-9999
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, last week, President Biden tried to blame me for the current inflation crisis. In a speech where he couldn't even get my State right--I proudly represent Florida, in case he needs another reminder--he attacked me and tried to blame the record inflation he created on Republicans. I guess he has also forgotten that he is the President and that it is his policies that created this mess. And, by the way, Democrats are in control of the House and the Senate.
What is clear to the American people is that Joe Biden is to blame for the inflation that is hurting them more every day. Families I talk to in Florida are sick and tired of this President's failures. They are sick and tired of seeing an incoherent, confused man ramble on in the White House, with no plan but to blame everyone else but himself for the problems he created.
Last week, the Biden administration reported that the Consumer Price Index, our main measure of inflation, increased 8.3 percent year-over- year, and the latest Producer Price Index, released just a day later, showed wholesale inflation in April increased 11 percent over the year. These price hikes hurt real families, and they are impacting every industry. We see it in the price of groceries, like milk, eggs, and meat. We see it in the price of gas at the pump and electricity for your home. We see it in the price of used cars and in the cost of transportation. Everything is going up, and some products, like baby formula, are nearly impossible to find.
It is causing families to make impossible choices. In March, a Census Bureau report found that over the last year, 24 percent of Americans reduced or went without basic items such as food and medicine as a way to afford their energy bills. In my home State, 26 percent of Floridians had to make this impossible choice.
Let's be clear. The financial pinch families are facing, the supply chain crisis families are facing, and the skyrocketing prices families are seeing are because of the radical spending agenda being pushed by President Biden and Democrats in Washington. Their reckless government spending has sent our economy into a downward spiral. Our debt has grown to over $30 trillion, and Biden wants to push it up to $45 trillion even as our GDP is contracting. Inflation has risen to the highest levels in over 40 years. It is wrecking our economy.
We need bold action to fix this mess and help families struggling to keep up.
I came to the floor to stop the insanity and introduce a budgetary point of order. My bill would stop any nondefense discretionary spending that would increase the deficit over the 10-year budget window when the average annual CPI inflation is 3 percent or higher. The Federal Reserve's target for inflation is 2 percent, so setting the bar for the point of order 50 percent above this target is totally reasonable.
My point of order would not even apply during time periods when inflation is at or slightly above the Federal Reserve's target. Of course, we need flexibility for emergencies, so my bill would allow this point of order to be waived if two-thirds of the Senate agree that deficit spending during times of elevated inflation is desperately needed. Further, my point of order would not apply to funding our armed services nor would it apply to any mandatory spending, such as Medicare or Social Security.
This is commonsense legislation. This bill would put in place the same scrutiny that families, especially poor families like mine when growing up, use in order to stay on budget. It is the same kind of careful examination that small business owners have to do to make sure they can pay their employees and make ends meet. The inflation we are seeing right now is unsustainable. It is time for action. I hope we will all come together to agree to this point of order.
4249, which is at the desk. I further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I disagree with my colleague's objection, but I think this issue is too important not to try to get something done today.
So, instead of enacting this point of order when the CPI reaches 3 percent, how about we raise it to 8 percent? Our current CPI level is at 8.3 percent. We see how bad things are right now. When the CPI gets close to where we currently are--inflation levels that we haven't seen since the 1980s--that is when this point of order would take effect.
At 8 percent inflation, we have reached a crisis point. It only stands to reason for Congress to start looking closely at every bill that increases the deficit. Such deficit-increasing bills should only be passed by Congress when absolutely needed.
Again, this point of order could be waived in the Senate with a two- thirds majority. I think this is reasonable and that we owe it to American families to start holding Congress accountable for the reckless spending that we know fuels inflation. Hopefully, my colleagues can agree to pinning this point of order to inflation at 8 percent.
4250, which is at the desk. I further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I was hoping we could arrive at a deal today, so let me try it one more time.
Eight percent inflation, I think, is really high. Remember that the Federal Reserve's target is 2 percent. I am just here to see if we can work something out and get something with which we can control excess spending. So I am going to try one more time. I want to give Democrats a chance in Congress to step up and fight for families all across America who are being devastated by raging inflation. There is no reason not to get this done.
My colleague objected to setting this point of order at 8 percent, but certainly no one can object to saying that, at 12 percent inflation, things need to change. Inflation over 12 percent would be an even bigger emergency. We haven't seen the CPI that high since Jimmy Carter.
Think about it this way: Things are really bad now, and 12 percent inflation would be a 50-percent increase over the already sky-high prices we are seeing today. Remember, we started at 3 percent. Now I am offering my colleague a point of order that can only be triggered at 12 percent.
4251, which is at the desk. I further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I am clearly disappointed that we have had three opportunities to try to do something here that was going to try to stop the reckless spending that is causing this inflation.
I think all of us know that inflation is way too high. We also all know that reckless government spending is driving up the cost of inflation all across this country. I hope the Democrats in Washington will start figuring out how we can get inflation under control. It starts by living within our means. It starts by making sure that we live within our budget and that we stop wasting money.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source