Floor Statements

Madam President, I come to the floor today to talk about the rising costs of American energy, and this morning we found out that inflation continues to burn very hot.

Prices continue to go up and up and up. Last month, they actually went up faster than even any of the economists had predicted. Since Joe Biden took office, the prices have risen now by more than 13 percent across America. That is what families are facing. And prices have been rising faster than wages for the last 17 months. So people are feeling the heat and falling further and further behind.

Today, gas prices are still nearly a dollar and a half a gallon higher than they were the day Joe Biden took office, but Democrats are patting themselves on the back because gas prices have come down from the stratospheric $5 a gallon during the peak this summer. Well, gas is still over $4 a gallon in lots of States, including Nevada and Washington State, and, of course, at $5 a gallon, very few people can afford to drive. So it is no surprise the prices fell as demand plummeted.

But yet many of the Democrats are at the White House this afternoon, apparently in the thousands, to celebrate a law that just got passed here.

These price hikes, these increases in costs, this is nothing to celebrate. And so in 15 minutes, at the White House, Joe Biden is going to lead a celebration--a party--for a bill that passed along party lines.

We have a crisis of food, a crisis of energy, a crisis of rent. People cannot afford the cost of living. In terms of energy, after 2 years in power--I come today to the floor as the ranking member of the Senate Energy Committee--after nearly 2 years in power, Democrats still haven't lifted a finger to produce a drop of additional American energy, specifically oil.

Supply is down below the prepandemic peak. Joe Biden has leased the fewest acres of Federal land for energy development of any President since World War II--World War II. The Biden economy is hitting record numbers--40-year record-high inflation. Food prices are up higher in terms of costs of feeding your family; the rise in prices is up higher than in 40 years--and now shutting down American energy with the fewest acres of Federal land for energy development since World War II.

Now, Joe Biden had a plan. His plan was to invite dictators to sell us oil. Officials from the Biden administration went hat in hand, just a little over a year ago, to Vladimir Putin in Russia, to Iran, to Saudi Arabia, to Venezuela. The President actually went personally to Saudi Arabia to ask for more energy and more production. He went to Riyadh to beg the Saudis to sell us more oil. It didn't work.

Actually, the Saudis and the OPEC cartel announced last week that they are actually going to slash production by 100,000 barrels a day.

When President Obama was in the White House, he went on an apology tour to the Middle East. This summer, Joe Biden went on a begging tour to the Middle East. Both were a failure. Both were a waste. Both were an embarrassment to the United States.

That is delusional Democrat diplomacy for you.

Gas prices are still a dollar and a half a gallon higher since the day Joe Biden became President. Earlier this summer, people were actually driving less than they did in the summer of 2020, during the peak of the pandemic, during the lockdown. That is why prices have dropped for gas.

But prices for everything else have gone up so high that people are still hurting all across the country, and we have Democrat policies and Democrat spending to thank for it.

People can't afford to drive. They can't afford to stay home either. That is because natural gas prices have more than doubled since Joe Biden took office.

Well, half of American homes are powered by natural gas. One expert predicted utility bills could jump 40 percent just this year.

Already, more than 20 million Americans have fallen behind on paying their electric bills because they don't have the money. This is another record. In total, the American people owe more than $16 billion in unpaid electric bills. That is nearly double the amount they owed before the pandemic.

So you have 20 million Americans facing the possibility of having their power shut off. This is a moment of anxiety and anguish for families, and it is caused by the policies of the Biden administration.

Democrats think everything is fine because they just passed what they tout as the largest climate bill in history. I would expect to see the Secretary of Energy up there on the stage leading the cheers: Rah, rah. Look what we have just done.

They don't care about affordability, availability, the reliability of energy. Oh, no, they are focused on something very different.

So in about 15 minutes, Democrats are throwing themselves a party at the White House to celebrate--to celebrate a bill that is not going to bring down inflation. Oh, no, no, it is going to raise it.

And it is not going to bring down the temperature either. According to one estimate, it will only reduce global warming by--I want to make sure I have this right--0.0009 degrees. The most expensive climate bill in history, taking our Nation from energy dominant to energy dependent, for 0.0009 degrees.

And the centerpiece of this law is, of course, the $300 billion slush fund.

People say: What is it for?

Well, it is going to give taxpayer dollars to well-connected Silicon Valley elites. That is what it is going to do. It is going to be given to them so that so-called clean energy startup companies can do things with it. Supposedly, they are going to spend it on new forms of energy. We will see.

If it sounds familiar, it is because Democrats tried this the last time Joe Biden was in the White House, as Vice President. The Obama administration spent $90 billion on a similar program. So this one is over three times as large.

Who was in charge of running that failed program at the White House back in the Obama administration?

Well, it is the guy in the White House today. Joe Biden was in charge of running it, and what was the end result? It was a national embarrassment. It was a disaster. Ninety percent of the jobs that Joe Biden promised America back then never materialized--not at all.

According to Bloomberg, Democrats spent over $725,000 for each job that ultimately materialized. And, again, it wasn't Democrats' money that they were spending. It was taxpayer money.

Most famously, Democrats gave half a billion dollars to a company called Solyndra. They became a laughing stock in the news and late- night comedy. They were supposed to make solar panels. Two years later, Solyndra went bankrupt. The taxpayer money was gone, all to waste. And now the Democrats are saying: Let's go back to that same playbook and let's just reload with cash. Load up the money cannon and fire away.

At a much bigger scale this time, instead of $90 billion last time, it is $300 billion this time.

Democrats have also just gone on and extended another giveaway for people buying electric vehicles. Now, many of them are high earners, there is no question about it. At a time of record inflation, Democrats are robbing the middle class to give the money to the rich. Three out of four electric vehicle owners make over $100,000 a year. It is not just unfair; it is unsustainable because electric vehicle prices are soaring right now.

The average price is now $66,000 for each electric vehicle, and, I will tell

you, it is funny. The price of electric vehicles rose by $8,000 per vehicle just recently, just a couple of weeks ago, just as soon as the Democrats crammed through their new giveaway.

And what was the giveaway--7,500? And the price of electric vehicles went up by $8,000? Do you think that is a coincidence? I ask the body. Is that a coincidence, that the price goes up by 8,000 the day that government passes a bill to give a $7,500 subsidy?

And, of course, to make matters worse, there is a shortage of batteries that are needed to kind of produce the electric vehicles to receive the subsidy. There aren't enough charging stations.

Electric vehicle technology is not ready for prime time. The only reason electric vehicles are on the road today is because of massive government giveaways. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to compete.

Sometimes it is said a picture is worth 1,000 words. Here is a picture of West Virginia coal miners. West Virginia coal miners right here. What are they doing? They are pushing an electric vehicle that has run out of power. They have run out of electricity, and they are trying to push an electric vehicle. These coal miners, with coal under attack by this administration, they are pushing the electric vehicle to a place the vehicle can plug in.

Well, you know, the people of West Virginia say: How did they get there? Well, you might see down here that this is a Washington, DC, license plate.

The vehicle being pushed by the coal miners were tourists from Washington, DC, and they ran out of power on the road in West Virginia. Fortunately, there were still some West Virginia coal miners nearby who were willing to lend a helping hand.

This electric vehicle was pushed by coal miners and then recharged by electricity generated by West Virginia coal--coal, public enemy No. 1, according to the Democrats.

Where do Democrats believe the electricity comes from to power electric vehicles? Electric vehicles are charged on the power grid. Nearly two-thirds of that energy is still fossil fuels. It is still traditional energy.

The extreme climate policies the Democrats are pushing are delusional. Yet Democrats are imposing these delusions on tens of millions of people.

Last month, the State of California announced a couple things. It announced that it is going to require all new cars sold in the State to be electric by 2035. Secretary of Energy Granholm gave it a big stamp of approval. She said it is the model for the rest of the country.

Just days later, California began experiencing blackouts. This is what Secretary Granholm says is the model for the rest of the Nation. This is the path to the future, she says.

Joe Biden is giving a speech tomorrow on electric vehicles. I am sure he is going to endorse what they did in California. No matter what Joe Biden says, the painful truth is this: California is mandating electric vehicles when their electric grid already can't keep up today.

In California, gas costs more than $5 a gallon. Meanwhile, you are not even allowed to charge your electric vehicle for much of the day-- not allowed to charge it. You have got to buy one, but you can't charge it--what a solution.

Oh, and you can't turn your thermostat below 78 degrees in a heat wave.

The mandates are coming out for people who live in this mandate society, where California is leading the way and the Democrat Secretary of Energy says is the future we should look forward to. If the Democrats remain in charge, I believe this is an ugly glimpse at America's energy future.

Now, maybe Governor Newsom thinks he can run a modern economy this way in California, but it takes energy to run a modern economy. It takes affordable energy, reliable energy, available energy, and that means traditional forms of energy.

Now, Warren Buffet is known as one of the best investors in history. So what is he investing in today? Well, he is buying an American oil company. Why? Because in contrast to the leftwing fantasies, oil isn't going away anytime soon.

Renewable energy cannot yet meet demand. Only traditional energy can. It is simply a fact. Whether the environmental extremists partying at the White House today like it or not, these are the facts of life. There is still an enormous difference between renewable energy and reliable energy. There simply is no renewable energy that, all in, is cost competitive with oil, gas, or coal.

But Democrats are doubling down on expensive energy and waging war on affordable energy at a time when inflation continues to soar--record high inflation, 40-year highs--and the impacts on American families have been punishing and painful.

In Colorado, the local utility company actually took control over people's thermostats. You wouldn't think they could do that? The capacity is there to do it today. And why? Because of what they describe as an energy emergency. It was an unprecedented intrusion into the homes of 22,000 people.

If Democrats remain in charge, this is another glimpse of our energy future and of our freedom and independence--more blackouts, more restrictions on energy production, more restrictions on energy use, more price hikes, all in service of their climate religion.

And as one of the headlines in the New York Times said last week, ``California muddles through another day.''

Joe Biden needs to reverse course. We are a country that doesn't want to muddle through anything.

The Democratic Party needs to reverse course unless we are looking at that kind of a future. This energy crisis is a crisis of Joe Biden's choosing. We have plenty of American energy. We have it in the ground. The Democrats won't let us get it out. All we need is for Democrats to get out of the way and let us use American energy.

America's energy future must be powered by American producers. If we want available, affordable, reliable, secure energy, we need more American energy.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to discuss the crisis that is hitting all Americans. It is a crisis caused by the Democrats. It is a crisis of inflation and a crisis of the recession which we are living.

Right now, it looks like Democrats want to take a victory lap. I have heard the President give his speeches. He seems to want to do this because the Democrats have passed one of the largest tax-and-spend bills in the history of the country. They crammed it through Congress in just a matter of days. It was partisan. It is a liberal wish list. And for some, it seemed like it was a green-haired liberal's dream come true.

The bill includes hundreds of billions of dollars for the radical climate agenda that so many of the Democrats have been talking about. They are going to double the size of the Internal Revenue Service. Audits will be up. It is going to raise taxes on the middle class by tens and tens of billions of dollars.

Democrats, of course, passed this bill on a party-line vote--not a single Republican voted for it in the House or the Senate--and Joe Biden signed it into law. Ever since then, the liberals and the press have been singing Joe Biden's praises.

Yet here is a recent headline that I saw from NBC News. It said:

Democrats reluctant to campaign with Biden--

Reluctant to campaign with Biden. And then the headline goes on--

despite the recent winning streak.

Winning streak? There is nothing winning about this. This is a losing streak hitting the American people.

All of this Democratic celebration just shows how out of touch today's Democratic Party really is. Working families aren't celebrating right now. No. They are struggling--struggling--in this age of inflation and economic crisis.

Here is the reality: We are in a recession. Just last week, the government confirmed the economy has now shrunk for 6 months in a row. It has been the definition of a recession for decade upon decade, no matter what the White House wants to say about how they want to redefine ``recession.''

Inflation remains at a 40-year high. People can't keep up. They are falling behind. Just this morning, a new Gallup poll came out, and what did it show? Today's Gallup poll showed a majority of Americans saying inflation is causing them personally--them--``financial hardship.'' That is who is struggling. That is who is hurting most, American families trying to make ends meet.

For low-income Americans, according to this poll by Gallup out today, three out of four are facing financial hardship from the inflation that has been brought on to this country by the Democrats' reckless spending. For the middle class, it is two-thirds, two out of three members of the middle class.

The American people aren't celebrating now. They are having to cut back on their spending because they can't afford to keep up, and they are falling further and further behind. So it is astonishing Democrats think they are on a winning streak.

It is fascinating to watch Joe Biden and Democrats pat themselves on the back because gas prices are now a dollar and a half more a gallon than they were the day Joe Biden took office. In some places, they are less than $4 a gallon but not in Nevada and Washington State, just to name a few. There is no celebrating, in my opinion, when gas prices are $1.50 a gallon more today than they were the day Joe Biden took office and then a day after Saudi Arabia announces that they are going to cut back on the production of oil, even though Joe Biden went hat in hand, on bended knee, and said: Please, Saudi Arabia, produce more oil and sell it to the United States because even though we have it here, we are not going to let the American people get it out of the ground.

Democrats haven't lifted a finger to produce one more drop of American oil or American energy. Supply is down from the prepandemic peak. Prices are down right now a little because demand is down because people can't afford to drive at the high prices that gasoline went up to because of Joe Biden's policies and the Democrats' commitment to keeping the oil in the ground.

The American people are driving less in the summer of 2022 than they were in the summer of 2020, and that was the year of the pandemic, when the country was in a shutdown. That is what really high prices of energy will do in terms of demand for using oil.

Increasingly, people not only can't leave home because of the cost of gas, they can't afford to stay home either. They can't afford to heat their home or cool their home. Half of American homes are powered by natural gas, but Biden's position is, keep that gas in the ground.

Right now, 20 million Americans have fallen behind on paying their electric bills. That is a record. In total, the American people owe more than $16 billion in unpaid electric bills. It is double the amount owed before the pandemic. And 20 million people may be facing what is called as ``a tsunami of shutoffs.'' It is all because of Democrats' out-of-touch policies.

At the grocery store, prices are up 13 cents on the dollar in the last 12 months. That means a $100 grocery bill last year would be $113 this year. I was at the grocery store. A woman had two bags, and she said: Does this look like $100 worth of groceries? Week after week, this adds up.

This is the fastest increase in grocery prices in 43 years. We are talking about meat and milk and eggs and vegetables. We are talking about fruit--things people buy when they go to the grocery store. Higher costs for gas and groceries are steadily eating away at the finances of the American people.

In total, prices have gone up more than 12 percent since Joe Biden took office. Last week, we learned that prices have increased faster than wages. What people have to pay is going up faster than what people are earning for 16 months in a row. As a result, the American family today can afford a lot less than they could the day Joe Biden took office.

Wages can't keep up so people are turning to their savings and to debt. One out of three Americans has taken an average of $600 out of their savings this year just to pay the bills to keep up just so they don't fall further behind.

Household debt has never been higher than it is right now, and it is only going up. Half of American families say they expect to add even more to their debt by the end of the year.

So what are Democrats offering working families, people who are out there struggling, trying to get by? The Secretary of Energy has this to offer. She says: Hey, a 30-percent discount on solar panels.

Under the new spending bill, the taxpayer will pay for 30 percent of the cost of those new solar panels--that is taxpayers across the country for people who want to get the 30-percent discount. People can't afford basic groceries like milk and eggs right now, let alone solar panels. Does Secretary Granholm really think middle-class families are running out to buy solar panels? Not a chance. They are not. The American people are saying to the climate extremists: Thanks, but no thanks.

Democrats' inflation is not going away any time soon. The effects are going to be with us for a long, long time. The American people know it.

That is why they think the country is heading in the wrong direction.

We may actually even see inflation getting worse. That is because Democrats have now poured jet fuel on the fire of inflation. They did it twice this past month. First, they passed this incredibly expensive spending bill. Then a few days later, Joe Biden announced a very unfair $500 billion taxpayer-funded handout to people with college loans. It is a one-two punch to families who work, pay their taxes, and pay their bills; who, when they sign their name to a loan, expect to pay it back.

That is not what we are getting with Joe Biden. Nope. What we are getting are actions that are going to cause more inflation.

According to Wharton School of Business in their budget model, Democrats' spending bill is going to increase inflation not just for a week, not just for a month, not just for a year but for at least 2 years. And that is something, apparently, Joe Biden is proud of. Even Democratic economists admit the student loan giveaway is going to increase inflation.

So let's name names. Former Obama economic adviser, Jason Furman, called this ``gasoline on the inflationary fire that is already burning.'' This is Obama's economic adviser. He called it ``reckless.''

Former Obama and Clinton economic advisor, Larry Summers, said:

Student loan debt relief . . . increases inflation. . . .

It will also tend to . . . rais[e] tuitions.

Raise tuition; is that what the Democrats are for? Hey, let's raise tuition. We are for that. That is what Larry Summers says is going to happen as a result of these positions by the Democrats in this Chamber and in the White House.

Joe Biden continues to make life more expensive, more unaffordable, and more painful for American families. To bring down costs, Republicans propose doing the exact opposite of what the Democrats are doing today.

We need to produce more and spend less. We need to produce more of lots of things. Energy is part of it. We need to unleash American energy. We need to lower costs all across the country by producing more American energy right here in the United States, not going hat in hand to Saudi Arabia, not going hat in hand, as Joe Biden did just a year ago, to Russia--to Vladimir Putin's Russia. Just a year ago, Joe Biden was saying: Please send us more oil. Oh, and he wants the same from Iran and Venezuela. We have it here in the United States. We need to unleash it.

For the last 20 months, Democrats have waged an all-out war against American energy. We need more energy, not less. What we need less of is less Washington redtape. So far Joe Biden has issued more than $200 billion in punishing regulations in just 20 months. It makes it more expensive to create jobs here at home.

Finally, we need to stop this reckless Washington spending. The Biden inflation crisis started the month after Democrats passed their first spending bill. The first spending bill added $2 trillion to the debt; the college loan giveaway, another half trillion. It is all going to make inflation worse. And people at home are furious.

So despite what the liberal pundits may say, Democrats have nothing to celebrate. A poll from writers last week showed Joe Biden still has an approval rating below 40 percent. Three out of four Americans say this country is on the wrong track under Joe Biden and the Democrats.

According to one poll, a full majority of Americans say America's best days are behind us. It is a record, a record high that people think the best days are behind us.

America is in a crisis right now. From our economy, to our border, to crime in our communities, Joe Biden's liberal policies have failed working families across America.

So I disagree with those who say our best days are behind us. I believe the best days for America are always ahead of us. It is the control of Washington that needs to be put behind us.

You know, Joe Biden gave a political speech the other day, flanked by marines, in Philadelphia. He told the American public it was a policy speech. It was not. He intentionally misled the American people and tried to lie to the American people because, if it had been a policy speech, he would have actually addressed the issues that are keeping Americans awake at night--the issues that they care about, the pain that they are suffering.

He never mentioned once the words: prices, inflation, gas, the border, crime, cartel, fentanyl, or debt. He never mentioned those. No. The President closed his eyes to all of those things that he has done that are causing massive pain to the American people. But he looked down his nose at tens and tens of millions of Americans who are struggling to get by and the American economy that this President and the Democrats have intentionally undermined.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise today in celebration of Brad and Jan Cundy, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming's 2022 honorees.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming was established in 1969 to create a youth-friendly organization promoting character development among young boys. Today, it is so much more. Both boys and girls now develop character and leadership skills, athletic abilities, and a healthy lifestyle. They are encouraged to expand their educational aspirations through their local Boys and Girls Club.

The mission of the club is to ``inspire all youth, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens.'' This organization would not be possible without the thousands of adult mentors and volunteers who dedicate their time, setting exceptional examples for youth every day. Each year, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming honors one or more individuals for their continued support and mentorship of Wyoming's youth.

On the morning of September 14, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming will host their 24th Annual Awards and Recognition Breakfast in Casper. They will honor Brad and Jan Cundy for their tireless dedication to the youth of central Wyoming. Brad and Jan's exemplary character and commitment to Wyoming's youth are remarkable. With this award, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming affirms their deepest gratitude for Brad and Jan Cundy and their continued work.

Born and raised in Wyoming, Brad and Jan established deep Wyoming roots with their educational achievements at Casper College, business pursuits in Gillette and Casper, and charitable statewide outreach. Brad and Jan raised three children in Wyoming, Chad, Matthew, and Dawn, and currently have five grandchildren, Braedyn, Blaine, Evelyn, Taylee, and Treyson.

Brad and Jan's first business, Cundy Asphalt Paving Construction, Inc., established in 1980, served the Gillette community for 21 years. Brad and Jan did not stop there. In 2002, they embarked on a new business adventure in Casper. They started Keyhole Technologies, Inc., a traffic control company still operating today.

Along with their successful business ventures, Brad and Jan engage in volunteer work. Jan serves on the board of directors for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming. In this role, she secures funding for youth programs, helping create new opportunities for youth to develop and enhance their skills.

Brad is a member of the Rotary Club of Casper, building mutually beneficial relationships on behalf of the community. He also dedicates his time to the Boys and Girls Club as a youth mentor.

In 2011, their son, Matthew, took his own life. In response, their daughter, Dawn, created the Mattie Project, a nonprofit organization focused on suicide prevention for young teens and adults. Brad and Jan helped initiate the Wyoming Chapter for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The Cundy family remains dedicated to Wyoming's focus on mental health. They wish to honor Matthew and to prevent future deaths.

Brad and Jan received multiple accolades in response to their resolute dedication to their businesses, community, and family. Jan was nominated for the 2020 Wyoming Woman of Influence. Both Brad and Jan received the Mick and Susie McMurry Cowboy Try Award in 2021. They embody the Cowboy Code to the fullest.

On September 14, Brad and Jan Cundy will be recognized as the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming's 2022 honorees. They are an inspiration to the people of Wyoming.

It is with great honor that I recognize and celebrate this remarkable couple. They are the epitome of the cowboy spirit and are notable pillars of our community. They represent the best of Wyoming. My wife, Bobbi, joins me in extending our congratulations to Brad and Jan Cundy upon their selection for this special award.

Mr. President, I rise today in recognition of Brad Hopkins, recipient of the 2022 Mick and Susie McMurry Cowboy Code Try Award.

Brad will receive the award in front of over a thousand attendees at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming's 24th Annual Awards and Recognition Breakfast in Casper.

The Try Award recognizes people in our community who live the Cowboy Code to its fullest. ``The Try'' is described as ``that special characteristic which contributes to success in life--along with perseverance, hard work, and loyalty. It's that quality within

oneself that allows a person to overcome obstacles with courage and tenacity.'' It is a remarkable distinction.

Each year, a bronze sculpture crafted by acclaimed artist Chris Navarro is given to the Try Award honoree. The sculpture is titled ``Cowboy Code'' and depicts a cowboy on his horse, with the phrases, ``Always Finish What You Start'' and ``Protect and Help The Weak''.

Brad Hopkins has served as executive director of the Wyoming Rescue Mission since 2012. Born in Dallas, TX, Brad is an ordained minister and earned his master of theology from the Dallas Theological Seminary. He completed postgraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Colorado-Denver.

While in Colorado, Brad was a contributor to Denver's Road Home, the Denver Commission to End Homelessness, and the Denver Mayor's Clergy Council. He served as an advisor to the Colorado Governor's Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Brad was a founding board member of the Wyoming Governor's Homeless Collaborative. He is also a member of the Casper Homeless Collaborative and a board member for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program.

Brad's spiritual leadership is as strong as his organizational leadership. Under his direction, the Wyoming Rescue Mission raised funds to triple their space to allow adequate housing for their guests. Brad and the mission oversee the restoration work of 2,500 homeless individuals and families. They serve 70,000 hot meals and 42,000 nights of stay each year. Under Brad's leadership, the mission opened two thrift stores, which provide revenue and job placement opportunities for their guests.

Participants in their Discipleship Recovery Program progress through a yearlong, Bible-based, addiction recovery model. This program offers them an opportunity to transition to independent living as healthy, productive men and women. Their program advancement and graduation ceremonies are an inspirational experience.

Brad's passion and compassion for those less fortunate comes from a shared experience with vulnerability. He described an early failed career move that left him and his wife homeless for a time. Consistently an example of the ``Try'' mentality, he continues to give his time and talents to help others. He and his wife Christine have been married for 29 years. They have lived in Casper since 2012.

Brad, like the Try Award's namesakes Mick and Susie McMurry, epitomizes the Code of the West. The Cowboy Code teaches us to live each day with courage and to take pride in our work. Brad's dedication and spiritual guidance empower others to find their own courage, leading them to a more fulfilled and productive life. Casper and Wyoming are fortunate to have him as a member of our community.

It is with great honor that I recognize this outstanding member of our Wyoming family. My wife, Bobbi, joins me in extending our congratulations to Brad Hopkins upon his selection for this special award.

Madam President, last year, Democrats in this body passed a party-line spending bill, and they spent us into record-high inflation. Ever since then, this has been nothing but bad news for the working families of this country.

We have seen the worst inflation in 40 years. Prices have gone up faster than wages month after month after month. Fifteen months in a row now, prices are up faster than wages.

Now, Democrats' inflation has caused a recession. As a result, working families are finding it much harder to get by. They can't keep up. The average family can afford less today than they could the day that Joe Biden took office--much less. The savings rate hasn't been this low since the great recession. People are having to spend their savings. Credit card debt is at an alltime high.

But the worst gut punch is about to happen right now, making all the pain the Americans have suffered now extend for a longer period of time. If Democrats pass this bill that is on the floor today, this inflation crisis is going to get worse.

For weeks, there have been rumors that Democrats were working hidden behind closed doors on another reckless tax-and-spending bill. The American people knew it would be bad, and the bill that we are looking at now is worse than expected.

Of course, the Democrats wrote it in secret. They didn't want the American people to know what was inside it. Now, here we are, late on a Saturday afternoon, and the Democrats are trying to cram it through before people even get to read it. Members of my party were wanting to read it earlier today. It wasn't even available, likely because it wasn't even written yet.

I understand it is over 700 pages long. An earlier version, I saw 725 pages, with a cost of over a billion dollars a page.

Democrats call it their bill that they intend to try to use to reduce inflation. But the more likelihood is that it will lead to double-digit inflation. Haven't seen that since Jimmy Carter was in the White House.

The Wharton School of Business does a budget model. It says that this bill, from everything that they have read so far, will actually increase inflation for the next 2 years. It is bad enough for the American people today. They can't put up with it for another 2 years.

Now, I am told that the Wharton analysis is usually the economic analysis that the Senator from West Virginia, Joe Manchin, uses. Well, I hope that Senator Manchin and every Member of this body pays attention to that Wharton study.

A chorus of economists is saying the exact same thing as the experts are telling us from Wharton. There is a nonpartisan group called the Tax Foundation, and it says ``this bill may actually worsen inflation''--worsen inflation. That is why I say we are looking at the possibility of double-digit inflation. It is 9.1 percent now.

Democrats' favorite economist, Mark Zandi, says that the bill would almost have no effect on inflation. How is it going to lower inflation if it has no effect on inflation? And that is from a favorite of the Democrats.

The Congressional Budget Office says the bill would have a negligible effect on inflation. Clearly, there is broad agreement among experts that the bill will not lower inflation.

Democrats were warned the last time, March of 2021. Democrats are being warned again this time. And they

are ignoring the warnings. But it doesn't take an economist to tell you that this bill would be a disaster for working families.

The bill is going to mean more taxes, more spending, higher prices-- right in the middle of the combination of an inflation time and a time of recession.

The cost, the burdens, of this bill are going to be borne by the working families of this country.

Now, this bill is going to hit working families from all sides. First, let's take a look at the taxes. Tax revenues were already at record highs in this country--not enough for the Democrats but record alltime highs of tax revenue.

Democrats want more--a lot more. The Democrats' inflation bill would increase taxes by nearly half a trillion dollars. Now, this includes a blatant violation of Joe Biden's campaign promise when he said he wouldn't raise taxes on middle-class families.

The Joint Tax Committee says that this bill will raise taxes on the very people that Joe Biden said he wasn't going to come after. The Joint Tax Committee actually said the bill will raise taxes on people at nearly every level of income. It will affect you, every one of you, all across this country.

Now, Democrats, of course, want to raise taxes on American energy. It has been their claim since day one when Joe Biden basically put the target on the back of American energy and pulled the trigger. And, amazingly, they want to do it in the middle of an energy crisis.

Remember, this is the energy crisis that the Democrats have created. When Joe Biden declared war on American energy, American families started paying the price and have been paying the price ever since then.

The bill does nothing to open up exploration for energy and American oil on American properties on Federal lands. No. It includes a new tax on American oil and gas production. This tax alone will raise the cost of energy for half of the households in America.

Now, this is at a time when one-third of the inflation in this country is driven by the cost of energy. When you take a look at the cost of food, energy is a component of that. Growing food, getting food to market--all of those things are related to energy. That tax alone is going to shrink the economy and cost jobs.

There is also a new tax on imported oil. And Joe Biden's energy policy has been, basically: Please send us some oil. It was his policy last year when he went to Glasgow. And he actually asked Vladimir Putin to send us more oil from Russia as Russia was planning to invade Ukraine. He is trying to cut a deal with Iran to get Iranian oil. Venezuela--he sent emissaries to Venezuela asking for oil. And he went hat in hand last month to Saudi Arabia saying: Please send us more oil.

And then the Democrats put in their bill an excise tax on that oil that the President is begging to have sent to America. And then to add insult to injury, they indexed the tax to inflation--high inflation begetting more inflation. It means the more inflation the Democrats cause, the higher the prices go up. More taxes, more inflation.

This is a vicious cycle of Democrat taxes and Democrat inflation. As a result, the pain at the pump is going to get worse. Yet the worst punishment of all is for American coal production.

Now, I am proud to say Wyoming has been America's No. 1 producer of coal for decades. Coal is still the most affordable, reliable energy known to man. It is used all over the world. Yet in this bill, the Democrats want to raise taxes on coal companies by up to 16 percent of their income.

Well, I am from a coal State. Senator Manchin is from a coal State. He and I worked together on the Energy Committee. He is the chair; I am the ranking member. Here is what the West Virginia Coal Association has said about what is in this bill that we are going to be voting on starting tonight. Joe Manchin's home State coal association said:

Why support anything Chuck Schumer, Joe Biden, Nancy

Pelosi, or John Kerry want for coal?

They go on to say:

It is incomprehensible why any miner [coal miner] would

support the Manchin-Schumer legislation.

This is going to punish West Virginia directly, and it is going to punish the hard-working people of Wyoming. It is also going to punish their customers who rely on affordable energy.

These taxes are clearly going to get passed on to the consumer--in other words, higher prices, more inflation. Economics 101.

The Democrats also want to raise taxes on savings and investment at a time when seniors are hurting. Seniors are already watching their savings go down and their taxes go up. Inflation is so bad that there are reports that seniors are moving in together because they can't afford to pay the rent.

Yet Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden want to raid their 401(k)s. This bill also contains a hidden tax increase. That is because the bill would nearly double the size of the IRS.

Now, Democrats think that giving the IRS 80 billion additional dollars to hire additional auditors--tens of thousands, over 80,000 more auditors at the IRS, an army of auditors--that they are going to be able to squeeze another $200 billion out of American taxpayers.

They are not talking about a couple of rich people here. Eighty-six thousand auditors aren't needed to go after a couple of billionaires. They are going after mainstream America. They are going after families, farmers, after small businesses.

The IRS is already one of the most powerful and unaccountable bureaucracies in the Federal Government. But the Democrats say: Not enough. We want to put you on steroids so you can squeeze more money out of the families of this country.

The Joint Tax Committee says almost all of the money raised by supersizing the IRS would come from those making less than $200,000 a year. That is the Joint Tax Committee.

So the billionaires in San Francisco and Manhattan who run the Democrat Party, they are going to be just fine. It is working families who always foot the bill for liberal policies.

So what are Democrats going to do with half a trillion in new taxes? Well, they want to do what they do best: give taxpayer dollars to their closest friends and their biggest political contributors. That includes hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars for the big fans of the Green New Deal.

The bill puts American taxpayers on the hook for more than $315 billion in green energy loan guarantees. This will be billions and billions for projects like Solyndra that went bankrupt when President Obama was in the office and Joe Biden was Vice President. You would have thought Joe Biden had learned those lessons from the horror stories of the money being lost, the taxpayer dollars wasted in projects that went bankrupt one after another after another.

The bill would give billions and billions for rich people to buy electric vehicles. Unlike other vehicles, electric vehicles, they pay no gas tax, which is how, of course, in this country that we pay for the roads and the bridges and the highways. Democrats want to cut them a big check as well. This is welfare for the wealthy.

The bill also includes supersized ObamaCare subsidies for people making well over $100,000 a year. It is also welfare for the wealthy-- supersized subsidies on steroids.

Now, the subsidies were put in place at the beginning of the pandemic. They were supposed to be temporary. Yet Democrats seem to want them to continue forever. If Democrats extend these subsidies permanently, this bill would not actually help at all with the deficit. It would clearly add to the national debt.

In other words, Democrats are using the same sleight-of-hand accounting gimmicks that they tried last year. Nine months ago, when Democrats tried things like this in their Build Back Better Plan that failed, even Senator Manchin admitted that it was ``smoke and mirrors,'' a shell game, and budget gimmicks.

The Democrats are back to their old tricks right now. Here we are, 9 months later. The difference is, inflation is a lot, lot higher. The pain people have gone through is felt more deeply.

Not a single Republican is going to vote for this monstrosity. No Democrat should either. Joe Biden's economy is already the worst economy that most Americans have ever experienced in their lifetime.

If Democrats pass this bill, it is going to get worse. And so I urge my colleagues, don't inflict this kind of pain

on the American people in the middle of a recession. The American people are hurting enough.

I yield the floor.

I call up amendment No. 5409 and ask that it be reported by number.

I rise in support of the amendment to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct supplemental onshore oil and gas lease sales by the end of 2022.

The Biden administration went 18 months without holding quarterly lease sales as required by the Mineral Leasing Act.

That failure to hold lease sales has contributed to high gasoline and natural gas prices, record inflation, and has increased our dependence on foreign adversaries.

When the Secretary finally was forced to hold sales in June, she reduced the available acreage by 80 percent.

This amendment would require the Secretary to hold supplemental lease sales this year, offering the previously deferred acreage, which has gone through multiple rounds already of environmental review.

Instead of pleading with dictators in other countries to increase oil and gas production, we should expand American production. My amendment will do just that for people who care about the pain at the pump.

I would ask other Senators to join in support.

Mr. President, today I rise in recognition of the leadership and accomplishments of Wyoming Rancher and Public Lands Council President Niels Hansen.

This is Niels' final year as a member of the Public Lands Council executive council. He will be honored on Friday, August 26 at their 2022 Annual Meeting Banquet hosted in Cody, WY. Niels has served on the PLC's executive council since 2016. He also served as Wyoming's delegate to the PLC's sage grouse task force. Niels is a consistent and strong voice for ranching and the western way of life. His work has had a tremendous impact on public land policy, both nationally and in Wyoming.

Niels is the third generation operator of PH Livestock. Located in the high desert near Rawlins, WY, the ranch's need for proper management and resource conservation is paramount. Niels' great uncles, Peter and Jim Hansen, came to Rawlins from Denmark in the early 1900s to start their own ranches. His father joined them in 1927 and later took over for Jim. Niels and his sister Anna, were the first born in the United States and continue the legacy of their family and their land.

As Niels describes, ``We do not try to maximize anything, but we try to optimize everything. We work to operate in balance with nature by making any adjustments needed to keep the ranch producing a consistent, predictable manner while protecting the land where we live.''

Niels built a reputation as someone who brings stakeholders together to find the best possible solutions. PH Livestock operates on the Bureau of Land Management checkerboard that is spread throughout southern Wyoming. He brought the agriculture industry, energy industry, and Federal and State agencies to the same table to address the challenges of maintaining and improving the land.

Niels has worked with the University of Wyoming and the BLM for over 20 years to monitor and collect data on his land. This data builds the foundation to develop the best practices for the rangeland. Niels constantly shares his dedication and knowledge to advocate for sound policy. He served as chairman of the Wyoming State Grazing Board and president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association. Niels has testified in front of congressional committees many times. He testified in 2018, during my time as chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee. Niels promotes cooperation between Federal agencies and landowners. He gives a firsthand perspective of the effects of regulations on the people it impacts the most.

Niels' ability to build relationships and success in conservation was recognized in 2011 when he was inducted into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame. PH Livestock received the BLM Rangeland Management Stewardship award in 2000. In 2004, the ranch was a cowinner of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association Stewardship Award.

Niels understands the importance of family and tradition to a successful ranch. He has two children with his wife, Barbara. Their daughter Stephanie is married to Reese Irvine, and they have two sons, Eli and Caleb. Their son John and his wife Tawsha Lubbers have two sons, Niels Kai and Jep. Niels' sister, Anna Helms, is his business partner and helps manage the ranch with her two children, Travis and Heidi, along with Travis' son Dane. Niels instilled in his family a love of the land to ensure future generations will enjoy their ranch.

It is a great honor to recognize this exceptional member of our Wyoming community. As I mentioned upon his induction to the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame, ``Wyoming lands--both public and private--are better because of his service.'' My wife Bobbi joins me in extending our gratitude and well wishes to Niels Hansen on his future endeavors.

Mr. President, at the 110th Wyoming State Fair, Senator Lummis and I will have the pleasure of introducing Pat and Sharon O'Toole as 2022 inductees to the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame.

Pat and Sharon O'Toole are ranchers who, along with their family, own and operate the Ladder Ranch. It is a large-scale cattle and sheep operation, established in 1881 by A.W. and Anna Louise Salisbury. This was 9 years before Wyoming became a State. The Ladder Ranch has been in Sharon's family for six generations. Located outside of Savery, WY, along the Little Snake River, the ranch straddles the State line with Colorado.

Pat met Sharon Salisbury while they both attended Colorado State University. Following marriage, they returned to Sharon's family ranch in 1977 where they went to work managing the ranch and raising a family. Since then, Pat and Sharon have been shining examples of resource conservation, land stewardship, and partnership development.

The conservation legacy of the Ladder Ranch will affect agriculture, wildlife, and water for generations to come. Their ranch is host to one of North America's largest elk herds. It provides habitat for mule deer, sage grouse, and fish. They participate in the Sage Grouse Initiative, the Conservation Stewardship Program, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's Partners for Fish and Wildlife program. They also have a stretch of land along Battle Creek recognized as an Audubon Bird Area.

In addition to managing a successful cattle and sheep operation for 45 years, Pat served in the Wyoming Legislature for three terms from 1986-1992. He is the current president of the Family Farm Alliance, representing irrigators in 17 Western States. The alliance ensures the availability of reliable, affordable irrigation supplies to Western farmers and ranchers.

Pat is a strong advocate for efficient irrigation and effective management tools for agriculture. He has testified many times before committees in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. As the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, I invited him to testify in June 2022. Pat spoke on solutions to extreme drought in the Western United States.

Pat gives his time to numerous organizations including AGree, which addresses international food and agriculture policies. He also serves on the boards of the Intermountain Joint Venture, Partners for Conservation, Farm Foundation, and Solutions from the Land. President Clinton appointed him to the Western Water Policy Review Advisory Commission in 1997.

In addition to full-time ranching, Sharon is a published author and writer. Her work has been featured in the Washington Post. She has a monthly

column in the Shepherd magazine. She currently blogs on western issues and life for the Western Folklife Center. She is an avid poet, having performed at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. She was chosen to write the poem featured at the Wyoming Stock Growers 150th anniversary celebration. Her writing includes two children's books, highlighting the connections between family and the land.

Among many prestigious awards, the O'Toole family and the Ladder Ranch were awarded the Wyoming Leopold Environmental Stewardship Award in 2014. Two years later, the ranch received the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust Kurt Bucholz Conservation Award.

The Ladder Ranch is truly a family endeavor. Pat and Sharon's three children all contribute to the success of the operation. Their daughter Meghan O'Toole Lally works full-time on the ranch with help from her husband Brian and their four children. The O'Toole's son, Eamon O'Toole, his wife Megan and their two sons, also reside on the ranch, working alongside the family. Their daughter, Bridget O'Toole and her husband Chris Abel help with the ranch from their home in Arizona.

Pat and Sharon O'Toole's unmatched passion for family, Wyoming agriculture, wildlife and animal conservation, and cultivating partnerships, makes them an outstanding choice for the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame. It is a great honor to participate in their induction. They continue to represent Wyoming and Western interests with dedication and distinction. My wife, Bobbi, joins me in congratulating Pat and Sharon O'Toole as 2022 inductees into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to talk about the Biden energy crisis that is affecting our country.

Now, Joe Biden has been threatening to declare a climate emergency. Democrats from New England, Members of this body, have been practically begging him to do so. They actually went to Massachusetts with him last week to try to twist his arm.

Democrats say this would give Joe Biden even more legal authority to restrict American energy. So that is what the Democrats want these days: less American energy--more expensive American energy, less American energy, and more power for Joe Biden.

Well, I have got bad news for the Democrats. The Supreme Court has ruled very recently, less than a month ago, that energy regulation requires ``clear congressional authorization.''

Congress writes the laws. It is the President who is just supposed to carry out the laws that are written by Congress. The President doesn't have the authority to just do whatever he wants by saying we have a climate crisis and then calling it an emergency. But Democrats are far too eager to give more and more of the Senate's power to the least popular President in the last 70 years.

Democrats say we have a crisis right now. Well, they are right about the fact that we have a crisis. We have a lot of crises in this country, and they are crises because of Joe Biden and because of the Democrats and the policies of this administration. We have an energy crisis. We have an inflation crisis. We have a crisis at the southern border. We have a crisis of crime in the cities. And as we come to the end of another month, millions of families are facing a crisis at home trying to pay their bills. The result is that Democrats have a crisis too. It is a crisis in the White House and in the party, a crisis of competence and a crisis of credibility.

Two-thirds of Americans say that this President and the Democrats are focusing on the wrong things. There was a poll last week in the New York Times. It showed that only 1 percent of Americans--1 percent--say climate change is their No. 1 priority. Now, that is of all people. What about Democrats? Only 3 percent of Democrats say that the idea of what the President is focusing on and trying to declare an emergency on, a national emergency--only 3 percent of Democrats say it is their top priority. What about the young people, the people who the Democrats always say: We appeal to the young people? Only 3 percent of people under the age of 30, voters under the age of 30, say that climate is their No. 1 concern.

The numbers are astonishing, and the President continues to ignore it. Working families aren't thinking about what the White House is calling the liberal world order, which is why the President wants to declare a climate crisis. Working families are trying to balance their checkbooks, trying to make it to the end of the month with some money left over to pay the bills.

People say: What do families want? I know, in my home State of Wyoming, I talk to families at the grocery on Sunday, traveling the State Saturday. We had folks all around the State coming together for Frontier Days in Cheyenne. People want to be able to pay for a full tank of gas. They want to be able to go to the grocery store and buy groceries for a week. And they want to have money left over at the end of the month--and the end of the month is coming--to pay their bills. That is all they are asking. Under this administration, they have been falling further and further behind, and it is becoming almost impossible to do those three simple things.

A survey from Bloomberg last week found that 60 percent of workers say they are worried that they can't support their family. They were doing it beforehand, but they can't do it now.

You read stories of people losing sleep over the economy and their own financial well-being--or not-so-well-being.

People are putting off their dreams; they are giving up on their dreams and their hopes for themselves and their kids. The Joint Tax Committee has looked into this and said the average American family has already paid $1,500 extra for energy under Joe Biden as President. People are paying about $100 a week extra, more than they were when Joe Biden came into office, just to buy the things that they were buying last year.

So now here we are about halfway through this year, and it is really adding up. As a result, the savings rate is the lowest it has been since the great recession in 2009. No wonder consumer confidence has dropped again. The numbers are out this morning, and you look at the headlines. Here is one. It says, in July, consumer confidence slipped for the third month in a row, nearing pandemic lows. It goes on to say confidence is down 24 percent since last July. Inflation continues to bite. Inflation continues to bite.

That is why credit card debt is at a record high. This year, American people have opened millions of new credit card accounts just to pay for the daily issues of life struggles.

So my question is: Who are the 3 percent of Democrats who think climate change is their top priority? I know some are Members of this body. Well, they all seem to work here in Washington.

One of them is John Kerry, clearly. Last week, we found out that John Kerry--who I think is a climate czar or whatever his title is at the White House--has now taken 48 official trips on a private jet, his private jet as Joe Biden's climate czar. In total, those 48 trips have put 325 metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere.

Thank you, John Kerry. You know better than we do, though.

Now, this is what a vehicle would emit in 20 years. So John Kerry is flying around lecturing the rest of us from his position of smug superiority, and he emits more carbon and a lot more hot air than almost anyone on the face of the Earth.

If Democrats cared about our climate, they would tell John Kerry to park the plane and go home to one of your mansions. Even for Democrats, the hypocrisy is astonishing.

What about another one of these people who are focused on such a small amount of the 3 percent as well? How about Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation, Mayor Pete? Last week, he said this:

The more pain that we are all experiencing from the high

price of gas, the more benefit there is--

The more pain you are suffering, men and women and families all around America, the more benefit there is--

for those who can access electric vehicles.

How tone deaf. And this guy wants to be President. I would remind Mayor Pete that the wealthy who can afford electric vehicles will be just fine; it is everybody else who is suffering right now. Mayor Pete seems to think pain at the pump is a good thing for America--not the America that I live in, not the America that the people of Wyoming live in. The great majority of the American people don't feel that pain at the pump is a good thing, but probably a number of Members of this Senate body do.

Mayor Pete seems to like these high prices. He testified before the House last week and was asked about the cost of electric vehicles. Well, the average cost of electric vehicles is about $55,000. Oh, the price of electric vehicles, you may have noted, Mr. President, is up 18 percent this year due to Joe Biden inflation. Inflation is hitting everything and everyone. Even the electric vehicles are much more expensive now.

Does Mayor Pete think people have that kind of money sitting around? Do Members of this body, the Democrats, think that people have that kind of money available? People can't afford to eat. They can't afford to drive their cars. They can't afford to buy a full tank of gasoline.

PBS ran a story last week about senior citizens moving in together. Why? Because they couldn't afford their rent expenses. That is what people are experiencing under Joe Biden's Presidency.

And where does Mayor Pete think electricity comes from? He was a mayor; he should know. Right now in Texas, people with electric vehicles are being told not to plug in their electric vehicles between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Don't plug them in. Well, why? To avoid overtaxing the grid, to avoid a brownout in communities.

This is at a point where you don't have that many electric vehicles in the economy and in the country. What if Biden got his way and more and more people were driving electric vehicles? We would have a blackout every day in the Joe Biden economy.

Now, electric vehicles can take hours and hours and hours to fully charge. Not everybody can wait that long. Not everybody has a job where they can email it in. A lot of people have to show up in person. They certainly have to in Wyoming. They have to work with their hands.

There is still a big gap in this country between renewable energy and reliable energy, and we need reliable energy. We need it all. Two- thirds of our energy grid still comes from traditional forms of energy.

Higher cost for energy? What does it mean? It means higher costs for everything else. And that is what people are seeing all around the country in Joe Biden's economy. For 15 months in a row now, prices have gone up faster than wages. So for 15 months in a row--that means for each of those months, people can afford less than they could the month before. Right now for the American people, as you saw from the consumer confidence numbers that are out today, there is no end in sight.

Later this week, we are going to find out a couple of things about the economy. Tomorrow, we are going to find out how much the Federal Reserve is going to raise rates. In the last 4 months, we have seen the largest increase in 40 years, and they are likely to go up again this week. Mortgage rates have doubled in the last 7 months.

Why is the Federal Reserve doing this? Well, they are taking desperate measures to try to fix the inflation that Joe Biden and the Democrats have forced onto the country. If there had been no inflation crisis, the Fed wouldn't be raising rates like this. So the blame for the rate increase is not on the Fed; it is on the Democrats. They are the ones whose policies--the Democrats in this body and the Democrats in the White House and the Democrats in the House--made the rate hikes necessary. The Federal Reserve is just trying to throw on the emergency brake because of inflation.

Joe Biden--and his spending, and he wants to spend more--is the guy who is fueling the inflation in a car that we just cannot afford to see crash. On Thursday, we are going to find out if maybe the car has already crashed because on Thursday, we will find out if we are officially in a recession. But it doesn't really matter if it is official or not because the American people can already feel the pain of a recession.

Two-thirds of the public has already made a decision in their own mind that we are in a recession right now. That is how they are feeling the impact on their lives. Four out of five Americans think that this country is on the wrong track under the Democrats and under Joe Biden. Yet the Democrats, with their desire to do more and more spending, and Joe Biden trying to do his Build Back Better routine--they want to keep us going right over the cliff. The Biden administration has to be the most out-of-touch administration since at least Herbert Hoover.

It is time to reverse course. Stop the attacks on American energy. We have some of the largest energy reserves in the world here in the United States. We have plenty of it in my home State of Wyoming. We ought to be using it. We have the best energy workers. We have the highest environmental standards of anywhere on planet Earth.

So the crisis facing our Nation right now is a crisis of choice: an energy crisis, an inflation crisis, a border crisis, a crime crisis-- all chosen by the Democrats and their policies.

Elections are coming. Midterm elections are a report card of the President halfway through a 4-year term. People are going to send a message that they are eager to change direction from the many crises that have been brought upon this Nation by Joe Biden and his liberal Democrat enablers--a crisis that the President and the Democrats are unwilling and unable to correct.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to talk about the economic crisis that this Nation is facing, all as a result of the actions of the Democrats and Joe Biden.

Right now, Joe Biden is on his way to Massachusetts. He is expected to announce, while he is there, even more restrictions on American energy. One New England Senator has lobbied him to go ``executive Beast Mode.'' The Senator might forget that we still have a Constitution. The Supreme Court just ruled that the President can't do that. The Constitution says Congress writes the laws and it is up to the President to enforce them.

I would also remind that Senator that Joe Biden just got back from a trip to the Middle East. That is where he went to beg the Saudis to produce and to sell us more oil. Joe Biden doesn't need to fly around the world to solve the energy crisis that he created. The solution is right here at home in America. We have some of the largest energy reserves in the world. We have the best energy workers. We have the highest standards. Yet Joe Biden won't let go of his stranglehold on American energy. Joe Biden would rather send our money and more and more money to the Middle East than let us use the energy we have sitting right here in the ground in the United States.

Joe Biden has created the worst energy crisis for our country in the last 40 years--4-0--40 years. Gas prices today in my home State of Wyoming and all across the country are more than $2 per gallon higher than they were the day Joe Biden took office.

The spot price of natural gas has tripled under Joe Biden and that means even higher prices are on the way. Natural gas powers half of the homes in America and the price of that natural gas has tripled under Joe Biden.

Last year, Joe Biden's energy policies cost the average American family more than $1,000. That was last year. This year it is going to be higher than that. Higher energy costs are driving up the costs of everything--almost everything--because energy is such a vital part of our nation's economy.

Higher energy costs have led to the worst inflation crisis in 40 years--worst inflation in 40 years. Under Joe Biden, inflation has hit record highs. In the previous administration, inflation was nearly nonexistent. But for 15 months in a row now, prices have gone up. And not just have prices gone up, they have gone up faster and faster than wages have gone up. With every passing month, working families can afford less than they could the month before.

This is Joe Biden's America. This is what he brought and the Democrats who supported him in position and policy after each, one after another.

This year, the average family will pay $100 a week more just to buy the same things they bought last year. Just to stay even, it is $100 a week more. That is over $5,000 for the year. One hundred dollars a week adds up very quickly. As a result, people are spending their savings because they are not making enough to keep up. They are falling behind. They are borrowing money just to get by.

The savings rate in the country has plummeted to the lowest level since the Great Recession of 2009. Credit card debts are at an alltime high because people can't afford things and are putting things on the credit cards. Personal debt is at an alltime high. Consumer confidence, on the other hand, is at an alltime low--thank you, Joe Biden and Democrats.

Working families are being pushed to the breaking point. That is what we have here in America today. All told, it is the summer of strain and stress and suffering for American families. It is all happening because of the dereliction of duty on the part of the United States and the Democrats in this very body. The American people just want to be able to actually have enough money in their wallet to fill their tank with gas and to go to the grocery store and buy a full week's worth of groceries and have enough left over at the end of the month to pay their bills. Yet under Joe Biden and the Democrats, who are in charge of both the House and the Senate, this is becoming nearly impossible in America today.

Democrats call this the cost of the ``liberal world order''--the liberal world order. Look what it is getting us. Believe it or not, that is exactly what the White House has said. That is their official policy on the cost of inflation and the cost of energy being so high: Tough; suck it up. ``Liberal world order.'' We are here now. I don't care what it costs you or what pain and suffering we put onto the families of this country.

Meanwhile, as the President is going to talk about his climate emergency in Massachusetts, baby formula is still out of stock in stores all across America. For 15 months, there has been nothing but bad news coming from this administration and the Democrats for the working families in this country.

Last week, working families got a one-two punch of even more bad news. First, they found out that, once again, inflation is at another 40-year high. They also found out it is not going away any time soon. On Thursday, we found out that what is called wholesale inflation-- which is the inflation that our producers are experiencing--is even worse than the inflation for consumers.

These are the people who build our homes, who grow our food, keep the lights on. Higher costs for them mean higher costs are coming for all the rest of American families because, if inflation is higher for producers today, inflation for consumers tomorrow will be higher than it is today. It means there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

But that is not what Joe Biden is telling us. He has continued to say: Oh, inflation is transitory. Pay no attention to the fact you can't pay your bills, you can't buy enough food to feed your family, and you can't fill your car with gasoline. Tough. Pay no attention.

He said on Thursday that the inflation numbers we are using are ``out of date.'' He is out of date. Joe Biden is essentially saying inflation peaked before the Fourth of July. That is what he told the American people. Well, remember the last time Joe Biden said inflation peaked? That was last year in December he said it peaked. What has happened over the last 7 months to this country and to families? It is now July, and inflation has broken new records three more times in just the last 6 months.

Is he clueless? Does he believe what he is saying? And who is surrounding him at the White House? Joe Biden was wrong in December; he is wrong now. He has been wrong every step of the way, and yet Democrats blindly follow him right over the cliff.

First, he created the inflation crisis; then he denied it existed. Oh, then he said it was transitory. I think it was a year ago yesterday, he said it was transitory. Then at one point, the White House even said inflation was a good thing. It is not good for American families, not good for the men and women who go to work every day. Then Biden decided, let's start blaming everyone but ourselves.

At every step of this crisis, Joe Biden has told the public things that were simply not true. Joe Biden keeps trying to downplay the pain and the suffering going on all across the country. In fact, 1 year ago yesterday, Joe Biden said inflation would be temporary. He was wrong. The Democrats running Washington right now are completely out of touch--I mean, completely out of touch with the American people as Members of this body say: Yeah, Joe, go to Boston. Declare a climate emergency to claim a crisis.

There are a lot of crises in America today; climate is not one of them. There is an inflation crisis, an energy crisis, a border crisis, a crime crisis. There is a crisis in the White House of competence and credibility. But no, Joe Biden has other things on his mind--a climate crisis. Only 1 percent of Americans list that as a key item in their lives--only 3 percent of Democrats; only 3 percent of people under the age of 30. Everybody is focused on inflation. Joe Biden is going to Boston to talk about climate.

We have today, in this country, with the Democratic Party, a government of the elites, by the elites, for the elites. The Democratic Party has completely forgotten about the working men and women in America. For more proof of that, the Democrats are talking about more reckless taxing, more reckless spending.

When did the inflation crisis start? Right after the Democrats passed their last spending bill in March of last year when they put $2 trillion on America's credit card--party-line vote for massive government spending. They bailed out bankrupt blue States. The Democrats spent $2 trillion, triggered inflation, triggered a nightmare--a nightmare, I tell you--that has been robbing the American people of $100 every single week since then.

Democrats must have enjoyed their shopping spree because they spent the second half of last year trying to pass an even bigger, more reckless spending bill. Here they are again, trying it once again. It was reckless then; it is reckless now.

And the President's poll numbers continue to plummet because the American people say you are focused on the wrong thing, you are ignoring our needs.

You are abandoning the people. You have abandoned them, and that is why so few people think the country is heading in the right direction, and so many people are looking for a change. Democrats don't seem to care. They know they are about to face the voters in November and can see the handwriting on the wall, and they can hear the clock ticking.

The reason why inflation is out of control, at 40-year record highs, is because of the massive spending combined with the attacks by this administration and the Democrats in this body on American energy. That is what is causing the price of everything from gas to groceries to hit one record high after another.

The Democrats have spent us into record-high inflation. Now it seems that they want to tax us into a recession. The last thing the American people now need is more spending, more taxes, more debt. What we need is more American energy.

The way to get out of this crisis is to stop the reckless spending and increase the supply of American energy. We don't need to look halfway around the world for energy; we have it right here in this country. It is time for the President of the United States to stop begging, and it is time to start exploring for the energy right here in America.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Morgan for her hard work as an intern in my Washington, DC, office. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming.

Morgan is a native of Nebraska. She attends the University of Wyoming, where she studies history. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months.

I want to thank Morgan for the dedication she has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have her as part of our team. I know she will have continued success with all of her future endeavors. I wish her all my best on her journey.

Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Ethan for his hard work as an intern in the Senate Republican conference. I recognize his efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming.

Ethan is a native of North Carolina. He attends Aurora University, where he studies political science and communications. He has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made him an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of his work is reflected in his great efforts over the last several months.

I want to thank Ethan for the dedication he has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have him as part of our team. I know he will have continued success with all of his future endeavors. I wish him all my best on his journey.

Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Katie for her hard work as an intern in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming.

Katie is a native of Virginia. She attends Mississippi State University, where she studies political science and international relations. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months.

I want to thank Katie for the dedication she has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have her as part of our team. I know she will have continued success with all of her future endeavors. I wish her all my best on her journey.

Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Ragan for her hard work as an intern in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. I recognize her efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming.

Ragan is a native of Laramie. She attends Michigan State University, where she studies international relations. She has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made her an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of her work is reflected in her great efforts over the last several months.

I want to thank Ragan for the dedication she has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have her as part of our team. I know she will have continued success with all of her future endeavors. I wish her all my best on her journey.

Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to express my appreciation to Chili for his hard work as an intern in my Washington, DC, office. I recognize his efforts and contributions to my office, as well as to the State of Wyoming.

Chili is a native of California. He attends the Merchant Marine Academy, where he studies maritime logistics and security. He has demonstrated a strong work ethic, which has made him an invaluable asset to our office. The quality of his work is reflected in his great efforts over the last several months.

I want to thank Chili for the dedication he has shown while working for me and my staff. It is a pleasure to have him as part of our team. I know he will have continued success with all of his future endeavors. I wish him all my best on his journey.