Biden Administration

Floor Speech

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Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, I come to the Senate floor today with a warning for Kansans and all Americans that the inflation we are seeing, Bidenflation, as I call it, is here to stay so long as those on the left continue to jam through reckless tax-and-spend bills.

Unfortunately, the inflation we are seeing is a double whammy. You have less money to spend, and the things you want to buy cost more. It is hurting every hard-working American but none more than our seniors and young families living paycheck to paycheck. No, President Biden, inflation is not a problem of just the high class. Indeed, there is no equity in Bidenflation.

Make no mistake, inflation and all of its lingering effects rest squarely on the shoulders of President Biden's failed social policies. It is yet another crisis created by this administration.

Having personally lived through the seventies and eighties, I have seen inflation happen firsthand. I have seen it bring so many businesses down. And to put it in simpler terms, inflation is a vicious cycle, like a dog chasing its own tail and the tail is on fire. And, of course, the Biden administration has been throwing gasoline on this fire since the moment they took office.

Today's inflation crisis began with Joe Biden's boondoggle stimulus bill and the proceeding labor shortages. For months now, we are seeing ``Help Wanted'' signs everywhere, from the small mom-and-pop shops on Main Street to big hotel chains and fast-food restaurants. Employers are struggling to fill the open jobs they have despite raising wages and offering return-to-work bonuses.

This labor shortage is having a rippling effect across our economy, from slowing down the supply and logistics chains to putting an unfair burden on employees who choose to show up. This ripple has turned into a tidal wave of inflation and now a full-blown tsunami.

But the storm waves don't stop there. The cost of living has increased as a result of production delays caused by labor shortages. Higher costs at home, such as the cost of gasoline, vehicles, groceries, and energy costs caused workers to go on strike asking for higher wages just to make ends meet.

Folks, I have got news for you: Wages never keep up with inflation. All this, in turn, drives up the cost of goods and services even more. You get the point. Inflation is a vicious cycle. This is the dog chasing its own tail.

But Bidenflation doesn't stop there now. Why? Because President Biden is throwing more gasoline on the fire with his unconstitutional vaccine mandate. I, too, have seen this firsthand. Just last week, I was in Kansas to meet with union members who are facing the difficult choice of keeping their jobs or getting the COVID vaccine.

These folks aren't just mad; they are panicked. And it is literally job or jab for them. In fact, the unions I spoke with estimate they will lose 30 to 50 percent of their workforce due to Joe Biden's vaccine mandate. This will make both our supply chain shortages as well as inflation even worse.

Mr. President, while I support the COVID vaccine and encourage folks to talk to their doctor about whether to get it, there is no doubt that President Biden's vaccination decree is an all-out assault on our private businesses, our civil liberties, and our entire constitutional system of limited government.

And it is a slap in the face to so many people who stood on the frontlines of the COVID battle last year and never stopped working: nurses, doctors, first responders, and those union workers I met with last week. Trust me, I have heard loud and clear these few weeks from Kansans about what they want, and it is not an unconstitutional vaccine mandate. It is not the socialism that is born out of trillions of dollars' worth of spending and taxing that has led to reckless inflation, hampered our economy, and killed our jobs.

The question is, Do Americans want Big Government socialism or do we want economic freedom and prosperity? Kansans agree that if you want strong roads, bridges, high-speed internet, good schools, and a strong military, we need a strong economy. That should be our focus right now, not continuing down this administration's socialist economic policies.

Pre-COVID, we had the greatest economy in my lifetime. That came about because we lowered people's taxes; we lowered regulations; and we lowered energy prices. We need smart, targeted investments, not radical spending that leaves the country at a disadvantage.

Unfortunately, in the meantime, everyone better buckle up and grab your wallets. Bidenflation is here to stay as long as this administration continues its reckless taxing, reckless borrowing, and reckless spending agenda.

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