[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 185 (Wednesday, November 8, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5413-S5415]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Bidenomics

  Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I rise today, really, to speak on 
behalf of the American people that I represent--and those are my great 
West Virginians--but Americans all across the country--many, many of 
whom have been left behind in President Biden's pursuit of Bidenomics 
and who are directly feeling the scars that his administrative policies 
have left on the American dream.
  American families are experiencing ever-increasing financial pressure 
due to the state of our Nation's economy, which is jeopardizing our 
ability to succeed. And it is jeopardizing our ability to feel 
confident.
  It is simply unfair that Americans are compromised at every turn due 
to inflation--increased interest rates, costly regulations, and tax 
hikes on essential items that we all need to live.
  But not only is this unfair, but for a country as strong and 
resourceful as our country is, it is unacceptable.
  So let's just take a quick refresher on what exactly Bidenomics 
means. What began as sort of an ambiguous term to recognize the 
economic policies of this administration has quickly come to mean one 
thing: You are spending more and getting less.
  It means that we see inflation reach a 40-year high and remain 
persistently above the Fed's target rate and pre-Biden administration 
levels. It also means that mortgage rates would reach and remain at a 
30-year record and that interest rates would rise at the fastest pace 
over the last four decades.
  It is just truly astounding that the difference in interest that 
Americans are paying now, compared to what they were paying just last 
year. Look at some of your statements, and you will see it. The Fed 
aggressively raised interest rates 11 times between early 2022 and now, 
from nearly zero to 5.5 percent in less than 2 years.
  The historic increase comes at a cost. It comes at a cost that 
Americans have to pay and is making that dream of affording a home, 
buying a new car, or building a business seemingly impossible.
  Bidenomics means that consumer prices are skyrocketing, and it means 
that everything from groceries to energy to gasoline will stay at 
nearly unaffordable levels.
  Well, we just saw it last week with the Halloween candy. I saw 
several comparisons of how much more Halloween candy was this year than 
last. And you know what? We are going to see it again when we all 
gather at Thanksgiving and we look at the cost of providing a family 
meal.
  President Biden refers to Bidenomics as an ``investment in America.'' 
But the reality is Bidenomics is making sure that Americans have 
nothing left to invest. Nor do they have anything in their savings 
accounts. We see lots of studies on this. We can't invest in our small 
businesses, not investing in repairing and replacing your home, and, 
certainly, not investing in the future of our families.
  I hear about this from West Virginians every single time I go home, 
which is every weekend. I had the opportunity to hear the story of a 
gentleman who owns a bus company that operates in West Virginia.
  The challenges his business is facing come from all levels. He owns 
38 buses, but not all of them are operational. In addition to elevated 
fuel costs, he cannot find enough drivers. So workforce shortages are 
everywhere, and lingering supply chain issues have hampered his ability 
to conduct much needed maintenance. He said that even when he gets a 
bus rolling and the group asks: Let's stop for some food--I think 
often, when we see a bus stopping for food and we are wanting to get 
some food at the same restaurant, we keep going because we know what 
that means--but he says, often he as the driver of the bus is often met 
by restaurant owners in the parking lot who say that their staffing 
shortages are preventing them from being able to provide service to the 
passengers.

  And that is just one interaction, but it proves the multifaceted 
challenges created by Bidenomics, the growing negative impact that 
these policies have made, and the handcuffs that are being placed on 
business owners that prevent them from doing their jobs.
  Sustained high inflation and interest rates mean that operating costs 
are at levels where, even if prices are raised, business owners can't 
reinvest into their business or hire to maintain a good workforce.
  And because they are forced to raise prices, those costs are passed 
on to the consumer who continues to make difficult choices about how 
they will spend their money.
  Additionally, I hear from West Virginians who are facing difficulties 
as they are beginning to start their adult lives. They have graduated 
from school; they have got a job; maybe gotten married, thinking about 
maybe starting a family and a life together. But due to rising interest 
rates, high inflation, and stagnated wages, they are unable to do so. 
It is unaffordable.
  These are children who came of age in the time of economic success, 
who saw how their parents were able to provide for them, but they are 
unable to use that blueprint now because of Bidenomics.
  This shows the direct damage, I think, that the President and his 
policies have inflicted on the American people and the American dream 
and the disadvantages that some of our children will continue to 
grapple with if we do not change course soon.
  For reasons I do not understand, President Biden continues to travel 
the country to try to claim credit and convince people that the state 
of the economy is good for them. The President has the right, 
certainly, to take that credit. But my question is, Why would he want 
to do it? I don't think he has done his own grocery shopping lately. 
And anytime you are in the grocery store, you can see what is going on.
  So truth be told, I think he is selling us--he is trying to sell us a 
false bill of goods, one that the American people are not buying 
because, you know what? There again, they can't afford to. They can't 
afford to.
  Recent polls show that 76 percent of Americans think that our country 
is on the wrong track, and 66 percent--that is two-thirds of all 
Americans--rate our Nation's economy as bad. These numbers shouldn't 
surprise any of us, as Americans are continuing to feel the squeeze.

[[Page S5414]]

  American workers are continually becoming increasingly concerned that 
they won't have enough to retire as they had originally planned. The 
optimism of our small business owners is continuing to decline and the 
credit card debt is rising, and it is being carried by Americans as it 
hits a new record of over $1 trillion.
  On top of all of this, the disappointing October jobs report saw 
unemployment rise and manufacturing decline. So Americans are 
concerned--deservedly so.
  One thing is clear: Our country cannot continue on the path that 
Bidenomics has led us. It makes no sense to continue to focus Federal 
time and resources to push burdensome ESG government policies--that is 
environment, social, and corporate government policies--instead of 
promoting pro-growth policies to help bring the United States out of 
the difficult reality that our people are finding themselves in. 
Americans remember times of past economic success. The progress that 
was generated by lowering taxes, supporting small businesses, and 
investing in American energy and technology.
  Our Republican colleagues and I continue to craft solutions that we 
believe will promote fiscal responsibility, cut redtape, cut Executive 
overreach, and unleash the American energy that we have right here at 
home. Each of these areas is of vital importance to our economy and 
would provide the relief that American families need at a time when 
they need it the most.
  I encourage President Biden and my colleagues to heed the calls of 
the American people who face challenges in their pocketbooks every 
single day, every single trip they make to the grocery store, every 
time they fill up their gas tank, every time they look at their 
checkbook. The focus should be on them, not on the President and the 
empty pursuit of Bidenomics.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mrs. FISCHER. Madam President, last winter a restaurant and a bakery 
near Omaha NE, well, they both closed their doors. The restaurant owner 
said: We have to close. There is no way around it. The owner simply 
couldn't keep up with food and labor costs that were going through the 
roof, costs that have been catapulting higher and higher ever since 
President Biden implemented his so-called Bidenomics agenda.
  The bakery owner, well, she had a similar story as she closed her 
doors. She said that rising costs made it impossible to continue. 
Inflation took a sledgehammer to those small businesses as well as the 
livelihoods of their owners and their employees. That is Bidenomics in 
Nebraska.
  Starting and sustaining a family business is already a massive 
undertaking. That work, combined with the burden of oppressive 
inflation, becomes too heavy for some families to carry. And the coming 
months may add even more to that heavy load.
  As we close in on the winter season, days are getting colder; days 
are getting darker; and that means that many family-owned shops--well, 
they are going to lose significant business. Fewer customers are going 
to venture out to shop at small businesses and they will do it for 
fewer hours during the day and that is going to cut down on the amount 
of profit that these businesses make.
  But not only that, while profit decreases, costs will go up. Because 
it is colder, small businesses will spend more of their money on energy 
bills to heat the buildings. Winter in Nebraska, well, it can pose 
challenges for family-owned businesses every year. And this year, that 
is especially the case.
  Since President Biden took office, energy prices have risen by 44 
percent. The burden of a higher energy bill during the winter months is 
44 percent heavier. Fuel oil is 51 percent more expensive. That is an 
astounding number. Electricity has gotten 26 percent more expensive, 
and natural gas, well, it is 22 percent more expensive.
  This winter, there may be Nebraska businesses that follow in the 
footsteps of that Omaha restaurant and that Omaha bakery, losing so 
much money to inflation that they are going to be forced to close up 
shop.
  Spending hundreds more dollars on basic business necessities is 
unsustainable for a family-owned business, and that is Bidenomics in 
Nebraska.
  Inflation burdens businesses, but that is not where it stops. 
Inflation is costing the average Nebraska household $988 a month. That 
is almost $12,000 more a year. Families are paying more for everything, 
from eggs to gas to their mortgage payments, and this October--for the 
second year in a row--candy. Candy inflation hit double digits. When 
buying Halloween candy contributes to a middle-class family's financial 
struggle, we have got a serious problem. And that is Bidenomics in 
Nebraska.
  Nebraskans know Bidenomics isn't working and so do the American 
people. In a New York Times poll this weekend, 81 percent of 
respondents said that the economy is less than good. Over half said 
that economic conditions are poor. Our economy is sick, and this 
administration is making it sicker with every reckless financial 
decision.
  Since January 2021, this administration has been trigger-happy with 
heavy-handed regulations, instead of listening to people and putting a 
stop to these outrageous levels of inflation.
  We know how to heal the economy. It is just a matter of getting it 
done. The administration has got to stop with its reckless spending. 
The President needs to reverse course on damaging regulations like his 
ineffective Inflation Reduction Act, and he certainly needs to refrain 
from passing more of it.
  We need to unleash American energy so our economy can breathe again. 
Bidenomics means sky-high prices, hollowed-out savings, and costly 
interest rates. We can combat it with less spending, less regulation, 
and more American energy.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. SCHMITT. Madam President, the Biden administration is constantly 
trying to sell Americans that the economy is improving. They offer 
miniscule morsels of improvement. The big picture shows an economy that 
is struggling mightily, and Americans are struggling along with it.
  The Biden administration wants to tout Bidenomics as a success. Young 
Americans, families, elderly Americans, and everyone in between are 
being crushed under the weight of economic stagnation. According to the 
New York Times, 81 percent of Americans rated economic conditions as 
``fair'' or ``poor.'' CBS News states that 66 percent of Americans rate 
the national economy as ``bad.'' ABC News has a poll that says 76 
percent of Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction. 
About two in three Americans say their household expenses have risen in 
the last year, but only one in four says their income has increased in 
the same period, according to an AP poll.
  Higher prices, stagnant wages, and skyrocketing interest rates are 
hammering the American people across all demographics.
  Typically, young Americans are looking to buy a house, condo, or 
property, and build some equity. It is a staple of building a fiscally 
healthy future and the foundation of the American dream. Not only can 
young people not afford homes with the current obscene interest rates, 
they can barely afford to keep their heads above water.
  While Biden tries to distract young voters with his climate alarmism 
and that the Earth is going to boil, it is actually Biden's woeful 
mismanagement of the economy that is the real existential threat to the 
economy, the real existential threat to the American dream, the real 
existential threat to their future. Furthermore, it is Biden's insane 
energy policies that have stifled domestic energy production and made 
everything more expensive.
  For families, it is even tougher in this economy. Household goods and 
food costs are more expensive now. Families are dipping into their 
savings and incurring more expenses and credit card debt, which is now 
at record levels.
  Overall prices have risen 17 percent and are costing the average 
American household $940 more per month. For elderly Americans who are 
retired or who are about to retire, this economy poses a dire threat. 
Higher prices on everything doesn't bode well for those on a fixed 
income, and with people dipping into their retirement savings just

[[Page S5415]]

to cover the costs, it doesn't bode well for those hoping to retire 
soon either.
  It turns out that, when you spend trillions and trillions and 
trillions of dollars you don't have and declare war on domestic energy 
production, inflation runs rampant. The cost of everything goes up. 
That is what Americans are living through. They don't need slogans. 
They are not buying it. No matter how many times he says Bidenomics is 
working, the American people are struggling with higher costs, and they 
know it is not.
  The antidote to the Bidenomics' poison is clear: Stop deficit 
spending. Become energy dominant to ease the burden on working 
families.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Rosen). The Senator from Nebraska.