Economic Recovery After the Pandemic

Floor Speech

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Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, over the past year, it really has felt like our small businesses, our middle class, our communities have really taken one punch after another.

First, we were handed mandatory shutdowns of our restaurants, our small businesses, and our churches, while Walmart and Lowe's and other big box retail stores were allowed to remain open. In some places around the country, we were not even allowed to leave our homes unless it was for a purpose that the government deemed essential.

Like all Americans, I am extremely excited and pleased to see that most of the economy in our communities have reopened. But we can't help but observe that it seems like the reopening is occurring because of the independence and resilience of the American people, despite the best efforts by some to keep us shuttered indefinitely.

It is baffling that during this time when our neighbors have the opportunity to finally get back to work, Democrats are pushing policies to hurt them.

Oh, you are trying to find employees for your diner so you can reopen?

Well, they are paying those employees more to sit at home.

You have a corner store in central South Dakota?

Sorry, but President Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline and instantly caused your customers to lose their jobs.

You want to go back to work, but have two children at home?

Well, unbelievably, the Biden education plan included zero requirement that your son's or daughter's school reopens.

You were excited for your hotel to be busy this spring?

Well, the CDC was still advising Americans not to travel, even if they were vaccinated.

Your bait shop along the Canadian border has been struggling since the border closure?

Too bad President Biden and Justin Trudeau decided that couldn't be solved at the G7 last week.

You need gas to get to work, to get to your job site?

Well, it costs you $50 more this year than it did last year.

Mr. Speaker, this is a staggering laundry list of policies that individually would be an enormous impediment to our success, but together it is a brick wall. Without urgent changes to these antijobs, anti-small business policies, our communities will continue to struggle to reopen completely, and more families will feel the negative impacts of the Biden-Pelosi economy.

As a small business owner myself, I know what these men and women are going through. I know that they were the ones who built their business, not the government. And despite opposing efforts, they won't let the government take it away from them either.

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