Business Before the Senate

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, this week, we have heard from many of my Democratic colleagues about the various ways that Republicans have supposedly dragged this country to the brink of collapse. But what they have ignored in their manufactured hysteria and disgust in some part is the fact that it is, indeed, Democrats who have control of the entire U.S. Government at this point. It was the Democrats who chose to govern alone starting on day one of the Biden administration.

Over the past 8 months, Joe Biden and his Democratic friends have indulged their worst instincts and taken unprecedented steps to bring every single aspect of American life under the control of the Federal Government.

They are the ones who are now threatening the American people with shutdowns and default rather than using the tools at their disposal to raise the debt ceiling and fund the government.

They are the ones who chose to squander the trust of the American people on a spending spree that would waste trillions of dollars on liberal pet projects and a rapidly expanding welfare state. The Democrats have repeatedly claimed that these programs will make us happier, healthier, wealthier, freer, but in reality, their agenda has done nothing but make things worse.

Historic spending has given rise to historic inflation that is on track to stay with us until the end of Joe Biden's Presidency. In Tennessee, it is one of the things that I hear about most. Groceries are more expensive than ever. Gas prices are at a 7-year high. Rent has skyrocketed, along with natural gas prices, which are set to break a decade-old record just in time for colder weather to set in. It is bad for hard-working taxpayers. They are tired of it.

According to the Wall Street Journal, not even a well-earned hourly raise will be enough to pull these workers out of the hole. Inflation is so bad, it has negated the budget padding these people should be enjoying from bigger paychecks. Pay adjusted for inflation actually fell. It fell half a percent in August. These aren't luxuries. The policies advocated by the Democrats have made life itself too expensive to afford. From the second they wake up in the morning to the moment their head hits their pillow at night, the American people are bleeding cash, paying higher taxes, and some are beginning to lose hope.

Still, the Democrats insist that if we surrender even more control, all will be well. Well, that talking point might work when you are talking to the camera, but it is not going to work on the people. It is not working on Tennesseans because they understand that ceding control means surrendering freedom, and freedom is about all that we have left.

When I talk to Tennesseans, they are not holding back how they feel about this so-called transformative agenda. For them, this isn't just a battle of ideas. They are fighting a war against the onslaught of radical socialism. They are afraid of Joe Biden's runaway White House because they have seen how destructive the administration's unilateral decisions can be. They have watched thousands of jobs evaporate and the southern border turned into a lawless war zone because the President wanted it this way.

So here is what Tennesseans want to know. If they can't trust the Democrats to do the bare minimum, why should they trust that even more spending and more centralized control and more big government will work out in their favor? They have had 8 months' worth of proof that the exact opposite is true.

This country might be hanging on by a thread. For my part, I will listen to my fellow Tennesseans and will play no role in facilitating the erosion of freedom and the dignity of American life.

I implore my colleagues in the majority: Listen to the people. They have the right to live their lives on their own terms, not with lockdowns and mandates--on their terms. They don't want have to depend on a government check to feed themselves or get their children back to school.

There is a reason that our Constitution is one of the enumerated Federal powers. It is not the place of Congress or the Executive to flip this concept on its head and force the American people to justify their right to live free from this destructive cycle of debt and dependency. Our rights come from God, and I assure you, no government body could ever improve upon them.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source