Congressional Record, Senate, July 13, 2022: Page S3247

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Page S3247 of the Senate section of the Congressional Record for July 13, 2022, in interleaved columns. A speaker says Wall Street puts its own interests first, at the risk of small businesses and working families, and that for the first time in 20 years the economy is growing faster than China's, which is the speaker's claim. Another speaker argues that a reckless approach to the economy is under way with an economy that is wobbling, noting that American businesses are passthroughs employing tens of millions of Americans, and a further passage thanks nongovernmental organizations for their work.

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“Congressional Record, Senate, July 13, 2022: Page S3247.” Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2022-07-13-crec-2022-07-13-pt1-pgs3247-2-ca81c54ec6/, SHA-256 a79c66d19c98880160dbf08acf43f2f09bc5ef54f1069d616b67d12d9b485607.

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July 13, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S3247
that Wall Street wouldn’t put working I would point out, parenthetically, in the Senate, with this new President,
families and businesses on Main Street that under this new leadership in the has finally decided to enact, making a
at risk again. Senate and new leadership in the White real difference in not just our balance
We know Wall Street puts its own in- House, for the first time in 20 years, of trade but making, fundamentally,
terests first always. We know, too our economy is growing faster than the most important difference—a real
often, it is at the risk of small busi- China’s. Our GDP growth is actually difference—for American workers who
nesses, at the risk of working families, faster than that of the People’s Repub- are the most productive in the world.
at the risk of the middle class, and at lic of China—something we haven’t I strongly urge my colleagues to join
the risk of low-income people. We un- seen in 20 years. me in supporting Owen Herrnstadt’s
derstand that that is their behavior, Mr. Herrnstadt will help lead our Na- nomination to the Export-Import Bank
and the purpose of Dodd-Frank was as tion’s official export credit Agency as Board.
far as we could go to fix that. it supports American workers and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
Mr. Barr has worked for a quarter manufacturers throughout our coun- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
century to make our financial system try. He has served some 30 years in sen- pore. The clerk will call the roll.
safer and fairer. He has focused on de- ior roles at the International Associa- The senior assistant legislative clerk
veloping and evaluating financial regu- tion of Machinists and Aerospace proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask
latory policies. Most importantly, he Workers, and he has served on Ex-Im’s
unanimous consent that the order for
has a keen understanding of the type of Advisory Committee. He is more than
the quorum call be rescinded.
risks that pose threats to our financial qualified to join the Ex-Im Board. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr.
stability. Mr. Barr will join the Federal He will be a voice for American work- KING). Without objection, it is so or-
Reserve Board of Governors at a crit- ers. He understands, as the majority of dered.
ical time for our economy, maintaining this Senate does, that we put workers INFLATION
Federal Reserve independence along at the center of our economy, workers
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, inflation
the way. at the center of our economic policy, numbers came out this morning, and,
In response to a question for the and workers at the center of policy- once again, they were not good. Infla-
record, Mr. Barr told us the following: making in this institution. Too often, tion in June was 9.1 percent—9.1 per-
Independence is critical for the Federal Re- American workers, as Mr. Herrnstadt cent, the highest level since November
serve to effectively carry out its congres- fully understands, have been forced to
sional mandate to promote maximum em-
of 1981.
compete with unfair foreign competi- Groceries are up 12 percent, on aver-
ployment and price stability. Politics should tion for far, far too long.
play no role in setting monetary policy. . . . age. Baby food is up 14 percent, milk up
The Banking Committee reported his 16 percent. Chicken is up 18 percent.
I am committed, if confirmed—
nomination by voice vote twice—last And the list goes on. Household clean-
He wrote— fall and again earlier this year. Again, ing products are up 11 percent. Gas
to adhere strictly to a non-political, data- as a 30-year-long labor activist, fight-
driven, independent approach to policy mak- prices are up nearly 60 percent. Fur-
ing for workers, he is supported by the niture and bedding are up 13 percent.
ing.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Na- Utility gas service is up 38 percent.
I support Mr. Barr’s nomination in tional Association of Manufacturers, Health insurance is up 17 percent and
this critical role. Once confirmed, as I and other advocates for American busi- on and on and on.
said, we will have a full Federal Re- nesses and workers. Everywhere Americans look, they are
serve Board, with all seven members. It Yet, despite his receiving broad sup- facing price increases, price increases
has been almost a decade since we have port, a small number of Senators con- on the most essential items: groceries,
been able to do that. It has taken this tinues to oppose anything—anything— gas, their utility bills. And on top of
new President and this new majority in related to the Ex-Im Bank, so we are all this, real average hourly earnings
the Senate to do that, and I thank all forced to have a cloture vote today on are currently declining at the fastest
of my colleagues who have played a his nomination. pace in 40 years. Fifty-eight percent of
role in that. Our competitors are not going to Americans are living paycheck to pay-
I urge my colleagues to support the stop financing their business sales. We check. Price increases on the most es-
nomination of Michael Barr. need Ex-Im to compete, and Mr. sential items—groceries, gas, their
NOMINATION OF OWEN EDWARD HERRNSTADT Herrnstadt is needed on that Board to utility bills—all these things are forc-
Madam President, I urge my col- help the Ex-Im Bank deliver results. ing Americans to dig into their sav-
leagues to support another nominee He will join Ex-Im President Reta Jo ings, when they have them, to try and
out of the Senate Banking, Housing, Lewis; my fellow Ohioan and first Vice make ends meet.
and Urban Affairs Committee, Owen President, Judith Pryor; and Ex-Im Others are relying on things like
Herrnstadt, who is the nominee to be a Board member and former Congress- credit cards or visits to food banks. De-
member of the Board of Directors of man Spencer Bachus, a Republican mand for food assistance has soared in
the Export-Import Bank of the United from Alabama, who have been working recent months. One organization in my
States. on a bipartisan basis to carry out the hometown in South Dakota received
Like Mr. Barr, Mr. Herrnstadt re- mission given by Congress in the 2019 600 more calls for food assistance in
ceived bipartisan support out of the reauthorization to help American ex- May of this year than it had received
Banking Committee. We now have four porters compete with China. in the same month a year ago. Food
of the five members of the Ex-Im Bank. We know—and the Acting President banks often have fewer resources to
We will have, after today, after this pro tempore has been very engaged in meet the need, thanks to declines in
week—I am hopeful—four of the five this in her Senate career—that bad donations and the high price of gro-
members of the Export-Import Bank trade agreements and bad tax policy ceries. And there is no end to this pain
confirmed and in place. We are still have led to far too many companies in sight.
waiting for Senator MCCONNELL to tell shutting down production in Worces- A recent Joint Economic Committee
the White House and offer the fifth ter, MA, and Wooster, OH, and to their analysis found that inflation will cost
nominee, a Republican nominee, so we moving overseas and selling those the average household $7,620 over the
can fill out that Board. products back into the United States next year or $635 per month—$635 per
Our foreign competitors operate while exploiting cheap labor and ex- month. That is an unsustainable bur-
more than 100 export credit agencies ploiting weak environmental laws and den for working families.
and credit programs supporting their weak worker safety laws but gaining By now, most Americans are familiar

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manufacturers. China’s export finance from bad American trade policy and with how we got here. When President
activity is larger than all of the export bad American tax policy. Biden took office, inflation was at 1.4
credit that G7 countries collectively The Ex-Im Bank helps us to correct percent, well within the Fed’s target
provide, and China will continue to use that. So does Brown-Wyden and what inflation rate of 2 percent. And it
export credit to win manufacturing we have done to level the playing field might have stayed there had Demo-
business in critical sectors. on those issues that this new majority crats not decided to pass a massive and

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S3248 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 13, 2022
partisan $1.9 trillion spending spree Small business owners’ expectations the inflation numbers are historic: 9.1
under the guise of COVID relief, mere for better business conditions recently percent. We haven’t seen that kind of
weeks—mere weeks—after Congress hit an alltime low. Business owners are inflation since 1981, back when I was in
had passed a fifth bipartisan COVID struggling with the high cost of every- college.
bill that met essentially all current thing, from inputs to electricity, as in- We have an economy that some argue
pressing COVID needs. flation continues to soar and global is already in a recession, depending on
The Democrats’ so-called American supply chains continue to be sluggish. what ultimately the numbers are for
Rescue Plan sent a lot of unnecessary I recently read a comment from one the second quarter of this year. But
government money into the economy, small business owner in South Dakota some people—economists—are expect-
and the economy overheated as a re- who noted: ing negative GDP growth for the sec-
sult. You don’t have to take my word It’s hard when you’re working so hard but ond quarter, which, by the clinical,
for that on the damaging effects of this you’re not making money. . . . We are right technical definition, would put the
legislation. Here is what one Demo- there right now. country already into a recession. But
cratic economist who worked in the ‘‘It’s hard when you are working so most economists and people who study
Obama administration had to say on hard but you’re not making money.’’ this suggest that there is certainly a
the subject: Yes, it is. likelihood of a recession within the
The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan And if Democrats have their way, life next year.
passed in the early days of the Biden admin- for small business owners—and their So we have the prospect of a reces-
istration will go down in history as an ex- employees—is going to get even harder sion. We are looking down at the possi-
traordinary policy mistake. because raising taxes on businesses will bility of record inflation, coupled with
Another former Obama adviser noted: lead to a combination of lower wages a recession, and what do the Democrats
The original sin was an oversized American for workers, lower returns for business want to do? Raise taxes. Raise taxes
Rescue Plan. It contributed to both higher owners, and higher prices for goods and and grow government. Spend more.
output but also higher prices. services. It is just intuitive. Flood the zone with more spending. Hit
Those are warnings that came from Think about it. If you are a small businesses with higher taxes, which
Democrats that their so-called Amer- business owner, you are paying more will get passed on in the form of lower
ican Rescue Plan ran the risk of over- for inputs and all the supplies that you wages and higher prices.
heating the economy, but Democrats need to run your business, and then So the Democrats apparently are
here in Congress passed it anyway. The government says: Oh, we are going to content with the idea of a recession.
President signed it. hand you a big, fat tax increase on top They almost want to seem to guar-
What is also worse is that even after of that, what happens? Well, you can antee that we want to get there, and I
they saw the inflation that resulted take lower profits—and some of them am at a loss to understand any other
from their $1.9 trillion boondoggle, certainly, I am sure, will, but inevi- reason why they would be contem-
they spent months last year trying to tably that gets passed on in the form of plating increasing the tax burden on
double down on the reckless spending higher cost to the consumers, to the small businesses and middle-class
that helped cause so much inflation in people they serve, their customers, or Americans during an inflation crisis.
the first place. Even as inflation was in the form of lower wages to their em- Mr. President, Democrats tried their
steadily increasing, Democrats spent ployees. That is what it is going to do. hardest last fall to double down on the
months working to pass their so-called It will also make it more challenging spending strategy that helped plunge
Build Back Better bill—a multitrillion- for small business owners to reinvest in us into this inflation crisis in the first
dollar—trillion-dollar—reckless tax- and grow their businesses. place. Mercifully—and I say ‘‘mer-
and-spending spree that would have As I said, altogether, Democrats are cifully,’’ and I thank God for a couple
dumped more unnecessary government contemplating raising taxes by $1 tril- of discerning Democrats who saw oth-
money into an already overheated lion in their new Build Back Better erwise—mercifully, they failed.
economy. But, fortunately, their ef- tax-and-spending spree. And those tax Let’s hope that common sense will
forts ultimately failed last December. hikes and their economic impacts are once again prevail and the Democrats’
But like a zombie, Democrats’ Build not going to be limited to small busi- latest reckless tax-and-spending pro-
Back Better tax-and-spending spree nesses, nor are they going to be limited posal will come to nothing. American
just keeps coming back from the dead. to families bringing home more than families are already suffering. They
That is right. Despite the fact that our $400,000, despite the fact that the Presi- should not—not—have to deal with the
inflation crisis is even worse—worse dent has repeatedly pledged not to economic consequences of yet another
now than it was last fall—Democrats raise taxes on families making less ill-advised piece of Democratic legisla-
are once again considering a version of than that. tion.
their Build Back Better tax-and-spend- The nonpartisan Joint Committee on I yield the floor.
ing spree. We don’t know all the details Taxation studied the tax-and-spend The PRESIDING OFFICER. The gen-
yet, but what we do know—what we do provisions that Democrats are dis- tleman from Texas.
know—is cause for alarm. cussing, and its analysis shows that BORDER SECURITY
Democrats are planning to raise lower and middle-income taxpayers Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, during
taxes by a trillion dollars—$1 trillion— will face significant hits from the pro- my time in the Senate, I have spent a
and a substantial part of that tax in- posed tax hikes. lot of time learning from folks who live
crease would come in the form of new The Joint Committee on Taxation and work along our 1,200-mile border
taxes on small businesses. That is analysis—again, bipartisan, non- with Mexico about the challenges that
right, on small individually and fam- partisan organization studies the im- region and that border present. I have
ily-owned businesses or what are often plications of taxing-and-spending pro- worked with local leaders who know
called passthrough businesses; in other visions on our economy and on classes the advantages and the challenges of
words, Main Street America, the busi- of different people in this country— living along an international border
nesses that create jobs. that JCT analysis found that more better than anyone else in the country.
In South Dakota, passthroughs, such than half of Americans earning be- Of course, I have spoken with a number
as sole proprietorships, S corporations, tween $100,000 and $200,000 would see a of Border Patrol agents—these, of
and partnerships, employ an estimated tax hike next year as well as a quarter course, are frontline law enforcement
68 percent of the private sector and of Americans making between $75,000 officers—as well as our local sheriffs
represent almost 100 percent—99 per- and $100,000 a year. and others, who have come face-to-face

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cent or thereabouts—of all businesses Raising taxes on small businesses, in- with human tragedy, exploitation, and
in my home State of South Dakota. cluding passthroughs in South Dakota many other forms of heartbreak and
Nationwide, more than 90 percent of and across this country, is a reckless— hardship. I have learned a great deal
American businesses are passthroughs, reckless—approach to the economy. from the nongovernmental organiza-
and these businesses employ tens of Mr. President, we have an economy tions—the so-called NGOs—that go
millions of Americans. that is wobbling. I just mentioned that above and beyond the call of duty to

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