Government Spending

Floor Speech

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Mr. MORAN. Madam President, $28 trillion, $9,700 per person. It is common for Members of this Senate to stand on the Senate floor and debate the pricetag of spending bills and legislation that costs millions, billions, and even trillions of dollars. These numbers are so large that for many people--perhaps even for us--it is incomprehensible and unrelatable.

Today, I would like to take a moment to talk about dollars and cents. In Kansas, the current average price for a gallon of gas is $3.09. Last year, the average cost per gallon of gas in Kansas was $1.93. This means filling up a 15-gallon tank will cost you an extra $17 every time you fill up your car at the pump. If you fill up your vehicle once a week, that is an additional $904 you spent on gas this year as opposed to just last year.

Electricity prices are up 5.2 percent this year. The average monthly electric bill for a residence in Kansas last year was $113.52. A 5- percent increase is an additional $68 per family.

This winter is going to be expensive for American families, particularly in the Midwest, as households are expected to see their heating bills jump as much as 54 percent compared to last winter, making it the most expensive winter since 2008.

Thanks to inflation, the price of eggs is up 9.9 percent. A used car is going to be about 24 percent more expensive. Chicken has a 7.2- percent increase in cost, in price.

In fact, these realities are being reflected by media across the country.

Newsweek's headline: ``Your Thanksgiving Turkey Could Be the Most Expensive Ever.''

MSNBC: ``Thanksgiving is now less than a month away and it's shaping up to be the most expensive meal in the history of the holiday.''

CBS News: ``On the table for Thanksgiving this year? Higher food prices.''

NBC News: ``This Thanksgiving, be prepared to fork over more dough for your feast.''

And The New York Times: ``This Year's Thanksgiving Feast Will Wallop the Wallet.''

This is horrible news for almost every Kansan and for every American, and it is especially damaging to those who are already struggling to pay the bills because their hard-earned dollars just don't go far enough now.

An extra $17 at the gas pump or $68 on an electric bill and an extra 50 cents here or there is quickly adding up, for middle-class and low- income families, to be a major challenge.

These dollars add up to tough decisions, like: Will we be able to make our mortgage payment this month? Do we forgo a Thanksgiving meal this year so we can keep the heat on? Can we afford to make the drive across the country to see the grandparents for the holidays?

The current trajectory for inflation doesn't look good either. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday that the United States hasn't experienced the recent inflation levels in a ``long time'' and expects higher inflation to continue into 2022.

Part of inflation--a significant portion of inflation is caused by government spending, and the Democrats' out-of-control spending and policies have sped up the rate of inflation, creating these higher prices for families.

In particular, President Biden's effort to restrain American oil and gas production--this one is not about spending, but it is about policy. President Biden's efforts to restrain American oil and gas production while, oddly, hypocritically, strangely, appealing to OPEC to increase the global oil supply in the face of high gas prices at home has resulted in higher energy prices, which could drive inflation even higher in the months to come.

It is time for Congress to turn off the spending spigot. The Democrats' nearly $2 trillion spending package that passed at the beginning of this session, in January, did nothing to help with our labor shortage or to improve the supply chain. It, instead, accelerated inflation around the country. We have been slow to turn that spigot off, and we have exacerbated it since the arrival of a Democrat majority and President Biden in the White House.

The Democrats are awfully busy trying to fill their campaign promises by passing their tax-and-spending spree, and they are too busy to worry about the damage they are causing American families. More spending will only exacerbate our current inflationary circumstances, and the path that the Democrats have charted involves massive amounts of spending that will lead to higher prices for everyone.

As Americans face higher prices at the gas station and grocery store, we must work at fixing our supply chain issues, returning to being energy independent, helping Americans return to work, and reining in our spending to slow down the rate of inflation. This out-of-control spending is jeopardizing our economy and hurting Americans.

To my colleagues--to my Democrat colleagues, in particular--rather than assuming a mandate by the voters and pushing the tax-and-spend spree legislation with 51 votes, let's work together. Let's work together to get government spending and borrowing in check. If this is done, it will be done for the well-being of all Americans.

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