Inflation

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Just a few minutes ago, yet again, the American people received a monthly inflation report that was even worse than the expert predictions.

The expectation was that Democrats' runaway inflation might finally begin to actually level off. The top-line inflation rate was expected to fall. Instead, yet again, the opposite happened. Overall inflation was up even higher.

The prices this past August were still 8.3 percent higher than they were in August of 2021. Just a catastrophically high inflation rate.

Food prices went up another 0.8 percent just this past month alone. Overall food prices just logged their biggest 1-year increase since the late 1970s. Groceries in particular are now 13.5 percent more expensive than they were at this time last year. Democrats' policies are sucker- punching American families every time they set foot in the checkout line. Eggs are up 40 percent. Butter, up 25 percent. Baby food, up 13 percent. Chicken, dairy, bread, cereal, and canned fruits and vegetables are all up around 16 percent each. Coffee is up even more than that.

Housing and shelter costs were up. Medical costs were up. Furniture, up. New cars, up.

Electricity costs were way, way up--a 15.8-percent increase since last year. So let me say that again. Inflation on Americans' electricity bills alone--alone--is 15.8 percent in just the last 12 months. This is the largest 1-year increase in electricity prices since 1981, when the statistic was looking back into the final months of Jimmy Carter.

Even if you take out energy and food prices--two areas where the administration likes to pass the buck and pretend they are powerless-- inflation skyrocketed 0.6 percent in just the month of August alone.

Eight-point-three percent inflation--just an astonishing number. And remember, this figure only looks back 12 months, but we are now more than 12 months into the Democrats' inflation spiral. Prices are 8.3 percent higher today than in August of 2021, but remember, in August 2021, the baseline, we were already talking about runaway inflation. Prices were already way up compared to the year before that. So the 12- month number dramatically understates the total damage that Democrats have caused.

Here is the comparison that matters most to American families, especially with an election in less than 2 months: How are things today compared to January 2021, when this all-Democratic government was sworn in? How are they compared to January 2021? Here is the answer: Food prices are up a total of 13.9 percent since President Biden was sworn in. Gas prices are up 58.5 percent. Electricity costs are up 21.6 percent. And the overall, across-the-board inflation rate since President Biden took office is a catastrophic--catastrophic--12.5 percent.

This very day, President Biden and Democrats are having a big celebration for their latest reckless spending bill, which they pretended would reduce inflation but which nonpartisan experts say will actually make it worse. They could not look more out of touch if they tried.

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