U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) spoke on the Senate floor about the April Consumer Price Index report that revealed prices have increased 19.9 percent since President Biden took office. Thune noted that in addition to soaring inflation and sky-high prices, Democrats’ plan to raise taxes would exacerbate economic pain.
Thune’s remarks below (as prepared for delivery):
“Mr. President, this morning’s inflation report shows just how stubborn President Biden’s inflation crisis is.
“For the 37th month in a row, prices have risen by more than 3 percent.
“And there’s still no end in sight.
“Overall, prices are up 19.9 percent since President Biden took office.
“Grocery prices are up 21.3 percent.
“Car repairs are up 30.2 percent.
“Rent is up 20.8 percent.
“And the list goes on.
“And as Americans turn on their air conditioners this summer, they can contemplate a grim report from the Wall Street Journal, which notes that electricity prices have gone up 13 times faster under President Biden than they did in the previous seven years.
“All told, it costs a typical family more than $1,000 a month just to maintain the standard of living it had when President Biden took office.
“More than $1,000 a month just to tread water.
“So, Mr. President, it’s shocking to hear President Biden say things like he did last week when he suggested that people, quote, ‘have the money’ to pay higher prices.
“But that’s the kind of disconnect we’ve come to expect from the president who claimed inflation would be ‘temporary’ – and who has persistently downplayed and denied the painful economic reality Americans are experiencing thanks to Democrats’ reckless spending.
“And that pain is real, Mr. President.
“As one working parent in Connecticut said, ‘Every time I look at my bank account, it’s always going down.’
“Luis, a truck driver in Pennsylvania, said, ‘I can do my living, but compared to what I used to have, I need to work extra to get what I used to have before.’
“And a family farmer in Missouri described his input costs as ‘ridiculous.’
“And they’re not alone.
“Mr. President, 48 percent of voters say their personal financial situation is getting worse.
“Half of voters say they are worse off since President Biden took office.
“And 80 percent of voters say high prices are one of their biggest financial challenges.
“Meanwhile, the cost of dealing with inflation is adding to Americans’ financial pain.
“Many Americans have had to turn to their credit cards to cope with higher prices.
“And with the Federal Reserve having to keep interest rates elevated to fight inflation, paying off that debt has gotten harder.
“High interest rates have also helped put the American Dream of owning your own home increasingly out of reach.
“Prospective homebuyers need to earn nearly twice as much to afford a typical home today as they did four years ago.
“And half of renters under age 50 don’t think they will be able to afford to buy their own home.
“And for Americans pursuing their dream of owning their own business or running the family farm or ranch, inflation has created serious challenges.
“More than a third of small business owners identify inflation as the biggest threat to their business.
“And higher input costs and higher borrowing costs have forced small business owners to grapple with unwelcome prospects like raising prices and pulling back from investing in their businesses.
“Mr. President, as bad as things have been over the past three years, it could get worse.
“The budget President Biden proposed in March contained a staggering $5 trillion in job-killing tax hikes.
“And just recently the president said that if he is reelected, he would let the 2017 tax cuts expire.
“Democrats may not like to acknowledge this, but the 2017 Republican-led tax reform legislation cut taxes for the majority of Americans.
“And if those rate cuts are allowed to expire, a typical family is looking at a $1,600 tax hike in 2026.
“That money may not matter to someone like the president, but I’m sure working families have better uses for $1,600 than sending it to the IRS.
“Especially when you consider how much President Biden’s inflation crisis is already costing them.
“And on top of that the president wants to allow other tax reform measures in the 2017 bill – measures that brought benefits to hardworking Americans – to expire.
“So Americans could be looking at a future of higher taxes plus fewer jobs and opportunities.
“Mr. President, the American people can’t afford any more of the president’s misguided economic policies.
“But unfortunately the president never seems to learn.
“Let’s hope the American people don’t have to endure a second term of Bidenomics.
“Mr. President, I yield the floor.”
