Congressional Record, Senate Page S2855 — June 8, 2022
Summary
Page S2855 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for June 8, 2022, in interleaved columns. A speaker on the southern border says Border Patrol has limited luggage to 50 pounds, uses vans to take people to processing, and argues that fewer people cross in California than in Yuma, AZ because the gap in the barrier is closed there, urging that the gap be closed. Another passage, under the heading Domestic Terrorism, and a message from families urging Congress to do something are also on the page, and a speaker says Democrats were warned.
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“Congressional Record, Senate Page S2855 — June 8, 2022.”
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June 8, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2855
the border, and they are carrying lug- Border Patrol are having to run their Why is this so hard? Close that gap.
gage with them. In fact, Border Patrol Uber XL vans to be able to pick people We have fewer people crossing in
has had to actually limit the weight up and take them to processing, and California right now than we do in
that they can actually bring in luggage they have to come off the line to be Yuma. Why is that? Because the gap is
to no more than 50 pounds. They come able to come into the processing cen- closed in California. And while many of
into the process area. They are bring- ter. What else is happening? The open my colleagues scream ‘‘fences don’t
ing their luggage with them. They are desert areas not far from here, where work,’’ why do we have fewer people
dressed in nice clothes. They are clean. they know the drug traffickers are ac- crossing in California than we do in
They just got a shower the day before. tually moving large quantities of Yuma, AZ? Well, it is because there is
They come across the border. They drugs, they don’t have enough agents a functioning fence in California and a
wait on Border Patrol. We take them to be able to patrol that anymore. big, giant gap in Yuma. This does
to the processing area. In fact, when I They can see them on cameras. They work, and everybody knows it. That is
got to the processing area, one of the just don’t have enough people to get to why the Biden administration leaves it
Border Patrol agents walked up to me it. open—because they are facilitating
and said, ‘‘Do you see the lady behind The checkpoints that are on the this. This is something that is going to
you?’’ And I turned around and said, highways typically leading out from bite our Nation. It is a national secu-
‘‘Yes.’’ this area to try to pick up the gun and rity issue, and we should not ignore it.
She said, ‘‘She is wearing a Versace drug smugglers coming in and out of Again, I celebrate legal immigration.
dress.’’ the country, those checkpoints don’t I want more of it in our country. This
I said that probably should mean exist anymore. Why? Because they is unchecked, illegal activity, and we
something to me as a guy, but it cur- don’t have enough staff anymore be- had better pay attention to it.
rently doesn’t. And my wife later ex- cause they are managing this chaos at I yield the floor.
plained to me, ‘‘That is a pretty expen- the border. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms.
sive dress.’’ We are losing our security presence BALDWIN). The Senator from Wyoming.
Why are we seeing people like that on our southern border because the INFLATION
crossing the border? Because it is easi- President is incentivizing illegal immi- Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I
er to come in illegally into the country gration, and it is taking everybody come to the floor today to talk about
now than it is legally. that is there for our national security another Biden crisis. We just had my
Most years we have a million people to actually be on the border to manage friend and colleague from Oklahoma
a year that legally cross our border— the check-in staff for people coming in. talk about the crisis, as he saw it, at
legally—that go through the process, This is a ticking time bomb. It is the southern border while he was on his
fill out the paperwork. We do a back- solvable. trip there very recently. We hear from
ground check on those individuals. Let me give you just some very basic other colleagues about the crisis of
They come through and come into our things on this. No. 1, keep title 42 in crime in our cities across the country
country, and we celebrate people who place. The Border Patrol that I speak as another failure of this administra-
come legally into our country and have to when I talk to the folks on the line,
tion’s. I come today to talk about the
for over two centuries. These individ- their No. 1 fear is the Biden adminis-
Biden economic crisis, which is hitting
tration is going to cancel title 42. Now,
uals are finding it faster and cheaper to families in all of our States, in all of
currently, the court is prohibiting
just pay the cartel, fly to Mexico, walk our communities, and it is the thing
them from doing that, but their biggest
across the border. And when you walk that I heard the very most about when
concern is, if the Biden administration
across the border, you are in the coun- I was home in Wyoming last week.
cancels title 42, even more people will
try not just for a few months. Right Across the country, summer is al-
come across, and this chaos will be
now, when you cross the border and most here. It is time for barbecues, vis-
even worse. That is their No. 1 issue.
enter into this area, as you walk across iting friends, and family vacations for
Keep title 42 authority in place.
the border you are given a work permit The second thing is, stop giving peo- many. This year, there will be many
and the ability to stay in the United ple that cross the border between the fewer who will be able to afford what
States for 8 years until your asylum port of entry and illegally cross, stop has been a natural part of their family
hearing comes up. giving them work permits that lives.
Why do we have people coming from The American people have just been
incentivizes people to come between
all over the world? We have a million the ports of entry in an illegal fashion. through the most expensive Memorial
people doing it legally, but last year we The administration can do that right Day ever, and it has been painfully ex-
had 2 million people do it illegally be- now. pensive for families across this coun-
cause it is faster to just illegally come Third thing: Stop giving people a free try. This is just a preview of the sum-
into the border. pass to come into the country for 8 mer of stress that families are going to
Let me ask a simple question to this years to stay in the country while they be facing all across America. Ham-
body: Do we really want a system that await their asylum hearing. burger meat today is at its highest
incentivizes illegal activity as the en- Whoever is last in, first up for the price ever; chicken, its highest price
trance into the United States of Amer- asylum hearing, and do it right there ever; a gallon of gasoline, its highest
ica, because right now the incentive is at the border. The asylum hearings can price ever.
to come into the country illegally? be done in less than a month, and do it They say inflation is up by a certain
Let me phrase it this way. For the right there at the border so they have percentage, but gas prices have doubled
individuals who come across this bor- to remain in place to have their hear- since Joe Biden became President.
der, we do not do a background check ing. There has been a 100-percent increase
on these individuals. We have no idea What happens is, these individuals in gas prices since the Democrats be-
any criminal history they have in the cross the border, they cross the border, came the majority in the Senate and
country from where they are coming. they get their 8-year pass in the coun- Joe Biden was sworn into office. Gas
We do a background check with Amer- try, they get their work permit. They prices in America, under the Demo-
ican records. We know if they com- snap a picture of it. They send it to crats, have gone up 15 out of 16 months
mitted a crime here in the past, but we their family back home and say: I paid since Joe Biden came to the White
have no idea from any of the countries this cartel member this much money. I House and CHUCK SCHUMER came to be
that they are coming from. And let me crossed in this spot. I stood in this line. majority leader. Gas now costs more
remind you, in Yuma, when I was there When I got there, I got into the coun- than $4 a gallon on average in every
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a week ago, the week before, 50 dif- try. Come join me. And it keeps accel- State of the Union, and we are ap-
ferent nations crossed that border that erating. That is a policy decision that proaching $5 on average across the
week. We have no criminal background the administration could stop now, and country. In the liberal paradise of Cali-
check on any of those individuals. they are choosing not to stop now. fornia, the gas price today is over $6 a
What else happens with this? Because And the final thing on this. Again, it gallon if you can find it at that price.
of the chaos that is happening here and is not hard. Close that gap. Financial analysts who have looked at
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S2856 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 8, 2022
this thing recently predicted that the The real transition that is happening tion. Once again, they dropped the ball,
average price of a gallon of gasoline today is that we are going from being and the President was caught by sur-
nationwide could be $6.20 all across the a nation of energy dominance to being prise. Seven out of every ten stores in
country this summer. an energy-dependent nation. We are America have run out of baby formula.
So what do the President of the going from prosperity to poverty and There have already been cases of chil-
United States and the Democrats in from wealth to weakness. That is what dren being hospitalized because they
this body have to do about that? What we are getting from the Democrats in can’t get the right kind of formula.
is the solution? Because people are Congress, the Democrats in the Senate, What did the Biden administration fi-
looking for solutions. the Democrats in the House, and Joe nally say? They admitted they knew
The Democrats say: We run the Biden. about the crisis last year; yet they did
place. We are the House. We are the Today, we are still producing 1 mil- nothing.
Senate. We are the White House. We lion barrels of oil fewer than we were Month after month after month, this
run the place. before the pandemic. So what do Demo- administration did nothing. That is
Well, where are your solutions? I crats want to do? Once again, the Sec- kind of what we have gotten with this
would say to those Democrats. retary of the Treasury was with us yes- President. The President is too slow—
Oh, Joe Biden has a solution: I think terday. They want to raise taxes on the too slow to react, to slow to act, and
I will go and beg for oil from Saudi American public and on American en- too slow to respond to the needs of the
Arabia. I think I will go and beg for oil ergy. Well, what do you think higher American people. No wonder they are
from Saudi Arabia. taxes on energy production are going nicknaming him ‘‘Too Slow Joe.’’ That
The Democratic policy on energy to do when oil is already at a point at is what we have in the White House
seems to be ‘‘anything but American which people are paying $5 a gallon for today. It is a disgrace. The country de-
energy.’’ The Biden administration has gasoline? serves better. Americans of every back-
already been begging Venezuela, Iran, For Democrats who choose to go ground and in every stage of life are
the OPEC cartel, and even Vladimir home and listen to the people at home, being punished by the bad policies of
Putin to sell us more oil. We have seen I would imagine they are getting an Joe Biden’s and the Democrats’ in Con-
that all in the last year. If North Korea earful from the people at home. gress.
had oil, I am sure the Democrats would One Democratic Member of the Sen- For most Americans, this is the
go and try to beg them as well. This ate was on TV yesterday, bragging in a worst economy they have ever seen.
President would rather beg the Saudis hearing. I saw it played a number of More and more Americans are having
to sell us energy than to let hard-work- times. She didn’t care how high energy to borrow money just to pay the bills
ing American energy workers get it out prices went. She didn’t care at all be- to try to keep up. Household debt is
of the ground here at home. cause she had an electric car and drove near an alltime high, and credit card
Now, we don’t need to go to Saudi it here, from her home to Washington, day is near an alltime high. The aver-
Arabia. We don’t need to go to Iran. We DC, so it didn’t matter. Oh, if you can’t age car in the United States is now 12
don’t need to go to Venezuela. We don’t afford to have $55,000 to buy an electric years old. This is a record high.
need to go to OPEC. We don’t need to vehicle, too bad for you. That is the I would have to say to my colleague
go to Russia. We have it here at home Democrats’ response. That is what we who bragged about having an electric
in America, and we have an abundance are seeing in this country which Joe car and driving it here and not caring
of energy. Joe Biden is transferring the Biden has led into crisis after crisis about the fact that gas prices have
wealth of our Nation to the Middle after crisis. gone up and was actually laughing
East. Why? Because that is a decision High energy prices, of course, mean about it, it seemed to me, well, you are
by Joe Biden and the Democrats—to higher prices for almost everything different than most Americans, I would
send our wealth to the Middle East else. Higher energy prices are already have to say, because most Americans
rather than to use the wealth that we driving up food costs. For any Senator can’t do what you do. They don’t have
have here in America. who went to a grocery store—and I am that opportunity. The average car in
Joe Biden has blocked off the vast not sure how many Democrats do the the United States is 12 years old be-
majority of Federal lands from energy shopping for themselves or how many cause that is what people can afford,
exploration and production. Even on Democrats saw how high food prices but they can hardly afford the gas to
the remaining Federal land, Joe Biden are, but I certainly saw it in Wyoming go in it. They can’t afford to buy a new
continues to cancel major oil and gas this past weekend—food prices are ris- car or a used car, let alone an electric
lease sales. Just last week, while Mem- ing at the fastest rate in 40 years. Does car.
bers were home, the Biden administra- a single Democratic Senator make ref- Since Joe Biden became President,
tion, with none of us in Washington but erence to that? talk about it? come up prices have gone up faster than wages.
all of us at home, said they are going with or try to find solutions for it? Will That is the complaint I continue to
to redo the environmental reviews of we have a solution? Joe Biden can’t hear about at home. Month after
leases made by the previous adminis- blame Vladimir Putin for high food month after month, the buying power
tration. Now, this includes 2,000 leases prices. The price of food has gone up of the average American family keeps
in my home State of Wyoming. For every single month—every single going lower and lower and lower. Now
every existing energy lease, Joe Biden month—since Joe Biden came into of- two-thirds of the American people are
has done what he can to stop produc- fice. High energy prices. High food talking about living paycheck to pay-
tion there. He has put 4,300 drilling per- prices. check with nothing left over—nothing.
mits in limbo. There is a 40-year high of inflation in As a result, the American people are
What does he say about this? He said this country today, so inflation has feeling stuck and stressed and
it in Japan. He said: We are going driven the Federal Reserve to raise in- squeezed.
through an incredible transition. terest rates. What does that mean? The pessimism of the economists is
This is Joe Biden, the President of Well, for the seniors and retirees who only exceeded by the pessimism of the
the United States. are watching their savings and their American people about the Joe Biden
He said: God willing, when this is retirements melt away, it means a lot. economy. All told, Joe Biden’s eco-
over, this incredible transition we are Interest rates have gone up, and mort- nomic crisis has become a perfect
going through, we will be stronger and gage applications have dropped. Many storm of bad economic news.
less reliant on fossil fuels. Americans are giving up on their Jamie Dimon is the CEO of
What Joe Biden is saying to every dreams of even owning their own JPMorgan Chase. He warned of an up-
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American is, tough luck. Take your homes. coming economic hurricane. The eco-
medicine. Take your medicine, and pay Young mothers can’t buy or find in- nomic hurricane is a perfect storm of
the price because we are going through fant baby formula to buy. Joe Biden record inflation, record debt, a short-
an incredible transition, and God will- didn’t see it coming. People saw it age of necessities, higher interest
ing, when it is over, we are going to be coming, and mothers saw it coming, rates, vanishing savings, and a shrink-
stronger. but it was ignored by the administra- ing economy. The Biden inflation crisis
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June 8, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2857
is quickly spiraling into an all-around warned by their own experts, and they to prevent the next mass shooting, to
economic crisis. If the Democrats con- ignored it; simply, flatly ignored the combat the lethal threat posed by vio-
tinue on this path, it is going to get a warnings, passed the largest spending lent White supremacists, to honor the
lot worse soon. bill in American history. And ever memory of those who were slain in this
Inflation for producers is even higher since that day, inflation has spiraled horrifying act of racist violence.
than inflation for consumers. In fact, out of control. More than a year later, One of the family members who at-
inflation for producers has been the Democrats still don’t have anything to tended yesterday was Garnell Whit-
highest on record. Wholesale prices for offer beyond blame and excuses. field, Jr., and his brother Raymond.
producers went up 11 percent in the Last week, the Secretary of Com- Their mother Ruth Whitfield was the
last year. That means higher prices for merce was asked: eldest victim in this Buffalo shooting.
the people who grow our food, who Is there one specific category [of high She was 86 years old.
build our buildings, and who keep the prices] where you think you can actually In the hours before her murder, Mrs.
lights on. Inflation for producers today make a difference? Whitfield just finished her regular
means inflation for consumers tomor- This is her answer. She said: daily ritual, visiting her husband, Mr.
row. I wish. Whitfield’s father, at his nursing home.
After 13 months of this inflation cri- The two had been married for 68 years,
That is what Democrats are left
sis—a crisis that the administration and in an instant, she was gone. Her
with: wishes, wishes—no plan to fix the
kept ignoring, kept denying, kept re- family is shattered.
crisis that they have created. During yesterday’s hearing, Mr.
fusing to admit was here, kept saying
Joe Biden’s so-called energy inflation
wasn’t coming—the Secretary of the Whitfield courageously voiced what
plan made so many false promises. And
Treasury said: Well, if it comes, and millions of Americans feel about the
he talked about this. He wrote an edi-
there is a small chance it comes, it will devastating run of mass shootings in
torial in the Wall Street Journal. You
be manageable. America: outrage. He asked me and the
would think that maybe somebody at
There is no light at the end of the fellow committee members there a
the White House who wrote it would
tunnel. If there is any light at the end really important question:
have been vetted before they gave it to
of the tunnel, it is because the freight What are you doing? You were elected to
the President, before he put his name protect us. Is there nothing that you [can]
train marked ‘‘recession’’ is about to
on it. It got Four Pinocchios from the personally [be] willing to do to stop the can-
hit America. Inflation is so bad that
Washington Post which talked about cer of White supremacy and the domestic
the Democrats can’t even deny it any-
what the President had to say about terrorism it inspires?
more. So they create it; they ignore it;
energy as just being a lie. Mr. Whitfield concluded his testi-
they deny it; they blame inflation on
We know what we need to do. We mony with the following words I hope
everybody else.
need to stop the reckless spending. We every Member of the Senate will hear.
Yesterday, in the Finance Com-
need to unleash American energy. In- He said:
mittee, the Secretary of the Treasury
stead of canceling lease sales, Joe Mrs. Ruth Whitfield’s life mattered. Your
said: No, no. It wasn’t them.
The Democrats denied it. They said: Biden needs to open up Federal lands actions here will tell us if and how much it
No, no. It was Putin. It was the pan- to American energy production in- mattered to you.
demic. stead. Instead of canceling pipelines, We heard the same sentiment from
But now the Democrats want to Joe Biden should speed up the pipeline across the country—from Uvalde, TX,
make it worse. permitting process. Instead of begging to Chicago, IL. It is impossible to keep
Well, it took about 14 months, but other countries to sell us oil, we should track of these mass shootings. They
Janet Yellen admitted earlier this get it out of the ground right here in have claimed so many innocent lives.
week in a CNN interview that she had America. During this past weekend alone, our
been wrong about inflation. When she Oh, we have the American energy Nation was hit with at least 10 of
said there was a slight risk, she was skills and skilled workers to see us them—10. Think about it: In this coun-
mistaken. When she said it was man- through this crisis. The President just try, 10 in one weekend. In many coun-
ageable, she was mistaken. needs to let them go to work. tries—most countries around the
She said: Now, I was wrong about the Working families have already been world—there are none. No other devel-
path inflation would take. This is the pushed to the breaking point. People oped Nation on Earth experiences this
Secretary of the Treasury for Joe are spending their savings, seeing it degree of bloody carnage every day,
Biden, his handpicked person to run melting away. They have run up credit every week. And if we want to prove to
the economy. She also admitted that cards just to get by, and now recession Americans like Garnell Whitfield that
inflation was a matter of supply and is heading toward us. We need to the lives of their loved ones who were
demand and that the spending in the change course. The administration lost really do matter to us, we have to
American Rescue Plan did feed the de- needs to change course because the Joe do something in the Senate.
mand. I think she is talking about the Biden economic hurricane is about to The first thing is simple: close the
$2 trillion that every Democrat voted hit America. loopholes on the purchase of guns. Cur-
for and that every Republican voted I yield the floor. rently, there is a bipartisan group of
against; the $2 trillion to which even The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Senators working on this issue. I com-
the Democratic economists said: Don’t ator from Illinois. mend this group, especially Senators
do that. It is going to make us have GUN VIOLENCE MURPHY and CORNYN—Democrat and
bad inflation. And we had bad infla- Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, yes- Republican—who are leading this ef-
tion. But Joe Biden and the Secretary terday, as chairman of the Senate Ju- fort.
of the Treasury and every Democrat in diciary Committee, I had the honor of We are also going to hold a hearing
the House and Senate voted in favor of welcoming a group of important guests next week in the Judiciary Committee
pouring fuel on the fire that turned to Washington. over a phenomena which is equally em-
into the inflation we are facing today. The committee was joined by the barrassing. Gunfire is now the leading
This was an enormous mistake on families of some of the victims in last cause of death for kids in America. Did
the part of the Democrats and the month’s mass shooting in Buffalo, NY, you hear that? Gunfire, the leading
President—CHUCK SCHUMER and every when a White supremacist marched cause of death of children in America.
Democrat in this Senate, all the Demo- into the Tops Grocery store with an as- We talk about protecting our kids,
crats in the House and Speaker NANCY sault rifle and massacred 10 Black our highest priority. Well, the guns are
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PELOSI. It is costing the average Amer- Americans in cold blood and wounded killing our kids more than auto-
ican family today $5,000 more this year three others. Just weeks after laying mobiles, more than poison, more than
than last year just to stay even—not to their loved ones to rest, these families accidents in the home.
get ahead, just to stay even. flew to Washington to deliver one very DOMESTIC TERRORISM
Democrats were warned. They were simple, straightforward message to Madam President, that brings me to
warned by Republicans. They were Congress: Do something. Do something our second obligation to families like
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