The Economy (Cong. Rec., July 26, 2021)
Summary
Congressional Record, Senate, page S5063, July 26, 2021, under The Economy. Mr. Tuberville says the new administration inherited an economic comeback, citing Operation Warp Speed and bipartisan rescue packages passed by the Republican-led Senate, and states that this head start has been wasted. Tuberville links rising inflation and costs for food, gas and diapers to government spending. Tuberville reads letters from James Merrill of Huntsville, AL, and Rosa Hill of Birmingham, AL, who object to President Biden's spending plan, and states that much of the work of helping the less fortunate can be done by neighbors, churches and communities.
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“The Economy (Cong. Rec., July 26, 2021).”
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July 26, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5063
the wind at his back. Things were set THE ECONOMY only appease the far left of their base—
up for a roaring success like no other Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam Presi- into their latest package. And all of
Presidential transition in recent mem- dent, you know, there is an old saying President Biden’s progressive programs
ory. Thanks, in large part, to Oper- that I have used quite often, but it cost money, lots and lots of money.
ation Warp Speed, set up by the prior bears repeating: Give a man a fish, you And they are going to pay for them
Congress and administration, we had feed him for a day. Teach a man how to with your taxpayer dollars, not the
multiple safe and effective vaccines fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. government dollars—taxpayer dollars.
that were beginning to circulate widely It is a simple yet insightful concept. A lot of my colleagues have expressed
through the country. The new adminis- Human beings often like things to be concern with the Democrats’ tax-and-
tration’s so-called ambitious goal of easy. It is just in our nature. But the spend spree, but they aren’t the only
about a million vaccines per day was reward for easy is very short-lived. ones sounding the alarm. Folks back
already happening before they were Sometimes, if you don’t earn it, you home have started to take notice, and
sworn in. Thanks to the five bipartisan don’t understand it. If we work hard there is a lot more collective wisdom
rescue packages that the Republican- and challenge ourselves to improve, we among the folks back home than there
led Senate passed last year, we were reap the benefits for much longer. That has been here lately in Washington,
primed and ready for a historic eco- is the American way. DC.
nomic comeback. Americans were ex- I would tell this to my players over So I brought a couple of letters with
cited and ready to build a comeback the years that I coached. You know, me today. These are folks from Ala-
summer for the history books. lessons learned that are applied to the bama who wrote to me about their con-
Yet those incredible tailwinds have football field also apply in life. You cerns with President Biden’s massive
largely been squandered. That historic know, this country owes you one thing: spending plan. Here is what James
head start has been wasted through bad an opportunity. Sometimes people just Merrill from Huntsville, AL, wrote to
policy and, in many cases, needlessly need to be shown where that oppor- me:
divisive leadership. tunity is at and encouraged to take it, I have been studying this atrocious ‘‘Biden
and that is what everyone in this body American Families Plan’’ and it is clear that
After a poorly targeted partisan
should be focused on doing: opening not only is the cost staggering, the implica-
spending package that even liberal tions of all the rules that will go with it will
economists warned could cause more doors for opportunity for the people of
terribly impact all family life and our free-
inflation, American families are now this country.
doms to manage our lives. It blatantly
feeling the pain and literally paying President Biden seems determined to makes the middle-class dependent on the
the price. After campaign rhetoric and close those doors of opportunity by cre- government—cradle to grave. A clear path to
then policy decisions that have made ating, it looks like, a future massive socialism.’’
our southern border less secure, a pre- entitlement state. James, you are exactly right.
dictable crisis is playing out. After a My Republican colleagues and I have And Rosa Hill in Birmingham, AL,
year of anti-police and anti-rule-of-law talked a lot about the reckless tax-and- had this to say:
rhetoric from too many on the political spend plan and the cost of that plan on I have just listened to President Biden . . .
left, a violent crime surge is ham- American families. We are seeing ris- and the ideas are ridiculous. [We] should be
mering communities and making ing inflation, which means dollars from helping each other, [not] the government
streets less safe all across our country. your paycheck are not going as far. We . . . [getting] involved.
Oh, and as the new administration are seeing costs rise on everyday goods Ms. HILL makes an important point.
pulls back America’s presence in the that families need: food, gas, diapers— Much of this work can and should be
Middle East in a reckless and rushed you name it; it is going up. This is a di- done by our neighbors, churches, and
fashion, terrorist leaders are simply rect result of untargeted spending this people in the communities. The prob-
jumping for joy. year as we are trying to recover from a lem is, we have been conditioned to
pandemic, which is the worst time in wait for the government to do the hard
This is how you take a country from
the world to be throwing government work of helping the less fortunate for
near-record optimism to serious pes-
money at a pandemic. us rather than doing it ourselves.
simism in just 2-months’ time. This is
And, now, our Democratic colleagues, Half a century ago, President Lyndon
how you inherit favorable trends in
it looks like, want to spend $3.5 trillion Johnson launched the ‘‘War on Pov-
just about every direction imaginable
more, after spending $1.9 trillion back erty.’’ He and leading liberals at the
but produce disappointment. Our
in February. And what gets talked time thought the answer to poverty
Democratic friends’ big master plan is
about less than the cost of this spend- was to dramatically increase the bene-
yet another reckless taxing-and-spend-
ing is the social and societal cost of all fits the Federal Government would
ing spree but even larger. The Wash-
of these new and expanded programs. give out to the poor. Well, the War on
ington Democrats’ big idea is to bor-
While it may not be easy to see or Poverty didn’t work like its backers
row, print, and spend our way to even
measure, it is no less important, and thought it would. The following decade
more inflation and even higher costs
that is what I want to talk about was filled with economic stagnation,
for American families, along with a
today. high inflation, gas lines, spikes in drug
historic set of big tax hikes to boot. Let’s remember how this started and addiction, and a horrifying rise in
My friends across the aisle and down how we got here. It started with Presi- crimes across our country. Sounds fa-
Pennsylvania Avenue should be less dent Biden’s announcing two plans— miliar—doesn’t it?—just like what is
concerned about checking leftwing great names. First was the American happening today.
items off activists’ wish lists. As more Families Plan, and then there was the Folks, the definition of insanity is
and more of the Democrats’ partisan American Jobs Plan. Despite their con- trying the same thing over and over
agenda comes online, the American fusing and similar names, on the face again expecting a different result. We
people’s pessimism grows and grows. they don’t sound that bad. I am for have already tried this. President
The families of our country need a bet- American families, and I am for Amer- Biden is determined to try the same
ter approach. ican jobs. worn out policies today: throwing tril-
I suggest the absence of a quorum. These plans are not about American lions and trillions of taxpayer money
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- families or American jobs. They are at the problem and hoping the problem
pore. The clerk will call the roll. full of progressive items that can only goes away. It has been and still is the
The bill clerk proceeded to call the pass the Senate through a reconcili- wrong solution.
roll. ation process. There won’t be any— President Biden’s reckless spending
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam Presi- there won’t be any—Republicans that spree won’t help struggling American
dent, I ask unanimous consent that the will vote for this, and Democrats know families. It will trap them in the end-
order for the quorum call be rescinded. this. So, now, here we are with our col- less cycle of dependence on Big Govern-
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. leagues stuffing the worst parts of ment and taxpayer money. Just take a
DUCKWORTH). Without objection, it is President Biden’s agenda—I am talking look at what President Biden has pro-
so ordered. about the most progressive items that posed in his American Families Plan:
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S5064 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 26, 2021
government-subsidized childcare, free founded on the ideas of personal liberty the Games are an opportunity for the
preschool, free community college. and self-reliance. It makes you feel world to come together, and that is ex-
Free, free, free; that seems to be the good about yourself earning your own actly how it once was. Unfortunately,
slogan of this administration. way, not government handouts best the Olympics are also a target-rich en-
Of course, we all know that there is known as socialism. vironment for people and regimes that
no such thing as free in this country. I Since our founding, people have want to use these rare moments of
have talked before about the fact that flocked to the United States because of unity to trick the world into ignoring
President Biden has proposed 30—you the opportunity it gives citizens to suc- evil.
heard me right, 30—new taxes that the ceed, not because of cushy government Before we were able to enjoy any of
Democrats can choose from to pay for handouts. Our society valued and val- this year’s double-pike vaults or 400-
these free programs in their next ues hard work, grit, and determination meter freestyle swims, we were already
spending package—30 new taxes during more than the countries most of these worrying about the impending havoc
a pandemic. folks have left behind. casting a shadow over the 2022 Beijing
According to one analysis by the Again, this country owes you one Winter Olympics.
Hoover Institution, President Biden’s thing and that is an opportunity to Late last year, the Chinese Govern-
American Families Plan would add 21 succeed through education and hard ment began pilot testing a new digital
million Americans to the Federal Gov- work. Democrats want you to believe currency that will inevitably knock
ernment’s list of beneficiaries—21—21 that you can only succeed with the other domestic mobile payment sys-
million more people living off the gov- government’s help. Republicans believe tems out of the marketplace.
ernment. Now, there are certainly peo- in self-reliance and that you have with- The digital yuan trial has already
ple out there who need help. We all in you God-given skills and potential pulled in $5.3 billion—that is correct,
know that. But this plan opens the to work hard and succeed. You have $5.3 billion—in transactions, and this
floodgates to taxpayer-funded benefits that. That is what this country gives month we learned that cross-border
instead of concentrating on those who you, which is why President Biden’s payments are also on the table. In fact,
mostly need it. Under President reckless spending spree and expansion the trial has been so successful that
Biden’s plan, your family could make of government programs is so, so dis- Beijing wants to expand testing at the
up to $200,000 and still qualify for Fed- appointing. 2022 Winter Olympics.
Now, as much as I would like to be-
eral healthcare—$200,000. The President and Democrats think
lieve that this is an innocent effort to
We don’t have to comb through the success is measured by how much tax-
bring the world a little closer together,
history books for examples on how payer money the government can
this is the Chinese Communist Party
these progressive policies fail. We don’t spend, but real success is measured by
that we are talking about, and we
have to look far. Just look at what we how many people no longer need the
shouldn’t expect good faith because
have done here recently and the insist- help in the first place. Our efforts need
that is not what we are going to get
ence on keeping unemployment bene- to empower people to be free to live
from the CCP. We have reason to be-
fits historically high. and work to build a better life for
lieve that the Chinese Government in-
My Republican colleagues and I have themselves and their families. The
tends to use the digital yuan to con-
spoken about how these misguided ben- most successful anti-poverty program duct a massive surveillance operation
efits essentially paid people not to should eventually put itself out of busi- on Chinese citizens and foreign visi-
work, destroying small businesses all ness. tors.
over the country, and our economy’s So I say, enough. Enough of continu- It wouldn’t be the first time some-
progress has gone down as we try to re- ously growing the Federal Govern- thing like this happened. The CCP has
cover from this pandemic. ment. Enough of the reckless taxpayer- an unfortunate history of weaponizing
Republican Governors across the funded spending sprees. Enough of emerging technologies against people
country recognized the problem and de- trapping people in a cycle of depend- they would like to control. They used
cided to cut out the overly generous ence, because a culture of dependency it against the Uighurs, against freedom
benefits months ago. Folks who needed is a culture in decline. fighters in Hong Kong, and on the
help would get it, but they wouldn’t be I say we work together to encourage mainland against anyone who ques-
paid to sit at home, and then they people to seize the many opportunities tions their party propaganda.
wouldn’t be sitting home when they in our country, not have them wait They are already using digital pay-
could have been working at jobs that around hoping the government will fix ment platforms to spy on their own
would help their family. Just about every problem life throws their way. people; and if we are not careful, they
every Democratic Governor has in- We can’t do that. It is long past time are going to use them to spy on Team
sisted on keeping these benefits. Now, we get back to teaching folks to fish, USA.
what does that tell you, insisting on to learn to fish themselves, to be self- This month, I sent a letter to the
keeping the benefits and not keeping reliant. That is a culture of hard work U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee
the benefits? and resilience. That is a culture of the asking them to forbid our athletes
We have made some terrible deci- United States of America, the best from accepting or using the digital
sions just in a short period of time. country on the face of the Earth. yuan while competing in Beijing.
Well, we can already see the results of Madam President, I suggest the ab- The threats are changing, and far too
what is happening with these benefits. sence of a quorum. often we see our allies and partners and
According to the monthly data from The PRESIDING OFFICER. The even our own government ignoring
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, States clerk will call the roll. those threats to preserve the status
that cut the Federal expanded benefit The senior assistant legislative clerk quo.
are closer to returning to prepandemic proceeded to call the roll. You may be asking yourself: Why is
employment levels than the States Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam Presi- so much of the world willing to look
that kept them. Thirteen of the top 15 dent, I ask unanimous consent that the the other way when confronted with
States with the best unemployment order for the quorum call be rescinded. genocide in Xinjiang or murdered pro-
numbers have all ended their Federal The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without testers in Hong Kong?
expanded unemployment insurance. objection, it is so ordered. It is because speaking up can be dan-
Why don’t we learn from this mis- CHINA gerous, especially when it comes to
guided policy and not repeat it by Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam Presi- challenging the CCP.
spending money on bad outcomes? We dent, this has already been a big week China boasts the most in-demand
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
seem to continue to do that every time in Tokyo for Team USA, and I hope all market in the world. In fact, it is such
we turn around. of my colleagues have the opportunity a gold mine that you will recall the
The reckless tax-and-spend spree to to watch a few minutes of the Olympic NBA ignored large-scale child abuse at
advance President Biden’s progressive Games over the next few weeks. its training camps in China just to
agenda isn’t just unaffordable; it is un- Every year, we hear so much from maintain access to broadcast adver-
American. The United States was commentators and athletes about how tising and merchandise revenue.
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