[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 114 (Wednesday, July 10, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4323-S4325]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Biden Administration
Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I rise today to remind the American
people that from the day he took office, President Biden and his
administration have left much to be desired. As we look to the future,
I think it is just imperative that we consider this administration's
track record over the last 3\1/2\ years.
President Biden's record has made an enormous impact on Americans
directly in their wallets--everybody feels it every day--as the people
of our country continue to deal with the consequences with this
reckless tax-and-spend agenda this administration has championed.
President Biden has long pledged to get a hold of inflation and
actually passed the ironically misnamed Inflation Reduction Act that
did exactly the opposite. That law, along with other spending sprees
passed with only Democratic support, have stifled economic growth.
Though President Biden talks about the middle class, he has failed to
actually deliver for them. Truly, as we know, and we have always heard
in our lives: Actions speak louder than words. Instead, what we have
been dealing with is a continuous impact of an economy that just isn't
working. We have out-of-control prices at the grocery store and the gas
pump; a housing market that has made homeownership impossible for many
families; and for those locked out of the housing market, long-term
rent inflation that continues to threaten renters and small businesses.
Just last week, we celebrated a great time in our Nation, our
Nation's independence on the 4th of July. And what is normally a joyous
time for Americans to come together, instead, became the most expensive
Independence Day on record. This follows the most expensive Halloween
and the most expensive Thanksgiving, leaving Americans little to
celebrate. The cost of a cookout is up 5 percent over last year--5
percent. OK. But it is up 30 percent from 5 years ago. Additionally,
gas prices this past weekend averaged $3.50 a gallon, a 27-percent
increase from 2019.
Couple those statistics with the June jobs report that showed our
country's unemployment rate at the highest it has been at in 2\1/2\
years; or that home prices are up a whopping 49 percent since 2020, far
outpacing any wage increases anybody has seen; and the Joint Economic
Committee's recent report that the average American family has lost
$25,920 paying for the increased cost of living under President Biden
and his policies.
It is clear to the American people that Bidenomics is not working and
that President Biden's economic policies are failing. So this is
something I hear frequently about from my constituents in West
Virginia, that the savings they worked so hard for and that they have
sacrificed to accumulate are dwindling in front of their eyes due to
the skyrocketing costs of living under this administration.
There are policies to employ. There are policies that we can shrink
and cut, regulations to cut, that would improve our economic standing.
But, instead, Bidenomics--named by the President--has severely
jeopardized the American dream for millions of people.
Additionally, we have seen immigration surge to the top of the mind
for voters. And you always hear, immigration, it is only the States at
the border, and why does everybody talk about it? It is a national
issue. It impacts every single State.
The Biden administration has proven time and time again that they
really have no genuine interest in controlling or closing our southern
border or any desire in enforcing the immigration laws that we already
have on the books.
President Biden has allowed over 10 million--10 million; that is 5
times the population of my State--10 million illegal border crossings
throughout his tenure, all beginning with his decision to rescind the
effective immigration policies of President Trump on day one of their
administration.
The mass influx of unchecked immigration has led to widespread
repercussions and endangered the lives of American citizens and of the
migrants
[[Page S4324]]
themselves. It has also left the door wide open for individuals on the
Terror Watchlist to enter our country, and they have actually been
caught at the border--something that is nearly unthinkable in a time of
heightened national security concerns, as we are in right now.
I haven't even mentioned--just briefly, I mentioned--the drug crisis
that President Biden's border inaction has fueled, as mass amounts of
fentanyl stream across our border, endangering the lives of residents
in every State, every city, every county of this country.
The bottom line is that addressing the issues at the southern border
is something that President Biden actually has the tools to do himself.
If he was really serious, he would step in and bring an end to this
humanitarian crisis that has developed under his guidance.
Even here, his inconsistent message and leadership is just baffling
to me--saying he doesn't have the tools one minute and then attempting
to enforce too little too late policy changes the next. He says he
doesn't have the tools, and then he announces that he is going to do
something using one of the tools he has had for 3\1/2\ years.
Perhaps, the most alarming area that President Biden has faltered is
on the international stage where his indecision and ill-advised
policies have signaled unreliability to our allies and weakness to
those who would do us harm. We are living in a time when our Nation
faces the most dangerous global threats that we have seen in decades.
We have NATO here in town today. It is a big topic of discussion.
Yet President Biden has proven to be a President of weakness,
wavering during some of the most tumultuous episodes of our Nation's
history.
This display of weakness is best exemplified by President Biden's
disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. It continued with President
Biden suggesting that a minor incursion into Ukraine might not provoke
a U.S. or allied response. Next, Iran strung President Biden along on
fruitless nuclear talks while the regime was building up their nuclear
capabilities and their militias to attack our U.S. troops. And now,
most recently, President Biden has thrown our commitments to Israel
into question, conditioning aid for our ally during this existential
moment.
There is no denying that President Biden's weakness has created a
world where our adversaries are feeling emboldened and growing closer
together, and that is something we cannot allow to happen--not now, not
ever.
It is important to remind the American public that it just doesn't
have to be this way. Americans shouldn't be forced to choose between
paying rent, putting food on the table, and filling up the gas tank.
They shouldn't have to turn on the TV and see the southern border in
chaos and continually hear the alarm from our Nation's counterterrorism
experts. And Americans shouldn't have to harbor such doubt about our
international standing, which has long stood as a pillar of strength
and freedom around the globe.
My Republican colleagues and I who are going to speak today are not
here to just spectate or to throw stones. We have ideas. And this is
why I, along with my Republican colleagues, continue to fight for
solutions that reduce taxes and combat the crippling inflation that has
become a defining feature of this administration; that put forward
policies to bring order to our southern border like reinstating
``Remain in Mexico'' or ending catch-and-release; and to restore
American strength on the international stage, reminding both our
enemies and our allies of who the United States of America is and
always will be.
While these 3\1/2\ years of failure of the Biden administration have
damaged our Nation, it is certainly never too late to get right back on
track. Senate Republicans remain united in our efforts to fight on
behalf of the American people and deliver on the priorities that mean
the most to them. There is no doubt that the people of our country
deserve better.
And with that, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Rosen). The Senator from Wyoming.
Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, first, I ask unanimous consent that
the following Senators be allowed to speak for up to 5 minutes each
prior to the scheduled rollcall vote: Senator Hoeven, Senator Moran,
and Senator Cornyn, following me.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I rise today to speak about the need
for strong American leadership. President Biden's weakness, seen on the
world's stage, is dangerous. It is dangerous for our Nation, and it is
dangerous for the world. It hurts our citizens, and it encourages
aggression against our Nation and others.
Sadly, America doesn't have strong leadership right now from the
President or the Vice President. Joe Biden is stumbling, bumbling,
blundering into a disaster. It is not one night of forgetfulness on the
debate stage; it is 3\1/2\ years of a pattern of failures.
We are living in the time of heartbreak at home and humiliation
abroad. Look at the drugs, the death, the destruction coming from our
southern border.
Under Democratic open border policies, there have been 10 million
illegal immigrants who have invaded our Nation. Americans all across
the country are in danger. Democrats' open borders allowed Venezuelan
criminals to go to Houston, TX, to sexually abuse and murder a 12-year-
old girl. Illegal immigrants' crime has taken the lives of many
Americans across the country. They make headlines every day.
The open border allows deadly fentanyl to flood our Nation and poison
our communities in all of our States, and certainly Wyoming has been
one of the victims of this poisoning.
More than 300 terror suspects have come into America. That is 300
percent higher than what we saw under the strong policies of President
Trump. And terrorists are roaming our Nation undetected.
Remember, border security isn't optional; it is an obligation, a
commitment to the safety of our American people. It is a foundation of
our safety. Without border security, there can be no national security.
Under Joe Biden, Americans are not safe at home, and, increasingly,
the world is not safe either. President Biden's weakness has invited
war; it has invited conflict; and it has invited chaos around the
world.
He continues to appease Iran by letting Iran avoid sanctions. Iran is
exporting almost 1.3 million barrels of oil to China each and every
day. It uses the money from these oil sales to fund terrorism around
the world.
President Biden made the misguided assumption that concessions to
Iran would stop conflict. Instead, Biden's appeasement makes Iran more
aggressive.
Meanwhile, Biden has proven to be a fair-weathered friend to our
strong ally Israel. On American college campuses today, student
protestors express hostility to the very existence of the Jewish State.
Democrats in Washington have also grown more hostile to Israel. Senator
Schumer stood on the floor--he demanded on this floor in March that
Israel replace its Prime Minister. Senator Sanders called the very next
month for America to stop sending aid to Israel.
The anti-Israel rift in the Democrat party is bad enough. What is
more worrying is that President Biden, the leader of the free world,
lacks the backbone to stand up against it. Rather than resist the pro-
Hamas wing of his party, Biden has repeatedly bowed to them. He
recently slapped a de facto arms embargo on Israel. The weapons he
withheld would limit civilian casualties and help Israel free the
hostages. Biden stopped that.
That includes 8 American hostages who spent the last 9 months,
including their 4th of July, in captivity by Hamas. President Biden
blocked these war-winning weapons anyway. He would rather appease a
small group of pro-Hamas voters in Michigan than support our closest
ally in the Middle East.
Playing politics is the core of Joe Biden's foreign policy. He
recently claimed that no American servicemembers died on his watch. He
told the world that. Well, that is false. It is wrong. It is a denial
of what happened.
On January 11, 2024, two Navy SEALs were lost at sea during a mission
to stop weapon shipments from Iran to Houthi terrorists. Less than 3
weeks
[[Page S4325]]
later, January 28, three American soldiers were killed in Jordan by
Iranian-backed militias. Then there is the disaster of Afghanistan. On
August 26, 2021, ISIS terrorists killed 13 brave American
servicemembers. They were the first American military casualties in
Afghanistan in a year and a half.
Twenty-year-old LCpl Rylee McCollum of Jackson Hole, WY, was one of
them. This was a young man who loved his country and left an impression
on everyone he met. He was our home State wrestling champion. He had
recently been married. He was about to become a father. Madam
President, 1,300 people in Wyoming showed up to attend his funeral. It
was outdoors in a tent, 37 degrees, lasted several hours, and no one
left because Americans deserve better than a President who forgets the
sacrifices of American heroes and forgives the aggression of America's
adversaries.
Joe Biden's weakness and confusion are a vivid contrast to what past
Presidents have done.
I think of President Ronald Reagan and his successful policy of peace
through strength. For 8 years, President Reagan built a strong national
defense, he restored America's confidence, and he confronted America's
enemies. His approach incredibly ended the Cold War without firing a
single shot.
Three decades later, President Trump adopted a similar policy--no
more apologizing for America like President Obama had done. We had
strong borders. We had a strong military. We had a strong economy. And
we had strong American leadership. Our allies respected us. Our enemies
feared us. We were safer. It is time for America to return to that
approach.
The truth is that Joe Biden is a President who cannot defend his
record and cannot defend this Nation. For the safety of our Nation, we
need a lot less of Joe Biden's weakness and a lot more peace through
strength. That is what we need to do. That is the way we get America
back on track.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.