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Floor Speech

Date: July 12, 2023
Location: Washington, DC

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Mr. MARSHALL. Bidenomics. Bidenomics. I think everyone knows that you don't give yourself a nickname. You don't get to do that. Your friends get to do that for you. Who could imagine back in grade school giving yourself a nickname? By the same token, you don't get to name an economy after yourself either. You have to earn it.

Just like JLo. Before there was JLo, there was Jennifer Lopez. For Jennifer Lopez to become JLo, she had to go out and prove herself. She had to become a great singer.

Before Taylor Swift was known as the Country Pop Princess, Taylor had to compose music, play instruments, and sing to the hearts and souls of millions of people across the world.

Margaret Thatcher, before she was the Iron Lady, she had to go out and earn that nickname because of her iron fist, the way she ruled her country.

Ronald Reagan, the Great Communicator. Could you imagine Ronald Reagan stepping onto his first stage telling you: Hey, I am the Great Communicator. It took him years to earn that nickname.

One of my favorites: Mr. October, Reggie Jackson. Reggie didn't get to name himself Mr. October. He had to go out and be a star player for the New York Yankees in October, not in May.

Derek Jeter--another great nickname, the Captain. Did Derek Jeter give himself that name? No, his teammates did.

Mr. President, you don't get to give yourself a nickname, and you don't get to name an economy after yourself. You have to earn it. The nickname this White House has earned for this economy is Bidenflation. He has earned it. It is deserved. When my grandkids and my great grandkids open up their history book and they get to the 46th President of the United States, the title will be ``Bidenflation'' and the subtitle, ``The Worst Economy in 40 Years.'' Certainly, it is the worst economy in my professional life time.

So when I say it is the worst economy, I want to start by saying I have not had one person in recent memory in the past 2 years who has come up and say: Hey, this economy is great. I just love that I am paying so much more to make a living. Whether it is food or groceries or housing, no one has come up to me and say: Hey, I love this economy.

It is actually just the opposite. I want to take a closer look. You may come up with some different conclusions, but you can't argue with these facts I am about to give you. The average Kansas family is paying $800 more per month just for basic needs--$800 more a month. When we gave them the tax cuts in the previous administration, the average Kansas family was able to put more than $2,000 back into their pocket. Now this administration is taking an extra $800 to pay for their basic necessities. I don't have to remind anybody that gas prices doubled under this President. Groceries are up 20 percent.

Utility bills. I can't tell you how many people called me to tell me: My utility bills have actually doubled compared to previous winters.

Housing, let's just take a minute and talk about housing. The average monthly payment for a person searching for a new home has doubled under this President. Let me say that again. The average monthly payment for a person searching for a new home has doubled under this President. The White House economy has made housing totally uncomfortable, especially for first-time home buyers.

Let's think about what the American dream is. I think every American dreams of owning a home--in Kansas, a truck and a fishing boat. But under this President, none of those are happening.

I recently had the Builders Association from Kansas in my office--the largest number from that group I ever had--all with long, long faces. I knew their concerns before they even gave them. I hear it every day, every week when I am back home. I hear it from friends. I hear it from family members, business owners, union workers, senior citizens. I really hear it from my senior citizens that the cost of living is just unbearable. Young families with kids starting off--maybe that first job out of high school or out of college--those are the ones that are being stung by Bidenflation. There is no one immune from it.

Before they could go through their list of concerns, I asked them a serious question: Is there any policy remaining that this White House could implement that would hurt their business more? Was there one policy the White House hasn't turned over yet that could hurt their business more? And they sat there silent--crickets. They couldn't think of one more thing this White House could do to hurt their business. They don't have workers because the White House pays more to stay home than go to work. They need lumber, they need nails, they need bolts, they need plumbing supplies, heat and air. If they could get them, those are all through the roof.

Interest rates. Nothing kills housing like higher interest rates. Of course, we know the higher interest rates are a direct reflection of Bidenflation. Just to state it very briefly, Bidenflation has made housing unaffordable. Think about this. This government spends millions--perhaps billions--of dollars on affordable housing, but inflation has destroyed any gain that we made recently.

Mr. President, you are not Ronald Reagan. You should not put your name on something that is a miserable failure. Reaganomics gave us a great opportunity--perhaps the greatest economy of my lifetime. But your economy--why would you put your name on the worst economy in nearly half a century?

No matter what you say, no matter how you spin it, you are not going to convince the folks back home that this economy is good. They are smarter than that. Americans know otherwise.

Bidenflation--that is the title of the chapter in the history book.

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