford a typical home today as they 
would have 4 years ago. Half of renters under age 50 don't think they 
will be able to afford to buy their own home.
  For Americans pursuing their dream of owning their own business or 
running the family farm or ranch, inflation has created serious 
challenges. More than a third of small business owners identify 
inflation as the biggest single threat to their business. Higher input 
costs and higher borrowing costs have forced small business owners to 
grapple with unwelcome prospects like raising prices and pulling back 
from investing in their businesses.
  As bad as things have been over the past 3 years, it could get worse. 
The budget President Biden proposed in March contained a staggering--
staggering--$5 trillion in job-killing tax hikes. And just recently, 
the President said that if he is reelected, he would let the 2017 tax 
cuts expire.
  Democrats may not like to acknowledge this, but the 2017 Republican-
led tax reform legislation cut taxes for the majority of Americans. And 
if those rate cuts are allowed to expire, a typical family is looking 
at a $1,600 tax hike in 2026.
  That money may not matter to someone like the President, but I am 
sure working families have better uses for $1,600 than sending it to 
the IRS, especially when you consider how much President Biden's 
inflation crisis is already costing them.
  On top of that, the President wants to allow other tax reform 
measures in the 2017 bill--measures that brought benefits to hard-
working Americans--to expire. So Americans could be looking at a future 
of higher taxes plus fewer jobs and opportunities.
  The American people can't afford any more of the President's 
misguided economic policies; but, unfortunately, the President never 
seems to learn.
  Let's hope the American people don't have to endure a second term of 
Bidenomics.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.