[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 64 (Monday, April 13, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1701-S1702]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Inflation

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, as I traveled Iowa during this Easter 
recess, holding Q&A's in 25 counties, I ran into what I think all my 
colleagues do: concern about inflation.
  We have to remember that inflation let loose by the reckless spending 
policies of the Biden administration has been proven to be anything but 
transitory. And that word ``transitory'' we heard so much during the 
previous administration.
  Remember, it shot up to 9 percent. It is still not low enough. 
Inflation endures to this day, acting as a hidden tax on working-class 
Americans.
  While inflation is well down from the 40-year high that we knew 
throughout history, that is of little comfort to working families 
struggling to make ends meet. In the first 6 months of this new 
administration, the Republican-led Congress acted early to shield 
Americans battling rising prices from the additional burden of a record 
tax hike that would have happened if we had not intervened.
  The Working Families Tax Cut Act prevented the largest tax increase 
in our Nation's history. It also included additional working-class tax 
cuts. As a result, for working men and women, the average tax refund is 
up 11 percent over last year. Moreover, thanks to no tax on tips and 
overtime, workers keep more of their hard-earned dollars with each 
paycheck as the taxman takes less. This means Americans have more money 
in their pockets to provide for their families.
  Still, much work remains to be done, and with other colleagues, we 
are addressing the rising cost of living. We are all working to lower 
costs on healthcare, food, gasoline, and housing, to name a few.
  Congress recently passed reforms to rein in powerful drug middlemen 
called pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs for short. This will lower 
drug costs. Now, more needs to be done in the area of getting 
prescription drug costs down, but what we did about a month ago with 
PBMs, through more transparency, should lead to lower drug costs. But 
out of the bills I have introduced, there are still several more 
provisions dealing with pharmacy benefit managers that we need to pass.
  I am also working to increase access to more affordable health 
insurance plans, increase competition and access to cheaper drugs, and 
establish healthcare price transparency, which works very well for 
consumers that want to look to the marketplace. There is a wide variety 
of prices for a lot of operations and a lot of other healthcare costs. 
If people would compare prices, it would save a lot of money.
  Another area of focus for me is the cost of groceries. We can lower 
food costs by supporting American agriculture and passing a farm bill. 
Farmers have been hit by a sharp rise in costs to their inputs, which 
eventually the consumer pays for. Reducing these costs through 
transparency and competition on inputs, such as fertilizer, would also 
help ease food prices. In this area, I was happy to read that, finally, 
the Department of Justice is looking at anti-competition in 
agriculture, particularly in fertilizer and seed companies generally, 
not just seed corn.
  A top priority of mine is enacting year-round E15 legislation. This 
policy

[[Page S1702]]

would deliver lower prices at the gas pump and boost the farm economy. 
Anybody who believes that E15 won't reduce prices ought to check prices 
at the pumps in the eight States of the Midwest that have already 
received permission from the EPA for E15 year-round in those eight 
States. What we need to do is make sure it is, by law, year-round--E15 
year-round--and nationwide.
  At the top of the list of expenses for most families is housing. It 
used to be that the average first-time homeowner was 30 years old. 
Today, he or she is 41 years old. We have to get housing costs down for 
first-time homeowners.
  The Senate has passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing legislation. 
This should increase the supply of affordable housing by cutting 
redtape and unlocking private capital.
  Last but not least, affordability requires fiscal sanity. Fiscal 
recklessness by the Biden administration caused inflation, and fiscal 
restraint is the ultimate antidote. Last year's reconciliation bill 
took a step in the right direction by trimming $1 trillion in mandatory 
spending. Yet uncommonly high deficits and mounting debt continue to 
fuel inflation and put upward pressure on interest rates. To finally 
stamp out inflation, Congress must recommit to sound budgeting.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant executive clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.