[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 92 (Monday, June 1, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S2463]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                                ECONOMY

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now on costs. Last week we got new 
inflation numbers showing that prices are at their highest level in 
years. Families are saving less as they struggle to make ends meet. 
Americans are working harder, paying more, and getting less.
  That is Trump's economy at work.
  From Trump's mouth to the American people's ears, he said:

       I don't think about Americans' financial situation.

  All Trump thinks about is building his golden ballroom, putting his 
name on a massive arch, lining his pocket with taxpayer dollars, and 
slapping his face onto a $250 bill.
  None of that lowers costs; none of that helps working families. All 
Trump's vanity projects do is waste time and money, and our Republican 
friends seem to go along with almost all of it--maybe even all of it.
  Meanwhile, two-thirds of Americans--two-thirds--say they have had to 
cut back on groceries the past few months because of skyrocketing 
costs. This comes as new data shows household electricity prices have 
spiked by 18 percent since Trump took office. With the hottest months 
now upon us--summer season--rising energy costs will only further 
strain families' pocketbooks.
  The average home cooling costs could reach nearly $800 this summer, 
an 8.5-percent increase over last year and 37 percent more than in 
2020.
  A poll over the weekend found that 53 percent of all Americans say 
the current cost of living is the worst they have ever seen. What 
happened to lowering costs on day one, which Trump so proudly 
proclaimed?
  And, of course, where are the Senate Republicans? Instead of 
listening to the American people, working with Democrats to bring costs 
down, Republicans are working around the clock to aid and abet Trump's 
corruption, to build his vanity projects on the taxpayers' dime, and 
funnel tens of billions of dollars to his masked agents who are already 
flushed with cash.
  Americans are screaming for relief, and all they hear back from 
Senate Republicans is silence--complete, complicit silence.

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