Biden Administration (Cong. Rec., Nov. 16, 2021)
Summary
This is S8218 of the Congressional Record, Senate, November 16, 2021, with interleaved columns. The page begins with the end of floor remarks about energy policy and China. Under the heading Biden Administration, Mr. Thune says that after nearly a year of Democratic governance inflation rose 6.2 percent over the past year, the largest increase in more than 30 years, and cites a rise of 11.9 percent in the price of meat, poultry, fish, and eggs. He criticizes the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan and the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better plan, and the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the southern border, with the views attributed to Mr. Thune.
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“Biden Administration (Cong. Rec., Nov. 16, 2021).”
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S8218 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE November 16, 2021
So here is the bottom line: American months—Democrats declared that we from its 30-plus-year high. But you
families don’t want Washington politi- immediately needed another piece of would be wrong. Democrats are actu-
cians waging a holy war on fossil fuels ostensibly coronavirus relief legisla- ally planning to double down on the
in the first place. They can’t afford tion—and not just another piece of leg- strategy that helped cause so much in-
that nonsense. But it is even more ab- islation, a massive piece of legislation. flation in the first place and pass an-
surd that Democrats’ top-down Despite the fact that the December other giant spending bill.
schemes would just increase China’s bill had met essentially all of the That is right.
wealth and dominance all along the pressing coronavirus needs the country Democrats are trying to finalize a
way. They don’t have some smart mas- was facing, Democrats decided that we new $1.75 trillion tax-and-spending
ter plan to invest in America’s future. needed to spend another $1.9 trillion. spree, the so-called Build Back Better
They have a plan to build back Beijing Democrats were warned that the size of plan—on top of their $1.9 trillion spend-
and raise American families’ gas prices their so-called American Rescue Plan, ing spree from earlier this year.
and heating bills even higher so that which was substantially in excess of I say $1.75 trillion, but Democrats
we could massively stimulate Chinese anything the economy required, ran only arrived at that number through a
export markets. Hurt families; help the risk of spurring inflation. combination of shell games and budget
China—every piece of their reckless Obama economic adviser Larry Sum- gimmicks. An honest accounting of the
policies fits this mold. mers warned in the Washington Post: cost of this proposal over 10 years
I suggest the absence of a quorum. There is a chance that macroeconomic would reveal a much higher pricetag—
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The stimulus on a scale closer to World War II some analyses and assessments suggest
clerk will call the roll. levels than normal recession levels will set as high as $4 trillion or more.
The senior assistant legislative clerk off inflationary pressures of a kind we have
not seen in a generation, with consequences And if Democrats succeed in passing
proceeded to call the roll. this latest partisan spending spree,
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask for the value of the dollar and financial sta-
bility. Americans should brace themselves be-
unanimous consent that the order for
That, again, was Obama economic ad- cause this new flood of government
the quorum call be rescinded.
viser Larry Summers. money will undoubtedly make an al-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
Well, Democrats passed their bill ready serious inflation situation much
objection, it is so ordered.
anyway. They flooded the economy worse.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION
with a lot of unnecessary government It is no exaggeration to say that
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, we are
money, and the results have been pre- Democrats’ main focus this year has
coming up on a year of Democratic
dictable. Inflation. Significant infla- been growing the size of the Federal
governance here in Washington, and
tion. Inflation, to borrow a phrase from Government and expanding its reach
what do Democrats have to show for it?
Larry Summers, ‘‘of a kind we have into Americans’ lives. No sooner had
Nothing good.
not seen in a generation.’’ they passed their massive $1.9 trillion
On the international front, the Presi-
Last week, we found out that infla- spending bill in March, then the Demo-
dent’s most significant act was his dis-
tion rose 6.2 percent last year in a crats moved on to their next massive
astrous withdrawal from Afghanistan,
year-over-year analysis, the largest in- spending proposals which have been
which lowered our standing with our
crease in more than 30 years—30 years. coalesced into the so-called Build Back
allies and continues to jeopardize our
Families are facing higher prices at Better bill the House is planning to
national security.
the grocery store. And when I say take up later this week.
On the domestic front, Democrats
have largely ignored a massive crisis ‘‘higher,’’ I mean a lot higher. The Other government business has been
along our southern border that con- price of meat, poultry, fish, and eggs forced to take a backseat. Democrats
tinues to rage because they can’t take was up 11.9 percent year over year in have ignored, as I said earlier, the mas-
on the open borders left in their own October—11.9 percent. Families are sive—massive—crisis at our southern
political party. also facing higher prices at the gas border. They have ignored our inflation
Look at what is happening with the pump, for housing, for electricity, for crisis. And they have pushed consider-
supply chain. There are 90 containers furniture and vehicles and pets and pet ation of essential legislation in favor of
sitting at the port at Long Beach wait- products, and the list goes on. working on their tax-and-spending
ing to get into the country, and the While wages are rising, they are plan.
President and his team can’t really do being outstripped by inflation, which This week, the Senate will finally—
anything about it because they are un- means that many families are dealing and I say finally—consider the fiscal
willing to take on the Teamsters. with a de facto pay cut. Think about year 2022 National Defense Authoriza-
If you look at our cities, homicides it—6.2 percent increase in inflation. tion Act, a month and a half after the
are up in all of our major cities across That is essentially a 6.2-percent pay 2022 fiscal year has started. Ship-
this country. It seems that perhaps a cut for American families. building projects, military infrastruc-
‘‘defund the police’’ approach to com- A big reason families are struggling ture projects, development of new com-
munities’ safety isn’t something that with the higher cost of pretty much ev- bat systems, a pay increase for our
sends the right signal to people who erything is Democrats’ decision to troops, they have all had to wait—all
want to break our laws. flood the economy with unnecessary had to wait—while Democrats nego-
Then there is inflation. You might government money by passing the so- tiated over their Big Government so-
call it the Democrats’ signature domes- called American Rescue Plan. You cialist spending spree.
tic achievement. don’t have to take my word for it; I And about that socialist spending
So how did we get here? How did they quoted Larry Summers earlier. spree, despite the fact that Democrats
get us here? Well, despite their lack of Here is what former Obama economic have pushed aside most other matters
a mandate and their extremely narrow adviser Jason Furman had to say re- in favor of focusing on their spending
majorities in Congress, Democrats cently when discussing our current in- plan, they still haven’t managed to
came into office last January deter- flation problem: come up with a bill that can pass the
mined to expand government and im- The original sin was an oversized American House and the Senate.
plement a far-left, Big Government, so- Rescue Plan. It contributed to both higher And the tax proposals they plan to
cialist agenda. In their minds, the output but also higher prices. use to—and I say partially—partially
coronavirus crisis provided the perfect Now, you might think that the infla- pay for the bill seem to change on a
opportunity to advance their plans. tion that has resulted from the Amer- daily basis. And I say partially be-
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
So despite the fact that Congress had ican Rescue Plan would be giving cause, again, a great independent anal-
just passed—just passed—a nearly $1 Democrats pause right now. You might ysis from places like Penn Wharton
trillion bipartisan coronavirus re- think that they would be putting a suggest that the revenue that they
sponse bill in December—the fifth, I hold, you know, tapping the brakes a would raise to pay for all the spending
might add, the fifth bipartisan bill little bit on any more big spending in the bill would fall somewhere be-
Congress had passed in just 10 until inflation calms down somewhat tween $2 and $2.5 trillion short of the
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November 16, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S8219
cost of the bill. That is $2 to $2.5 tril- back. The message, I think, from our I spoke yesterday to the Virginia As-
lion that would be added to the already voters pretty loud and clear was: We sociation of Counties, the gathering of
$30 trillion national debt. want you to get stuff done. If we in the all county supervisors of all 95 counties
Let’s just say, for example, that Senate and in the House had passed the around Virginia. They gather once a
these ideas they have to partially pay infrastructure bill and passed the Build year, usually in person. Last year, it
for this bill seem to change on a daily Back Better bill before the Virginia was by Zoom.
basis. A corporate tax hike? No, let’s election, I think the outcome would They were so glad to be back to-
change it to a corporate minimum tax. have been different. gether, in person, in Norfolk yesterday,
A new death tax? No, let’s change it to What we were hearing again and hundreds of them in a conference room.
a new tax on wealth—something we again from voters is: We gave you a And they asked me to come and talk
have never talked about before in this majority. Please act on it, especially at about what is going on in Congress.
country, taxing unrealized gains. That this time when Americans are so chal- And I said: How much time do you
is taxing income before people have ac- lenged by now nearly 20 months of pan- have? But what I really focused on was
tually seen the income—the realized demic and economic devastation. three things, and I want to focus on
income. So I stand on the floor as a proud those three things now, speaking about
Funding for their bill seems to be a Virginian, very focused on celebrating them from the perspective of local offi-
matter of throwing spaghetti at the the accomplishment of yesterday— cials not just in Virginia but all over
wall on a daily basis to try and see President Biden’s signature on the in- this country: first, the American Res-
what sticks. There isn’t a day that frastructure bill—but also saying we cue Plan, which was passed in March,
went by in the last couple of weeks, have to pass the Build Back Better bill but it is just beginning to have an im-
when we were in session the week be- in order to respond to what our con- pact in Virginia’s cities, counties, and
fore last, where there wasn’t another stituents are asking of us at this chal- towns; second, the bipartisan infra-
horrible idea that came from that side lenging time. structure bill that was signed at the
of how to raise revenue to finance this AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN White House yesterday; and, third, the
massive, reckless, and radical spending Mr. President, I want to speak today, education and workforce bill that we
bill. And of course all of Democrats’ sort of, maybe not so much as a Sen- are working on now that I believe will
current funding proposals put together ator but as a former city councilman reach the President’s desk in Decem-
will not be able to pay for their legisla- and mayor. ber.
tion, especially when you remove, as I I am sort of unique. There are 30 peo- I started off by telling these county
said earlier, the budget gimmicks that ple in the United States who have been supervisors what I truly believe; that
are disguising the true cost of their a mayor, Governor, and U.S. Senator— anybody in public life right now, elect-
plans. 1 of only 30 in our entire history. The ed or a first responder or any class-
As their narrow majorities made first time I was introduced and some- room teacher, when we are all finished
clear, the 2020 election did not give one said that, I thought, that clearly with our times in public life, I think we
Democrats a mandate for Big Govern- cannot be right. So many Governors will look back on this period of time,
ment socialism. And if that wasn’t become Senators, that clearly cannot beginning March 2020, as the most im-
clear to Democrats in 2020, it should be right. I asked the Historian to re- portant period of our public service ca-
certainly be clear to them now after search the matter because someone in- reers. The pandemic has created such
the election for the Virginia Governor troduced me that way. And it came destruction, death, economic catas-
this month, which saw Republicans win back that that is correct. Only 30 peo- trophe, illness, and division that we
statewide for the first time since 2009. ple in the history of this country have have all been tested in our personal
Voters in Virginia sent a clear message been a mayor, a Governor, and a Sen- lives and our work on behalf of our
to Democrats that they weren’t look- ator. And as I pondered the reason for citizens. Our constituents have needed
ing for far-left government or a far-left that, it suddenly occurred to me: Being us in unparalleled ways since March of
social agenda that would seek to cir- a mayor will kill you. 2020.
cumvent parents’ role in their chil- Governors can become Senators, but Last year, on a cold Saturday in
dren’s lives and education. But just as mayors often make everyone mad, and March, we passed the American Rescue
inflation concerns have not stopped it is hard to go from being a mayor to Plan. It contains significant funding in
Democrats, it has become clear that having a post-mayoral political career four basic pillars: healthcare, relief to
their rebuke in Virginia won’t stop because the job is so tough. individuals and families, aid to busi-
them either. In fact, some Democrats And yet, when people ask me: Which nesses, and then, finally, aid to State
seem to think that their response job do you like better, Governor or and local governments, including edu-
should be to run faster and further to Senator, I always say: Look, I like cational institutions.
the left. them all. But if you made me give up The American Rescue Plan imme-
So the big agenda item for Demo- every title I ever had except one, the diately affected millions of Ameri-
crats for the rest of the year continues one I would hold on to is mayor. I cans—families, healthcare, institu-
to be passing their partisan Build Back would hold on to being a mayor be- tions, businesses—through measures
Better tax-and-spending spree, which cause when you are a mayor, it is 24/7, like massive vaccine deployment,
means Americans will be able to look 365. There is no recess for a mayor. checks to individuals, business grants.
forward to further inflation and a City councils and mayors don’t go into These kept families afloat and helped
weaker economy, not to mention in- recess. You are dealing with people on protect themselves against COVID, and
creased government control of their de- the issues that are the closest to them. they also kept the lights on for many
cision making. You can make people happier or mad- of our local businesses.
It is a poor legacy for Democrats’ der. But what I want to focus on is the aid
first year in office, but it seems to be You can convince people in local gov- that we gave to State and local govern-
the legacy Democrats are determined ernment, in a nation of 330 million, ments and, again, particularly—par-
to secure. sometimes they think: What does my ticularly—to local governments. Vir-
I yield the floor. vote matter? What does my voice mat- ginia and its localities, through the
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. ter? No one will listen to me. In local American Rescue Plan, received $7.2
PADILLA). The Senator from Virginia is government, you can convince people billion in the American Rescue Plan; $4
recognized. that actually they will be listened to. billion to the Commonwealth of Vir-
Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I am glad So I would hold on to that mayoral ginia and $3.2 billion to our cities,
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
to follow my colleague from the Dako- role, and, frankly, if I had not been counties, and towns.
tas because I would certainly never at- mayor, I never would have been a Lieu- And as soon as we passed it, I started
tempt to interpret the electorate of an- tenant Governor or Governor or a U.S. to go around and talk to our cities,
other State. Senator. So I owe anything that I am counties, and towns: How are you going
I can tell you about the Virginia or do in politics now to the fact that I to spend these local moneys? What
elections that happened a couple weeks started in local government. they told me was interesting in April
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