[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 5 (Thursday, January 8, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S103-S104]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Unanimous Consent Request--S. 3229

  Ms. ROSEN. Mr. President, here is a fact that Donald Trump seems to 
not understand or care about: families in Nevada and all across this 
country being squeezed--being squeezed--by high costs. Nevadans are 
struggling to afford even the most basic things from groceries to rent 
to healthcare.
  This isn't just in Nevada. All across the country, housing costs are 
up; healthcare costs are up. Even the most basic, unavoidable expenses 
like electricity have even gotten more expensive. But if you ask Donald 
Trump, he says affordability--and I am going to quote here--is a 
``hoax.'' It is a ``con job by the Democrats.'' He even said--and I am 
going to quote again--``prices are coming down tremendously . . . 
inflation is stopped.''
  I am going to ask everybody here at home today: Do you think 
affordability is a hoax? Do you feel like prices are going down? Don't 
listen to Trump. Just take one look at your grocery bill this week. It 
is clear he isn't paying attention to hard-working people because the 
price of your groceries has done nothing but skyrocket.
  Donald Trump, he ran for President on lowering prices. Since he got 
into office nearly a year ago, Americans have spent on average well 
over $1,000 more because of Trump's cost-raising tariffs. He was 
supposed to lower prices on day one. Well, we are a lot further than 
day one.
  I want to be clear about what these tariffs really are. They are an 
additional tax on hard-working families, and they increase prices 
across the board. Just look at housing. Due to Trump's tariff taxes, 
the price of construction materials, appliances, and furniture have 
skyrocketed, gone through the roof. When you raise the cost of lumber, 
steel, and other materials builders rely on to build new homes, you 
slow down construction. And when supply can't keep up with demand, 
prices go up. That is not just ideology; that is simple economics.
  Similarly, Trump's self-imposed taxes have increased your costs at 
the grocery store. You are paying more for the essentials you rely on 
most: coffee, produce, meat, so much more. Trump and his billionaire 
buddies, who probably haven't gone grocery shopping for themselves in 
years, don't care about the price of groceries. Well, they might not 
care about paying more, but seniors on fixed incomes do; parents trying 
to feed their kids do; workers whose paychecks aren't keeping up do. 
They are the ones being hurt by these reckless tariffs. So Donald Trump 
may not care, but everyone else I know cares--and it matters.
  That is why I introduced my No Tariffs on Groceries Act. This bill, 
it is simple--simple. It would exempt your groceries from Trump's 
tariffs, meaning the costs won't be raised because of the tariffs. So 
it is time that Congress reasserts its authority over trade and pushes 
back against Trump's cost-raising tariffs.
  I know a few things: Groceries are not a luxury; food should never be 
a bargaining chip; and working families should not be collateral damage 
in Trump's reckless trade wars. This hits everyone at the 
kitchen table. Every person needs to eat. You shouldn't be collateral 
damage in Trump's reckless trade wars. Let's prove this Chamber can 
still act on the issues that are most important to American families at 
their kitchen table. If they care about that and they want to lower 
costs for everybody, let's pass my bill right now.

  Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent 
that the Committee on Finance be discharged from further consideration 
of S. 3229 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; 
that the Rosen substitute amendment, which is at the desk, be 
considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read 
and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and 
laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Idaho.
  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I rise in 
opposition to S. 3229, the No Tariffs on Groceries Act of 2025.
  The reason groceries are so expensive is because during the last 
administration, inflation got totally out of control. We all know the 
grocery prices went up then. That is when the inflation rates were in 
double digits. I think at one point, they got over 20 percent.
  Where is the inflation rate today? My colleagues on the other side 
would like to try to duck the fact that the reason grocery prices are 
so high is because of the inflation that was caused under President 
Biden's administration when we blew the top off of growth and the 
prices. Today, the inflation rate is at 2.7 percent, close to the 
Federal Reserve's target for our economy. That is just a fact that we 
have to recognize and deal with.
  Now, this bill seeks to exempt articles of food from the President's 
IEEPA tariffs. I agree with my colleagues that tariffs generally should 
be targeted as much as possible to avoid harm to Americans. We also 
should consider more exemptions to harms arising from potential 
unintended consequences, including exemptions for unavailable natural 
resources.
  The administration agrees. In November, the administration excluded a 
number of food items from the reciprocal, India, and Brazil IEEPA 
tariffs. By all accounts, the administration is working to identify 
similar exemptions in other active trade negotiations. I strongly 
encourage the President to pursue productive courses of engagement with 
U.S. stakeholders in doing so, but voting for one-off exemptions on the 
Senate floor in isolation of a larger negotiating strategy and broader 
stakeholder concerns like this bill S. 3229 asks us to do now, does not 
facilitate a predictable process for our negotiators or for any broader 
segment of stakeholder engagement.
  Therefore, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.

[[Page S104]]

  The Senator from Nevada.
  Ms. ROSEN. Mr. President, food should never be a bargaining chip. 
People's kitchen tables, their refrigerators should never be a 
bargaining chip. This is not a partisan issue, feeding people in the 
United States. We should not be mixing natural resources with the 
essential things that we need like food.
  Are my Republican colleagues--if they want to lower prices, they can 
start--they can start--by this one small act of letting this bill go 
through. They can help me lower prices right here, right now. I am very 
disappointed. This bill would lower prices at the grocery store for 
hard-working families all across America. And by stopping it from 
passing, you and your Republican colleagues--well, I am afraid you are 
telling the American people that their kitchen table isn't your 
priority and that Washington Republicans would rather bow to Trump than 
pass legislation to lower at least one section of grocery prices and 
make food more affordable for their constituents.
  Again, this isn't partisan. People in my State and yours are being 
crushed by rising costs. Washington Republicans have the power to do a 
little something about it, but they choose not to. So if you really 
want to do what is right by your constituents, if you want to do right 
by kitchen tables across this country, Republicans would stand up to 
Trump, stand up against these reckless tariffs on food, and support my 
legislation.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.