Inflation (Cong. Rec., Feb. 8, 2022)

Summary

This is S553 and S554 of the Congressional Record, Senate, February 8, 2022, with interleaved columns. The page begins with the end of floor remarks by a Senator who compares the Republican response to January 6 with the era of Senator Joseph McCarthy and discusses updating the Electoral Count Act. Under the heading Inflation, Mr. Thune says inflation is at a 40-year high, cites a survey in which 22 percent of small businesses see inflation as their biggest challenge, and criticizes the $1.9 trillion Democratic spending bill. Under the heading Nomination of Reta Jo Lewis, Mr. Brown urges support for her nomination to be President of the Export-Import Bank, with the views attributed to the speakers.

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“Inflation (Cong. Rec., Feb. 8, 2022).” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2022-02-08-crec-2022-02-08-pt1-pgs553-a964bf2461/, SHA-256 ad57cc12c2fc5b106a4fde59dbbbf1b015b2508a33c53485f9f5dace12bd48fc.

Full text

February 8, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S553
against public servants, journalists, That simple, declarative statement The White House Chief of Staff may
members of the military, and average of truth—that the Vice President can- think inflation is ‘‘a high-class prob-
citizens. He destroyed lives in the proc- not singlehandedly overrule the will of lem,’’ but for the mom at the grocery
ess. But he never revealed his list of 57 the American people—is welcomed, but store wondering if she can afford to
names or any other credible evidence the fact that it drew outrage from buy ground beef this week or for the
for his claims. Nonetheless, Senator former President Trump and his sup- young worker just starting out who is
Joe McCarthy discredited and defamed porters is a sad reflection on the re- wondering if she can afford to fill up
anyone standing in his way. He would ality of today’s Republican Party. her car, inflation is a very real prob-
accuse his opponents of being Com- If the events leading up to January 6 lem.
munists or Communist sympathizers if taught us anything, it is that aspiring Americans are struggling. They are
they publicly disagreed with him. authoritarians like Donald Trump will facing huge price increases at the gro-
With rare and notable exceptions— toss aside longstanding laws and values cery store; huge price increases at the
and one of them Senator Margaret to cling to power. That is why for the gas pump; big increases in the cost of
Chase Smith, Republican Senator of past several months, a bipartisan group household goods, like furniture and
Maine, and a few others—no one had of Senators have been discussing a pro- bedding and laundry equipment; mas-
the courage to question Joe McCarthy posal to modernize the Electoral Count sive increases in the cost of fuel oil and
or challenge his wild allegations. Poli- Act, an obscure law that was at the gas service; higher electric bills; and
ticians were too afraid that he would heart of former President Trump’s ef- on and on.
turn on them next, so they remained forts to overturn the election. I have Inflation is weighing down busi-
quiet. been working on this effort on our side nesses, too, from larger businesses to
And in the absence of opposition, he with Senators KING and KLOBUCHAR, family farms and ranches. A recent
assumed even greater power—until and there is a bipartisan effort, on the survey from the National Federation of
1954, when some courageous members same matter, taking place as well. Independent Business found that 22
of Senator McCarthy’s own political By updating the Electoral Count Act, percent of small businesses consider in-
party, the Republican Party, joined to- we can make clear that the Vice Presi- flation to be the biggest challenge fac-
gether with the Democrats in the Sen- dent does not have the power to reject ing their business, a 20-point increase
ate. They voted to condemn Senator a State’s lawfully appointed electors from the beginning of 2021—a 20-point
McCarthy and the lies that had fueled and overturn the results of an election. increase.
his witch hunt. They stood in a bipar- That is important, and I believe it is a It is no wonder that 69 percent of
tisan majority to do it. With that vote, promising sign that Democrats and Re- Americans disapprove of the Presi-
Senator Joseph McCarthy’s reign of publicans are going to join together in dent’s handling of inflation and 56 per-
terror was brought to an end. The press discussion of finally rewriting this an- cent disapprove of his handling of the
began to ignore him, and the public cient law. economy.
But I also want to be honest about Inflation is a major burden for Amer-
had had their fill.
What will it take for our Republican the scope of threats facing our Amer- ican families and businesses—a fact
colleagues today to say that they are ican democracy. At a moment when that seems utterly lost on members of
done with the Big Lie of Trumpism? too many Republican Party leaders are the Democratic Party. While American
legitimizing the January 6 insurrection families struggle, Democrats’ focus is
What will it take for them to reject it
and Republican State legislators are on anything but inflation.
and renounce the normalization of po-
erecting new barriers to the ballot box, What is worse, many Democrats are
litical violence? What will it take for
particularly for African Americans, we still hoping to pass elements of their
Republicans to admit that January 6
must have the courage to restore the reckless tax-and-spending spree, the so-
was a deadly insurrection, not a ‘‘le-
Voting Rights Act. And we need to called Build Back Better plan, despite
gitimate political discourse’’?
come together across party lines to de- the fact that it was a bloated Democrat
Americans of conscience of both po-
fend our democracy, condemn violence, spending spree that helped get us into
litical parties and Independents as well
and to live by the rule of law, not the this inflation mess in the first place.
need to unite in support of the truth.
rule of the mob. Yes, while the pandemic created infla-
That doesn’t mean we are going to Mr. President, I yield the floor.
agree on every issue. On the contrary, I suggest the absence of a quorum. tionary pressures, a big reason we are
real debate is the lifeblood of our de- The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. in our current inflation mess is because
mocracy. But we have to work from a PADILLA). The clerk will call the roll. of Democrats’ decision to push through
shared set of facts and reality—like the The senior assistant legislative clerk an unnecessary and partisan $2 trillion
fact that President Biden actually won proceeded to call the roll. spending bill last March.
the 2020 election and there was no evi- Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask When Democrats took office last Jan-
dence of widespread voter fraud. unanimous consent that the order for uary, inflation was well within an ac-
I want to commend my Republican the quorum call be rescinded. ceptable range, what is known as the
colleagues who have been willing to The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without target inflation rate. It might have
speak the truth in the last few days. I objection, it is so ordered. stayed there had Democrats not de-
know it can’t be easy. INFLATION cided that they needed to pass a mas-
Over the weekend, Senator MITT Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I don’t sive government spending spree under
ROMNEY, Senator BILL CASSIDY, and need to tell anyone—except perhaps the guise of COVID relief and, I might
Senator LISA MURKOWSKI spoke out the Democratic Party here in Con- add, mere weeks after Congress had al-
against the Republican National Com- gress—that our country has a major in- ready passed a major COVID bill. That
mittee’s decision to censure Congress- flation problem. The first year of the is right. December 2020 saw Congress
woman LIZ CHENEY and Congressman Biden administration has been charac- pass its fifth bipartisan COVID relief
ADAM KINZINGER of Illinois for commit- terized by a huge increase in inflation. bill, and that one was a nearly $1 tril-
ting the unforgivable sin of inves- Inflation is currently at a 40-year high. lion piece of legislation that met essen-
tigating the violent assault against Let me just repeat that. Inflation is tially all current pressing COVID
American democracy. Unfortunately, currently at a 40-year high. The last needs. But the ink was barely dry on
they are a small but courageous minor- time inflation was this bad, ‘‘E.T.’’ was the page before Democrats decided that
ity. The vast majority of my Repub- just premiering in movie theaters and they needed to take advantage of the
lican colleagues remain silent while ‘‘Return of the Jedi’’ hadn’t even come COVID situation to pass yet another
their party leaders declare January 6 out yet. bill—this time, a hyperpartisan $1.9

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legitimate. Inflation is so bad that despite wage trillion piece of legislation packed with
And on Friday, former Vice President increases in 2021, Americans saw a de unnecessary government spending and
Pence publicly stated: ‘‘President facto pay cut. A December survey by payoffs to Democrat interest groups.
Trump is wrong . . . Under the Con- the New York Times found that just 17 Again, there were five bipartisan
stitution, I had no right to change the percent of Americans said their wages COVID bills, the last of which passed in
outcome of our election.’’ had kept up with inflation. December of 2020. It was a $1 trillion

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S554 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 8, 2022
bill that took care of all the out- NOMINATION OF RETA JO LEWIS faster than China’s GDP. Again, that is
standing COVID needs. Yet, within Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I urge because we have a President of the
weeks, Democrats here in Congress my colleagues to join me in supporting United States who puts workers at the
were proposing another $2 trillion, American manufacturing and support center of our economic policy, who un-
most of which had little to do with the nomination of Reta Jo Lewis to be derstands that carrying a union card
COVID or the pandemic and a lot more President of the Export-Import Bank. means better wages, better benefits,
to do with their partisan agenda. As President of Ex-Im and chair of the and more control over your work
But the point is, the definition of Bank’s Board of Directors, Ms. Lewis schedule.
‘‘inflation’’ is ‘‘too many dollars chas- will lead our Nation’s official export But we know that China and our
ing too few goods and services.’’ That credit Agency as it supports U.S. work- other competitors aren’t giving up.
is exactly the situation the Democrats ers and manufacturers, especially in They are constantly finding new ways
helped create with their so-called Ohio, Pennsylvania, and throughout to cheat, new ways to undermine
American Rescue Plan. They sent too our country. Ex-Im’s job is to support American jobs. That is why we need
many Federal dollars into the econ- American businesses in the face of every tool possible to compete, includ-
omy, and the economy overheated as a competition—so often, unfair competi- ing a fully functioning Export-Import
result. Now we are sitting here with tion from countries like China. Bank with an experienced, tenacious
the worst inflation in 40 years, and in- Ms. Lewis is the leader we need in leader at the helm. Jobs in Ohio and
stead of trying to address our inflation the fight to help U.S. manufacturers jobs around the country depend on Ms.
crisis, Democrats still—still—want to compete globally. She has 25 years of Lewis’s success.
double down on the strategy that distinguished leadership experience in I urge my colleagues—as we voted
helped get us into this mess in the first international affairs, law, and public overwhelmingly on cloture—I urge my
place. ‘‘Reckless and irresponsible policy. She is a historic nominee as the colleagues to support the nomination
spending’’ is putting it mildly. first Black woman to lead Ex-Im. of Reta Jo Lewis for the Ex-Im Bank.
In January, Senator TIM SCOTT and I She serves as a senior fellow and di- I yield the floor.
introduced the Inflation Prevention rector of congressional affairs at the I suggest the absence of a quorum.
Act, a bill to stop Congress from con- German Marshall Fund, where she The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
sidering any legislation that contains leads bipartisan efforts to strengthen clerk will call the roll.
new spending and is estimated to in- transatlantic cooperation. Before join- The legislative clerk proceeded to
crease inflation if the year-over-year ing the German Marshall Fund, Ms. call the roll.
inflation rate exceeds 41⁄2 percent. One Lewis served in the Obama administra- Mr. BROWN. I ask unanimous con-
would hope that legislation like this tion as the State Department’s first- sent that the order for the quorum call
wouldn’t be necessary at a time when ever Special Representative for Global be rescinded.
inflation far exceeds the target infla- Intergovernmental Affairs. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
tion rate, but, as we have seen with She will put American workers and objection, it is so ordered.
Democrats’ reckless tax-and-spending exporters first. That has been the hall-
spree, that isn’t the case. mark of this administration—putting f
So Senator TIM SCOTT and I, along workers at the center of our govern-
with several of our Republican col- ment; putting workers at the center of EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
leagues, have introduced this bill, our economic policy.
Ms. Lewis understands that Ex-Im is The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
which would help prevent reckless
vital to these manufacturing jobs and the previous order, the Senate will re-
spending legislation, like the Demo-
our Nation’s economic competitive- sume consideration of the following
crats’ so-called Build Back Better Act,
ness. nomination, which the clerk will re-
when inflation is high.
There are some 100 export credit port.
Again, let me just point out that on
agencies and credit programs around The legislative clerk read the nomi-
top of a $2 trillion spending bill a year
the world that support foreign manu- nation of John P. Howard III, of the
ago in March—less than a year ago in
facturers. China’s export finance activ- District of Columbia, to be an Asso-
March—the Democrats’ prescription
ity is larger—China’s is larger—than ciate Judge of the District of Columbia
now is another $5 trillion in spending,
all the export credit provided by the G7 Court of Appeals for the term of fifteen
financed in part with tax increases,
countries combined. That alone is rea- years.
which also fuels inflation, and about $3
son to move forward on Ex-Im. We Mr. BROWN. I ask unanimous con-
trillion in debt on top of the $30 trillion
know that the Chinese Government sent that the scheduled vote occur im-
in debt we already have.
used export credit as a weapon to win mediately.
So we have rampant pandemic infla-
manufacturing business in critical sec- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
tion, attributable largely to the mas-
tors and to undermine American com- objection, it is so ordered.
sive spending bill passed on a partisan
panies and American workers. We must VOTE ON HOWARD NOMINATION
basis last March. Now, instead of tack-
ling inflation and putting policies in be in a better position to compete. The question is, Will the Senate ad-
place that would help drive inflation We have had so much good job news vise and consent to the Howard nomi-
down, the solution Democrats are pro- in Ohio over the last few weeks. It is nation?
posing is a $5 trillion spending bill. not a coincidence that for the first Mr. BROWN. I ask for the yeas and
Americans are struggling. Every- time in my lifetime, we have a Presi- nays.
where they turn, they are facing higher dent who leads by talking about work- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a
prices, stretching their budgets to the ers, who leads by talking about unions. sufficient second?
limit. If Democrats really want to help As a result of his leadership, we are There appears to be a sufficient sec-
American families, they should aban- seeing more job creation in Ohio. We ond.
don the reckless tax-and-spending have seen more jobs created in 2021 The clerk will call the roll.
spree once and for all and focus on than in any number of years in the The legislative clerk called the roll.
mitigating damage they have already past. We are seeing now tens of thou- Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the
done with their inflationary spending. sands of manufacturing jobs—Intel, Senator from California (Mrs. FEIN-
I yield the floor. Hyperion, GE Aviation—coming to my STEIN) and the Senator from New Mex-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- State. It is all made possible because ico (Mr. LUJÁN) are necessarily absent.
ator from Ohio. we are putting workers at the center of Mr. THUNE. The following Senators

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Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask our economy. are necessarily absent: the Senator
unanimous consent that Senator Look at the results we are getting. from Wyoming (Mr. BARRASSO) and the
MORAN and I be able to complete our Last year—this is worth saying like Senator from South Dakota (Mr.
remarks prior to the scheduled votes. five times—last year, for the first time ROUNDS).
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without in 20 years, our economy actually grew The result was announced—yeas 62,
objection, it is so ordered. faster than China’s. Our GDP grew nays 34, as follows:

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