[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 114 (Wednesday, July 10, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4326-S4327]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Biden Administration

  Mr. HOEVEN. Madam President, today, I join my colleagues in outlining 
more than 3\1/2\ years of policy failures under President Biden, which 
are impacting families and businesses across the country every single 
day. From our economy to our Nation's security, Americans can feel the 
weight of this administration's decisions, leading to a higher cost of 
living and less safe communities--things that impact people every 
single day.
  I will begin where individuals most frequently feel those impacts: 
their pocketbook. Biden's inflation is hurting every American, 
particularly low-income Americans. For example, Americans are paying 
more for energy because President Biden has sought to block or restrict 
access to our Nation's vast energy reserves.
  On day one of his administration, President Biden blocked the 
Keystone XL Pipeline and placed a moratorium on new oil and gas leases 
shortly thereafter.
  Then, President Biden and congressional Democrats doubled down, 
passing a partisan tax-and-spend bill that included a new natural gas 
tax and higher fees and royalty rates on Federal energy production.
  Just recently, the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management 
finalized a new public lands rule, enabling radical environmental 
groups to lock away more of our energy reserves under a so-called 
conservation leasing plan. The BLM also finalized a new onshore oil and 
gas rule and a new venting and flaring rule.
  In my State of North Dakota, BLM is proposing to close off leasing on 
45 percent of Federal oil and gas acreage and 95 percent of Federal 
coal acreage. BLM's failed stewardship of our energy resources extends 
to other States as well, including the blocking of new oil and gas 
production in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
  Each of these actions are specifically designed to drive up the cost 
of energy production on Federal lands, and these costs are ultimately 
passed along to consumers. Today, Americans are paying 46 percent more 
for gasoline at the pump. And, at the same time, utility bills are also 
rising and outpacing inflation.
  The Environmental Protection Agency's latest onslaught of new power 
sector regulations will require utilities to spend billions of dollars 
to comply with burdensome regulations or, worse, force the premature 
retirement of reliable, coal-fired baseload powerplants that our Nation 
needs.
  Independent grid operators from across the country are warning that 
EPA's regulations will threaten reliability and increase the risk of 
blackouts and brownouts.
  Americans can no longer afford to pay more for less reliable energy 
following 3\1/2\ years of President Biden's failed Green New Deal.
  That is why we need to take the handcuffs off our energy producers 
and empower them to increase supply and bring down prices for hard-
working American families.
  Now, in addition to discussing President Biden's failures on 
inflation, the economy, and energy production, I want to, again, bring 
the crisis taking place at the southern border to everyone's attention.
  We are nearly through fiscal year 2024, and the consequences of 
President Biden's failed border policies are becoming clearer every 
single day. The American people are seeing beyond the administration's 
false claims that the border is secure. Every day, there are new 
reports of horrific crimes being committed by individuals illegally in 
the United States, and these violent crimes continue to be perpetuated 
in every State.
  Local and Federal law enforcement officials have confirmed that the 
Tren de Aragua--I may not have said it just right, but this is a 
transnational criminal gang that originated in a Venezuelan prison. I 
am going to repeat that. A transnational criminal gang that originated 
in a Venezuelan prison is now present and operating in the United 
States. Think about that. Their activities in the United States include 
human and drug trafficking as well as assaults and the murder of police 
officers.
  In addition, there is now an increased threat from dangerous elements 
illegally entering the United States who have direct ties to 
international terrorist organizations like ISIS. Just last month, ICE 
arrested eight Tajikistan nationals with potential ties to ISIS, who 
illegally crossed the southern border and have been living in the 
United States. Now, let that sink in for a minute.
  At our port of entry and all along the border, we continue to see 
high numbers of individuals on the Terror Watchlist who are attempting 
to enter the United States. So far, in fiscal year 2024, we have seen 
316 individuals attempt to enter the country.
  FBI Director Wray said it himself:

       We are seeing a wide array of very dangerous threats that 
     emanate from the border.

  The cause of these threats to our homeland is clear: President 
Biden's failure to secure the southern border. President Biden's 
failure to secure the southern border.
  The American people suffer the consequences because the Biden 
administration refuses to enforce policies that protect our southern 
border. These policies were put in place by the Trump administration. 
They are the Migrant Protection Protocols, or ``Remain in Mexico'' 
policy; enforcing third safe country agreements; and resuming 
construction of the border wall.
  The Biden administration must address this border crisis, enforce the 
laws that kept monthly encounters to the lower numbers that we saw 
under the Trump administration, and take border security very 
seriously, deadly seriously, because border security is national 
security.
  Altogether, all these issues--whether it is safety, whether it is 
inflation--all of these things affect Americans across this entire 
country every single day. After nearly 4 years of policy failures, our 
country needs to get back on the right track: bring down inflation, 
strengthen our economy, and address the border and national security 
and safety in our communities. That is exactly what my colleagues and I 
are working every day to accomplish.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, over the last 3\1/2\ years, President 
Biden's policies have unleashed a series of crises, one after another, 
and have thus made the lives of average Americans harder, not easier.

[[Page S4327]]

  There is a security crisis at the border that my colleague from North 
Dakota talked about a moment ago--rising crime rates across our 
communities, some of which come from gang members who transit our 
southern border and then go on to commit crimes of violence against 
innocent Americans all across the country; the drugs that took the 
lives of 108,000 Americans last year alone; and then America's 
weakening role on the global stage.
  I believe there is a reason why the threats that confront our country 
and world peace are at the greatest level they have been since World 
War II. It is because the tyrants, the autocrats, the dictators--the 
people like Vladimir Putin, President Xi in China, Kim Jong Un in North 
Korea, and the Supreme Leader in Iran--perceive weakness, and weakness 
for them is a provocation; it is an invitation for them to take action 
and threaten stability and peace.
  President Biden's policies have made Americans' lives harder, not 
easier. Nowhere is that more evident than in the high prices that are 
clobbering family budgets. I know the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania 
Avenue is doing just fine. He is not feeling the impact of higher 
prices at the gas pump, at the grocery store, in rent, and all across 
our economy. It doesn't affect him, and it doesn't affect many of us, 
but for people on a fixed income and people who are of lower income--
seniors, retired individuals--it is degrading and undermining their 
standard of living and their quality of life.
  Since President Biden took office 3\1/2\ years ago, consumer prices 
have risen on average 20 percent. That means a dollar that you spent on 
consumer products--whatever they may be--3\1/2\ years ago now only buys 
80 cents' worth of value. That is a hard leap for many families to 
absorb, and for those living on fixed incomes or tight budgets, it is 
virtually impossible. Families are paying 21 percent more for 
groceries, 41 percent more for energy, and 54 percent more for 
gasoline. When you add in price hikes on clothing, car insurance, and 
even a visit to the dentist, you are looking at a mountain of expenses 
that cost more today than they did when President Biden took office.

  America has experienced a 40-year high in inflation as a result of 
the reckless spending policies of the Biden administration's by 
throwing $2.7 trillion of reckless partisan spending on the fire of 
inflation, making it much, much, much worse. Of course, then the 
Federal Reserve has to try to raise interest rates, which they have 
done, in order to dampen that fire, in order to put out the fire. But 
that doesn't erase the fact that American consumers--our constituents--
have experienced a 20-percent increase in their cost of living across 
the board.
  An average household in the State of Texas is spending more than 
$1,000 a month more today than they did 3\1/2\ years ago. That is more 
than $12,500 a year. Texans don't need that sort of data, though, to 
know that their lives have been impacted negatively, because they have 
felt the impact themselves for 3\1/2\ long years. They have seen the 
effect of Biden's policies reflected in their bank accounts and on 
their credit card statements.
  Credit card debt is at one of the highest levels it has been in all 
time. People who can't meet their monthly bills, if they have access to 
a credit card, may likely charge it and say, ``Well, I am trying to get 
by today by borrowing on my credit card,'' but of course they end up 
having to pay that back as well at some point. Meanwhile, they are 
charged a lot of interest costs, which, again, increase their cost of 
living.
  Many Americans have scrapped family vacations and have settled for 
more affordable, local activities. Sometimes it is a matter of 
convenience. Sometimes it is a matter of life or death, such as 
deciding whether to fill a prescription or pay your air-conditioning 
bill.
  I can tell you, right now, in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, many 
Texans are without electricity and are experiencing 100-degree heat and 
99-percent humidity.
  Many Americans who can't afford to pay their utility bills are having 
to cut back on things like air-conditioning. Many people, during the 
heat of the summer, particularly vulnerable Americans and the elderly, 
are suffering as a result.
  What is President Biden's response when you raise these criticisms? 
It is to say: Well, it is somebody else's fault. He tries to blame his 
predecessor for the sticker shock that Americans are experiencing on a 
daily basis.
  A couple of months ago, President Biden claimed that inflation was at 
9 percent when he took office. Now, that is not the only time that 
President Biden has misstated the facts. It might be a compelling point 
if it were actually true. When President Biden took office, inflation 
was only at 1.4 percent, and under his leadership, inflation has soared 
to a 40-year high of more than 9 percent.
  Fortunately, thanks to the policies of the Federal Reserve, which are 
painful enough because they raise interest rates, which costs consumers 
more on the debt they owe on their vehicles or when they buy a house, 
inflation has slowed, but high prices remain.
  President Biden's policies have sent prices through the roof, and 
that is where they have stayed. No matter what the level of inflation 
is currently, those high prices are cumulative, and with election day 
less than 5 months away, voters are asking themselves a very important 
question: Has my life gotten better or worse since President Biden took 
office?
  Thanks to President Biden's policies, families are struggling to 
cover the costs of gasoline, groceries, rent, insurance, and just about 
everything else, and high interest rates, which are a result of the 
Federal Reserve's tightening of access to credit, continue to make 
dreams like owning a home or opening a small business out of reach for 
many Americans.
  As I said, Texans are now paying more than $1,000 per month more 
thanks to President Biden's policies. If President Biden manages to win 
another term in the White House, I worry about how much higher my 
constituents' monthly bills will continue to climb.
  I yield the floor.