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Floor Speech

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Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I rise today to remind the American people that from the day he took office, President Biden and his administration have left much to be desired. As we look to the future, I think it is just imperative that we consider this administration's track record over the last 3\1/2\ years.

President Biden's record has made an enormous impact on Americans directly in their wallets--everybody feels it every day--as the people of our country continue to deal with the consequences with this reckless tax-and-spend agenda this administration has championed.

President Biden has long pledged to get a hold of inflation and actually passed the ironically misnamed Inflation Reduction Act that did exactly the opposite. That law, along with other spending sprees passed with only Democratic support, have stifled economic growth.

Though President Biden talks about the middle class, he has failed to actually deliver for them. Truly, as we know, and we have always heard in our lives: Actions speak louder than words. Instead, what we have been dealing with is a continuous impact of an economy that just isn't working. We have out-of-control prices at the grocery store and the gas pump; a housing market that has made homeownership impossible for many families; and for those locked out of the housing market, long-term rent inflation that continues to threaten renters and small businesses.

Just last week, we celebrated a great time in our Nation, our Nation's independence on the 4th of July. And what is normally a joyous time for Americans to come together, instead, became the most expensive Independence Day on record. This follows the most expensive Halloween and the most expensive Thanksgiving, leaving Americans little to celebrate. The cost of a cookout is up 5 percent over last year--5 percent. OK. But it is up 30 percent from 5 years ago. Additionally, gas prices this past weekend averaged $3.50 a gallon, a 27-percent increase from 2019.

Couple those statistics with the June jobs report that showed our country's unemployment rate at the highest it has been at in 2\1/2\ years; or that home prices are up a whopping 49 percent since 2020, far outpacing any wage increases anybody has seen; and the Joint Economic Committee's recent report that the average American family has lost $25,920 paying for the increased cost of living under President Biden and his policies.

It is clear to the American people that Bidenomics is not working and that President Biden's economic policies are failing. So this is something I hear frequently about from my constituents in West Virginia, that the savings they worked so hard for and that they have sacrificed to accumulate are dwindling in front of their eyes due to the skyrocketing costs of living under this administration.

There are policies to employ. There are policies that we can shrink and cut, regulations to cut, that would improve our economic standing. But, instead, Bidenomics--named by the President--has severely jeopardized the American dream for millions of people.

Additionally, we have seen immigration surge to the top of the mind for voters. And you always hear, immigration, it is only the States at the border, and why does everybody talk about it? It is a national issue. It impacts every single State.

The Biden administration has proven time and time again that they really have no genuine interest in controlling or closing our southern border or any desire in enforcing the immigration laws that we already have on the books.

President Biden has allowed over 10 million--10 million; that is 5 times the population of my State--10 million illegal border crossings throughout his tenure, all beginning with his decision to rescind the effective immigration policies of President Trump on day one of their administration.

The mass influx of unchecked immigration has led to widespread repercussions and endangered the lives of American citizens and of the migrants themselves. It has also left the door wide open for individuals on the Terror Watchlist to enter our country, and they have actually been caught at the border--something that is nearly unthinkable in a time of heightened national security concerns, as we are in right now.

I haven't even mentioned--just briefly, I mentioned--the drug crisis that President Biden's border inaction has fueled, as mass amounts of fentanyl stream across our border, endangering the lives of residents in every State, every city, every county of this country.

The bottom line is that addressing the issues at the southern border is something that President Biden actually has the tools to do himself. If he was really serious, he would step in and bring an end to this humanitarian crisis that has developed under his guidance.

Even here, his inconsistent message and leadership is just baffling to me--saying he doesn't have the tools one minute and then attempting to enforce too little too late policy changes the next. He says he doesn't have the tools, and then he announces that he is going to do something using one of the tools he has had for 3\1/2\ years.

Perhaps, the most alarming area that President Biden has faltered is on the international stage where his indecision and ill-advised policies have signaled unreliability to our allies and weakness to those who would do us harm. We are living in a time when our Nation faces the most dangerous global threats that we have seen in decades. We have NATO here in town today. It is a big topic of discussion.

Yet President Biden has proven to be a President of weakness, wavering during some of the most tumultuous episodes of our Nation's history.

This display of weakness is best exemplified by President Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. It continued with President Biden suggesting that a minor incursion into Ukraine might not provoke a U.S. or allied response. Next, Iran strung President Biden along on fruitless nuclear talks while the regime was building up their nuclear capabilities and their militias to attack our U.S. troops. And now, most recently, President Biden has thrown our commitments to Israel into question, conditioning aid for our ally during this existential moment.

There is no denying that President Biden's weakness has created a world where our adversaries are feeling emboldened and growing closer together, and that is something we cannot allow to happen--not now, not ever.

It is important to remind the American public that it just doesn't have to be this way. Americans shouldn't be forced to choose between paying rent, putting food on the table, and filling up the gas tank. They shouldn't have to turn on the TV and see the southern border in chaos and continually hear the alarm from our Nation's counterterrorism experts. And Americans shouldn't have to harbor such doubt about our international standing, which has long stood as a pillar of strength and freedom around the globe.

My Republican colleagues and I who are going to speak today are not here to just spectate or to throw stones. We have ideas. And this is why I, along with my Republican colleagues, continue to fight for solutions that reduce taxes and combat the crippling inflation that has become a defining feature of this administration; that put forward policies to bring order to our southern border like reinstating ``Remain in Mexico'' or ending catch-and-release; and to restore American strength on the international stage, reminding both our enemies and our allies of who the United States of America is and always will be.

While these 3\1/2\ years of failure of the Biden administration have damaged our Nation, it is certainly never too late to get right back on track. Senate Republicans remain united in our efforts to fight on behalf of the American people and deliver on the priorities that mean the most to them. There is no doubt that the people of our country deserve better.

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