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Floor Speech
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Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, over the last 3\1/2\ years, President Biden's policies have unleashed a series of crises, one after another, and have thus made the lives of average Americans harder, not easier.
There is a security crisis at the border that my colleague from North Dakota talked about a moment ago--rising crime rates across our communities, some of which come from gang members who transit our southern border and then go on to commit crimes of violence against innocent Americans all across the country; the drugs that took the lives of 108,000 Americans last year alone; and then America's weakening role on the global stage.
I believe there is a reason why the threats that confront our country and world peace are at the greatest level they have been since World War II. It is because the tyrants, the autocrats, the dictators--the people like Vladimir Putin, President Xi in China, Kim Jong Un in North Korea, and the Supreme Leader in Iran--perceive weakness, and weakness for them is a provocation; it is an invitation for them to take action and threaten stability and peace.
President Biden's policies have made Americans' lives harder, not easier. Nowhere is that more evident than in the high prices that are clobbering family budgets. I know the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is doing just fine. He is not feeling the impact of higher prices at the gas pump, at the grocery store, in rent, and all across our economy. It doesn't affect him, and it doesn't affect many of us, but for people on a fixed income and people who are of lower income-- seniors, retired individuals--it is degrading and undermining their standard of living and their quality of life.
Since President Biden took office 3\1/2\ years ago, consumer prices have risen on average 20 percent. That means a dollar that you spent on consumer products--whatever they may be--3\1/2\ years ago now only buys 80 cents' worth of value. That is a hard leap for many families to absorb, and for those living on fixed incomes or tight budgets, it is virtually impossible. Families are paying 21 percent more for groceries, 41 percent more for energy, and 54 percent more for gasoline. When you add in price hikes on clothing, car insurance, and even a visit to the dentist, you are looking at a mountain of expenses that cost more today than they did when President Biden took office.
America has experienced a 40-year high in inflation as a result of the reckless spending policies of the Biden administration's by throwing $2.7 trillion of reckless partisan spending on the fire of inflation, making it much, much, much worse. Of course, then the Federal Reserve has to try to raise interest rates, which they have done, in order to dampen that fire, in order to put out the fire. But that doesn't erase the fact that American consumers--our constituents-- have experienced a 20-percent increase in their cost of living across the board.
An average household in the State of Texas is spending more than $1,000 a month more today than they did 3\1/2\ years ago. That is more than $12,500 a year. Texans don't need that sort of data, though, to know that their lives have been impacted negatively, because they have felt the impact themselves for 3\1/2\ long years. They have seen the effect of Biden's policies reflected in their bank accounts and on their credit card statements.
Credit card debt is at one of the highest levels it has been in all time. People who can't meet their monthly bills, if they have access to a credit card, may likely charge it and say, ``Well, I am trying to get by today by borrowing on my credit card,'' but of course they end up having to pay that back as well at some point. Meanwhile, they are charged a lot of interest costs, which, again, increase their cost of living.
Many Americans have scrapped family vacations and have settled for more affordable, local activities. Sometimes it is a matter of convenience. Sometimes it is a matter of life or death, such as deciding whether to fill a prescription or pay your air-conditioning bill.
I can tell you, right now, in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, many Texans are without electricity and are experiencing 100-degree heat and 99-percent humidity.
Many Americans who can't afford to pay their utility bills are having to cut back on things like air-conditioning. Many people, during the heat of the summer, particularly vulnerable Americans and the elderly, are suffering as a result.
What is President Biden's response when you raise these criticisms? It is to say: Well, it is somebody else's fault. He tries to blame his predecessor for the sticker shock that Americans are experiencing on a daily basis.
A couple of months ago, President Biden claimed that inflation was at 9 percent when he took office. Now, that is not the only time that President Biden has misstated the facts. It might be a compelling point if it were actually true. When President Biden took office, inflation was only at 1.4 percent, and under his leadership, inflation has soared to a 40-year high of more than 9 percent.
Fortunately, thanks to the policies of the Federal Reserve, which are painful enough because they raise interest rates, which costs consumers more on the debt they owe on their vehicles or when they buy a house, inflation has slowed, but high prices remain.
President Biden's policies have sent prices through the roof, and that is where they have stayed. No matter what the level of inflation is currently, those high prices are cumulative, and with election day less than 5 months away, voters are asking themselves a very important question: Has my life gotten better or worse since President Biden took office?
Thanks to President Biden's policies, families are struggling to cover the costs of gasoline, groceries, rent, insurance, and just about everything else, and high interest rates, which are a result of the Federal Reserve's tightening of access to credit, continue to make dreams like owning a home or opening a small business out of reach for many Americans.
As I said, Texans are now paying more than $1,000 per month more thanks to President Biden's policies. If President Biden manages to win another term in the White House, I worry about how much higher my constituents' monthly bills will continue to climb.
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