John Barrasso

05/20/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/20/2024 17:56

Barrasso: Bidenomics is Crushing American Families

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) spoke on the Senate floor today to correct the record about the failure of Bidenomics and its negative impact on the American people.

Sen Barrasso's Remarks:

"I come to the floor today to speak about the economy. Joe Biden is clearly the president of high prices. People all across the country, all 50 states, are well aware that this is going to be Joe Biden's enduring legacy.

"Prices spiked again in April. The statistics are out. Prices have been rising again and again and again. Price increases have been now above 3 percent for the last 37 months. This is the longest period in history of high prices since the late 1980s.

"President Biden continues to repeat a falsehood. You could call it a lie. Because he has said time and again that inflation was 9 percent when he came into office. This is pure confusion on his part. Even the liberal fact-checkers - people at CNN, people in the Washington Post - have said what President Biden is saying about inflation is flat-out false. It's wrong.

"In January of 2021, the day that the current President Biden took the oath of office, the inflation rate in America was 1.4 percent. Today, prices are almost 20 percent higher than they were the day he took the oath of office.

"The burden of Bidenomics on the American public is crushing, it's compounding, and of course, it's cumulative. It continues to add on every single day. But Democrats in this chamber and around the country deny this economic reality. Certainly, the Democrat in the White House denies this economic reality. And President Biden proved that he was completely disconnected from the suffering American families.

"Earlier this month, he said Americans have, quote, 'the money to spend.' I'm not sure who he's talking to, but that's not the case across America. And it's not the case in my home state of Wyoming. Democrats are completely out of touch on the economy because they are out of touch with American voters, the citizens of this country.

"Rising prices have plagued Americans for the last three years. Everyday life costs more and more and more. Under Joe Biden, Americans are squeezed, they are stressed, and they are struggling to get by. More than half of Americans will tell you that the economic conditions that they see day in and day out are poor - poor for them personally. More than 80 percent of Americans saying that high prices are their number one concern. That's what the Americas are suffering from today.

"President Biden's policies are not the cure for inflation and our economic anxieties. Joe Biden and the Democrats' policies are the cause of our economic struggles. Joe Biden and the Democrats in this chamber and in the House of Representatives at a time when Nancy Pelosi was Speaker, they approved more than $3 trillion in wasteful Washington spending. The President added more than $1 trillion additionally on stifling and punishing economic regulations. He launched a war on American energy. Hiked energy costs for families. Gas prices went up, electricity prices went up.

"Because of failed Bidenomics, Americans are paying over $12,000 more a year, this year, than they did the year that he came into office just to buy the same things that they could buy the day he came into the White House. It's over $1,000 a month. That's what the American people are seeing today.

"A hundred-dollar cart of groceries in 2019, the costs now are that same cart full of groceries, not very full, $137. Gallon of gas was in 2021, 2.38. Today in many of the battleground states - Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania - it's approaching $4 a gallon.

"Now of course, high prices aren't the only problem. Interest rates are at the highest level in 23 years. High interest rates are a bitter fruit of Bidenomics. People are suffering when they have to take out a loan. This is causing significant affordability crisis all across the country and in all age groups. Under these failed policies of the Biden administration, younger people, younger Americans, have been demoralized. They are delaying life's biggest moments.

"Home ownership is slipping far out of the reach of most young married couples and young people trying to start a family. Young Americans are facing the costliest housing market ever. Borrowing costs have soared. Biden took office, they were 2.7 percent. Today, over 7 percent. Home prices today are nearly six times higher than the average household income. That's a record ratio. Six times higher than the average household income.

"Other costs - utility costs, insurance costs, all costs - are climbing. And they're all caused by the amount of spending we've had under this administration. Young Americans having trouble buying a car. The price of car loans is going way up as well as the price of automobiles themselves.

"Young Americans are also forced to rely on credit cards more and more. They are developing mounting debt, which is going to contribute to saddle them and their future. Young Americans will tell you that they are overextended and they are distressed and they're begging for relief.

"Today's high prices and high interest rates are going to create tomorrow's troubles. President Biden has failed to protect the American dream. We now have an entire generation of young Americans who can't afford to buy a home, can't afford to start a business, can't afford to begin a family, and certainly can't afford to grow any savings that they may have.

"Americans are absolutely fed up with big spending high-priced Democrats. People are financially exhausted by Joe Biden's high prices. People are ready to move beyond Bidenomics and beyond Joe Biden. Time for a change.

"Senate Republicans are ready to put America back on track. We're fighting to lower costs. That's what we're hearing every weekend at home: Get down the prices of things that are up under Joe Biden, stop the wasteful Washington spending and unleash American energy. That's the solution to the problems facing America today.

"This is how we can help make life more affordable for all Americans."

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