Runaway Deficit Spending

Floor Speech

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Mr. ROSE. Mr. Speaker, inflation is at the highest level we have seen since Jimmy Carter was in the White House.

I have spoken many times about rising prices being fueled by out-of- control spending. Today, I rise with even more proof that this has been the case.

President Biden's 2021 COVID stimulus bill overheated the economy, just as I, and many other Republican Members of Congress, along with numerous economists from both sides of the political divide, predicted.

Now a report by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office shows that spending did, in fact, create a worker shortage which strained supply chains and contributed to the economic crisis in which we find ourselves today.

One year ago, companies across middle Tennessee were struggling to find workers. More than 160,000 Tennesseans were unemployed; yet 218,000 jobs were available. Folks were earning $15.75 an hour to stay home because of the unnecessary $2 trillion bill pushed through by congressional Democrats on a party line vote.

Employers became desperate. Many were forced to offer massive sign-on bonuses and other incentives just to find enough workers to continue operating as normal. Unfortunately, some had to close their doors.

Tennessee's Governor Bill Lee, a businessowner himself, recognized the damage enhanced Federal unemployment benefits were causing on restaurants and retail stores. He noticed many couldn't compete with $300 a week from the Federal Government on top of State unemployment benefits.

Fortunately, he put a stop to the flow of Federal unemployment dollars in Tennessee, and he was right. At last check, there were about 13,000 unemployment claims in Tennessee, compared to roughly 60,000 claims this time last year.

Still, the cost of living has increased every month under the Biden administration, and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects it will continue to impact Americans at least into 2023.

This is what happens when you do what is politically expedient. This is the direct result of runaway deficit spending.

The Federal Reserve is now having to be the adult in the room and raise interest rates to lower inflation. Raising interest rates is a harsh step, but one made necessary by the Biden administration's reckless handling of the economy.

It will make it harder and more expensive to borrow money for your first home or to buy a new car. Raising interest rates will also cause our economy to slow down. This means people will lose their jobs, their savings, and in many cases, even their small businesses.

Our economy already got 1.5 percent smaller in the first quarter of the year. It is why many economists are predicting a recession or worse in the next 12 months.

It didn't have to be this way. The President and congressional Democrats didn't have to borrow and spend so much money. This administration inherited one of the strongest economies in my life. It took fewer than 2 years for them to completely destroy it. President Biden must do better.

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