Floor Statements

Mr. President, last week, Democrats unveiled their so- called Inflation Reduction Act, a bill that will do nothing to reduce inflation but will double down on Democrats' wasteful government spending, along with imposing hundreds of billions of dollars in tax hikes--yes, hundreds of billions of dollars in tax hikes.

Our economy has posted negative economic growth for the past two quarters, and Democrats think it is a good idea to raise taxes on American businesses. Perhaps Democrats think that current prices aren't high enough or that businesses aren't struggling enough with the inflation that Democrats helped create.

The worst part, of course, is that a substantial part of the burden of these tax hikes will fall on ordinary Americans, Americans who are already struggling with historically high inflation, Americans who are seeing their grocery bills balloon and their rent skyrocket, Americans who are paying more than $4 per gallon every time they fill up their car.

Now, Democrats are going to pass tax hikes that will hit these Americans hard--a tax hike on businesses that will almost undoubtedly result in lower growth, lower wages, and fewer jobs; a tax hike on investment--investment that we need to grow our economy and create opportunities for American workers; and tax hikes on energy production.

That is right, tax hikes on energy production to the tune of $60 billion.

Now, as I mentioned, Americans are still, on average, paying more than $4 a gallon every time they go to fill up their cars, as they have been for months. Their electricity bills are up. The price for utility gas service is up by almost 40 percent. And Democrats think now is a good time to raise taxes on oil and gas production?

I guess maybe they are hoping that they can force Americans off conventional energy by continuing to keep gas and energy prices high.

And in case anyone was thinking that Democrats would be content with shutting down domestic production--with a methane tax, higher royalties, excise taxes, and costly permitting delays--and would rather Americans receive conventional energy from abroad, well, Democrats have a tax hike for that too.

The Democrats' bill would impose a new tax hike on U.S. refiners importing crude oil and petroleum products intended to make conventional energy prohibitively expensive.

But, of course, Americans will need conventional energy, and that will continue to be true for a while yet, no matter how much wishful thinking Democrats engage in.

And Democrats' energy tax hikes are setting ordinary Americans up to continue to suffer under high energy prices for the foreseeable future.

So what are all these tax hikes for? What government spending is worth imposing tax hikes that run the risk of pushing our economy into a longer recession or, worse yet, stagflation?

Well, let me just review some of the priorities that Democrats will be spending that tax hike money on.

There is $1.5 billion--billion dollars--for a grant program to plant trees, and $1.9 billion for things like identifying gaps in tree canopy coverage. That is right, identifying gaps in tree canopy coverage.

There is $1 billion for electric heavy-duty vehicles like garbage trucks. I am not really sure why the Federal Government is going to be spending money on electric garbage trucks or how that is going to reduce inflation.

There is $3 billion for the U.S. Postal Service to purchase zero- emission delivery vehicles. Quite a lot of money, I might add, for an Agency that is supposedly self-funded.

There is funding for road equity.

All told, there is more than $60 billion in funding for ``environmental justice''--$60 billion. That is more than the Federal Government spent on highways in 2019.

There is also at least $30 billion in climate slush funds, part of which is allocated for, among other things, climate-related political activity--yeah, political activity.

So, in other words, Democrats are raising taxes on Americans so that they can provide Federal funding for Green New Deal activism. And I haven't even talked about all the tax credits for adopting Democrats' preferred green energy technologies.

There are tax credits for purchasing electric vehicles and for refitting windows and skylights and doors to meet Democrats' required level of energy efficiency. That is right, Democrats are raising the tax burden on working Americans to pay for tax credits for wealthy Americans to purchase a brandnew electric vehicle or to do some home remodeling.

Of course, these tax credits aren't officially limited to wealthy Americans, but I am hard-pressed to think of many working families who can afford to spend $60,000 on a new electric vehicle while inflation is at a 40-year high.

I am a longtime supporter of clean energy. I come from a State that is leading the way toward cleaner and more efficient energy technologies, and I have worked with colleagues from both parties to advance clean energy, including through the responsible use of energy tax credits to bring clean energy technologies to the point where they can compete on their own.

But this bill has nothing in common with the bipartisan work I and many others have done to responsibly advance clean energy. This bill is wasteful and irresponsible and will do essentially nothing to reduce warming globally as others nations continue to skate by.

It will, however, waste a lot of taxpayer dollars and create a lot of economic pain for hard-working Americans.

One think tank analyzed a plan similar to the one Democrats are pushing and found that it would result in staggering job losses, higher energy bills, and a tremendous reduction in economic growth.

One sensible move to advance clean energy and necessary investment in conventional energy would be to address the arduous permitting process which can hold up both renewable and conventional energy projects for years. That is something we should be focused on, to promote investment in the conventional energy we still need and in the renewable energy technologies of the future.

Instead, we are being asked to support a bill that will squander billions and billions of taxpayer dollars on Green New Deal activism and road equity and monitoring tree canopies.

And we are supposed to vote for it based on the vague promise that the Senate will consider--consider, mind you, not pass--permitting legislation; permitting legislation that may or may not meaningfully address the broken and burdensome permitting process or negate spurious lawsuits from far-left environmentalists. And even if it did provide meaningful reform, my hopes are not high that the Biden administration would actually act on the legislation.

Canceling the Keystone XL Pipeline, a project that endured a decade of permitting, was already underway, and was to be paired with $1.7 billion in private--yes, private--investment for renewables--it doesn't install confidence that even approved projects are safe from the President and Democrats' Green New Deal ideology.

The Democrats' reckless $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan spending spree helped plunge our economy into an inflation crisis that has left Americans struggling to make ends meet. If this new, partisan tax-and- spending spree passes, Americans can look forward to a lot more economic pain in the future. But at least they will be able to console themselves with the knowledge that their tax dollars are going to fund tree canopies.

I yield the floor.

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn).

The following Senator are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr) and the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn).

Mr. President, today I recognize Chloe Grace Crissman, an intern in my Washington, DC, office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota over the past several weeks.

Chloe is a graduate of Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls, SD. Currently, she is attending Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, where she is pursuing degrees in French and political science. She is a hard worker who has been dedicated to getting the most out of her internship experience.

I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Chloe for all of the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Elizabeth Hjelm, an intern in my Rapid City, SD, office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota over the past several weeks.

Elizabeth is a graduate of Viborg-Hurley High School in Viborg, SD. Currently, she is attending Wayne State College in Wayne, NE, where she is pursuing a degree in communications studies. She is a hard worker who has been dedicated to getting the most out of her internship experience.

I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Elizabeth for all of the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Bailey Lamb, an intern in my Washington, DC, office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota over the past several weeks.

Bailey is a graduate of South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD, having earned a degree in global studies. Currently, she is attending Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service in Washington, DC, where she is pursuing her master's in German and European studies. She is a hard worker who has been dedicated to getting the most out of her internship experience.

I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Bailey for all of the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Margaret Meierhenry, an intern in my Washington, DC, office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota over the past several weeks.

Margaret is a graduate of Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls, SD. Currently, she is attending the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, SD, where she is pursuing degrees in political science and musical arts. She is a

hard worker who has been dedicated to getting the most out of her internship experience.

I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Margaret for all of the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, ``You don't want to take money out of the economy when the economy is shrinking.'' ``You don't want to take money out of the economy when the economy is shrinking.'' Those aren't my words. Those were the words of the current Democratic leader in 2008: ``You don't want to take money out of the economy when the economy is shrinking.''

Well, apparently, it is a philosophy the Democratic leader no longer subscribes to because, last week, he introduced legislation to take money out of the economy when the economy is shrinking.

The Democrats' so-called Inflation Reduction Act--which is a misnomer if ever there was one, since the bill will do nothing to help alleviate our current inflation crisis--will take hundreds of billions of dollars out of the economy in the form of new tax hikes and comes just as our economy posted a second quarter of negative growth.

Notably, the bill imposes a $313 billion tax hike on American businesses, with roughly half of that increase falling on American manufacturers. I guess the President's commitment to boosting American manufacturing takes a backseat to raising revenue to fund Democrats' Green New Deal priorities.

I don't think I need to tell anyone what happens when you raise taxes on businesses, particularly when the economy is shrinking. You get less growth, fewer jobs, and lower wages. According to an analysis from the National Association of Manufacturers, in 2023 alone, the Democrats' bill would reduce real gross domestic product by more than $68 billion and result in 218,108 fewer workers in the overall economy--a $68 billion reduction in GDP and more than 218,000 fewer workers.

And ordinary Americans would bear a substantial part of the burden of this tax increase. According to data from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, the Democrats' bill would increase the tax burden of Americans across every income bracket, with more than half of the increased tax burden falling on Americans making $400,000 or less. Next year alone, the Democrats' bill would increase the tax burden on Americans earning less than $200,000 by $16.7 billion.

Democrats are brazenly attempting to sell this new tax as somehow closing a loophole instead of hiking taxes on American businesses, but that isn't even close to being the truth. When companies pay less than the current corporate tax rate, they are often simply taking advantage of tax credits that Republicans and Democrats put in place to encourage investment in things like research and development or the production of new technologies.

Democrats aren't closing a loophole in the tax bill. Let's face it. They are raising taxes on American businesses at a time when our economy has posted two consecutive quarters of negative growth. They are raising taxes on businesses that are already struggling with historically high inflation.

Democrats claim they will make large companies pay at least a 15- percent minimum tax, but that isn't true either because Democrats have created carve-outs to their own minimum tax. That is right. Not all companies will have to pay the new book minimum tax. For instance, green energy companies and companies that take green energy tax credits will be allowed to pay less than the Democrats' alternative minimum corporate tax rate. In other words, if you are a member of or invest in the Democrats' preferred industries, you get special tax treatment under their legislation. So much for ensuring that all companies--all companies--``pay their fair share.''

In addition to their $313 billion tax hike on American businesses, Democrats' legislation also raises taxes on investment--another bad idea at a time when our economy is already shrinking. Perhaps Democrats' real plan is to reduce inflation by slowing our economy and ensuring that we enter a recession or what is known as stagflation.

Democrats' legislation also raises taxes on oil and gas production even as Americans continue to struggle with high energy prices, including a 75-percent increase in gas prices since President Biden took office.

Taxes aren't the only way the Democrats raise revenue in this bill to pay for their Green New Deal measures. The Democrats' bill also attempts to raise revenue by increasing IRS audits and enforcement. The Democrats' legislation gives the IRS an additional $80 billion in funding over 10 years--$80 billion, about six times their annual budget. This would allow the IRS to hire an additional 87,000 employees, meaning that the IRS would have nearly--do you believe this?--three times as many personnel as U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Agency that is charged with overseeing security at our Nation's borders--87,000 new employees. The IRS's budget would also substantially exceed Customs and Border Protection's budget if this legislation is enacted.

Now, you might think that given the raging crisis at our southern border, the Biden administration would be focused on beefing up funding and personnel for Customs and Border Protection instead of the IRS, but you would be wrong. Apparently, the need to find money for Democrats' Green New Deal trumps the need for a secure border.

Of the additional $80 billion the Democrats' bill would hand to the IRS, 57 percent or more than $45 billion would go to enforcement and only 4 percent to taxpayer services. Think about that. Four percent for an Agency, as I said on the floor yesterday, that only succeeded in answering about 1 out of every 50 taxpayer phone calls during the 2021 tax season and has repeatedly, as we all know, mishandled sensitive taxpayer data.

To name just one instance, confidential taxpayer information was either leaked or hacked from the IRS last year and shared with the left-leaning ProPublica in order to advance a partisan agenda. More than a year later, the IRS still hasn't provided meaningful followup to Congress or accountability to taxpayers for that leak. Yet Democrats' focus is not on improving the IRS responsiveness and accountability but on boosting the number of audits.

Speaking of those audits, no one should think the IRS would be just auditing major corporations and billionaires. No, this bill would result in a lot of audits of small businesses and ordinary Americans. In fact, it is extremely unlikely the Democrats will be

able to gather the revenue they are claiming they can get from increased IRS enforcement unless they audit Americans making less than $200,000 a year.

Based on data, again, from the Joint Committee on Taxation, 78 to 90 percent of the revenue projected to be raised from underreported income would likely come from those making under $200,000. Only 4 to 9 percent would come from those making more than $500,000. That, again, is from the Joint Committee on Taxation.

I just want to repeat that. Seventy-eight to ninety percent of the revenue projected to be raised from underreported income would likely come from those making under $200,000 a year. In other words, all this talk about audits and, you know, closing the tax gap and forcing people to pay taxes that are due that they are not paying today and implying that somehow that is all going to apply to high-income taxpayers or big corporations or big businesses is just flat inconsistent with the data and the facts as compiled by the Joint Committee on Taxation. Up to 90 percent of the revenue projected to be raised from underreported income would come from those making less than $200,000 a year.

So, Mr. and Mrs. American Taxpayer, get ready. Get ready for the IRS enforcement auditor to come to your house and to start harassing you so that the Democrats can pay for their massive tax-and-spending spree.

After more than a year of high inflation spurred by Democrats' reckless American Rescue Plan spending spree passed last year and with an economy that has shrunk for the past two quarters, it is hard to believe the Democrats are trying to pass hundreds of billions of dollars in tax hikes, but that is exactly what is happening. Once again, economic common sense is taking a back seat to Democrats' big spending and big government ideology.

Democrats have already inflicted a lot of economic pain on the American people, and if this legislation passes, there is more to come.

I yield the floor.

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn).

Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn) would have voted ``no.''

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn).

Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn) would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn), and the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Hawley).

Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Hawley) would have noted ``nay.''

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, Democrats dropped the latest version of their tax-and-spending spree last week. And like every previous version, this bill is a bad deal for the American people.

So where should I start? Well, maybe with the bill's title. In true Orwellian style, Democrats are calling the bill the Inflation Reduction Act, even though the bill would do nothing to reduce inflation. And you don't have to take my word for it.

The nonpartisan Penn Wharton Budget Model analyzed the bill and found that the bill would not reduce inflation. In fact, the analysis found that

the Democrats' bill would contribute to inflation through 2024 and have no material impact on inflation in the long term.

Inflation has hit working Americans hard. Their grocery bills have ballooned. Rents have skyrocketed. Filling up their cars costs 75 percent more per gallon than it did when the President took office. Their utility bills have increased. And the list goes on.

Families are having to cut back on purchases and dig into their savings or pull out their credit cards--or in some cases, visit a food bank--to make ends meet.

And what does Democrats' tax-and-spending spree do to help? Nothing. Americans are dealing with the worst inflation in more than 40 years, and Democrats' bill does nothing to help end our current crisis.

So what does the bill do? Well, for one thing, it raises taxes. That is right. Our economy has shrunk for each of the past two quarters--in fact, by any common definition we are now in a recession--and the Democrats' bill raises taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars.

Here is what the Democratic leader previously had to say about raising taxes in a recession.

If we're in a recession and we're in a difficult economic

time, I don't think Sen. Obama or anyone else is going to

raise any taxes. You don't want to take money out of the

economy when the economy is shrinking.

That is something the Democratic leader has previously said.

President Obama himself expressed a similar sentiment when he said:

[T]he last thing you want to do is to raise taxes in the

middle of a recession.

``The last thing.'' Apparently, that doesn't apply when Democrats have Green New Deal projects they want to pay for.

The Democrats' bill attempts to offset the cost of the Green New Deal spending spree by raising taxes on American businesses, particularly-- particularly--manufacturers. The proposed book minimum tax would be a $313 billion tax hike, with roughly half of that increase falling on American manufacturers.

I don't think I need to tell anyone the likely outcome of raising taxes on businesses, particularly when the economy is contracting. The likely outcome is less growth, lower wages, and fewer jobs.

According to an analysis from the National Association of Manufacturers, in 2023 alone, the bill would reduce real gross domestic product by more than $68 billion and result in 218,108 fewer workers in the overall economy--218,000 fewer workers in 2023 alone. That is according to the National Association of Manufacturers if the Democrats' bill passes.

The Democrats' bill also raises taxes on the energy sector-- specifically, on domestic oil and gas production. It is another face- palm move from Democrats.

Currently, gas prices are 75 percent higher than they were when President Biden took office. Electricity prices are up. The cost of utility gas service is way up. And yet Democrats think it is a good idea to raise taxes on domestic oil and gas production. Apparently, Democrats want our current high energy prices to stick around for the long term.

So what are Democrats going to use all that tax-hike money for? Well, for one thing, they are going to use it to fund Green New Deal projects; critical priorities like monitoring gaps in tree canopy coverage and road equity and funding--funding--for the post office's purchase of electric delivery vehicles.

And then there are the multiple slush funds for Green New Deal projects and the tax credit for the purchase of a new electric car or truck. Of course, you will only be able to use the credit if you can afford to spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $60,000, which is the average price for a new electric vehicle, while we are in the middle of a recession.

So it would almost undoubtedly be mostly Americans with higher salaries--and according to the bill, up to $300,000 per household--who would be able to make use of this credit. So it is a tax credit to buy electric vehicles for rich people.

But I guess Democrats think electric vehicle tax credits for wealthier Americans are a good use of taxpayer dollars.

What else is in here? I mentioned the bill's tax hikes, but the Democrats' bill also attempts to raise revenue by increasing IRS audits and enforcement. That is right. The Democrats' bill would more than double the current number of IRS employees, making the Agency nearly three times larger than the U.S. Customs and Border Protection--the Agency, I might add, that is charged with security at all of our Nation's borders--and more than 50 percent larger--this is the IRS on the Democrats' plan--more than 50 percent larger than the entire U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Democrats give the IRS a whopping $80 billion in additional funding over the next 10 years. Of that $80 billion, 57 percent goes to enforcement; 4 percent goes to taxpayer services. That is right: 4 percent. This is an Agency that only succeeded in answering about 1 out of every 50 phone calls during the 2021 tax season, and yet 4 percent of the $80 billion is going to taxpayer services. Fifty-seven percent goes to enforcement so that the IRS can spend more time harassing taxpayers around this country. Democrats are focused not on improving the IRS's responsiveness to taxpayers, but on boosting the number of IRS audits.

I still haven't mentioned the bill's socialist-style price controls for prescription drugs--price controls that would result in fewer new drugs and treatments. A study from last November found that Democrats' price control plans would result in 135 fewer new drugs through 2039. That is a lot of potentially life-changing and lifesaving treatments to lose.

Then, of course, there is Democrats' plan to expand Obamacare subsidies to higher earning Americans, a move which would drive up the cost of health insurance.

I could go on.

Most Americans remember the lead-up to Democrats' American Rescue Plan spending spree last March. We were promised--they were promised-- at the time that passing that bill would have big benefits for our economy and for American families. Well, we know what actually happened. Democrats' reckless spending spree helped trigger the worst inflation for decades, and American families have suffered as a result.

Now we are being asked to swallow a similar story about the Democrats' latest spending legislation. This bill will help our economy, we are told, even though we know it would make life harder for American businesses and workers at a time when the economy is already contracting. Make no mistake about that. This is the second consecutive quarter where we have had negative economic growth, negative GDP growth, in our economy.

It will help inflation, Democrats claim, even though a nonpartisan analysis said it would do nothing--nothing to help alleviate our current crisis.

It will reduce our deficit, Democrats say, relying on some very shady accounting measures to reach their supposed deficit reduction number.

It will help lower energy prices, the President claims, even though new energy taxes would further inflate near-term energy bills during a season of already historic prices.

You would think Democrats might have been chastened by their disastrous American Rescue Plan spending spree, but you would be wrong. Apparently, Democrats are determined to get in another disastrous spending bill. And, once again, it will be the American people that will be left to suffer the consequences.

I yield the floor.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr) and the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn).

Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn) would have voted ``nay.''

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr) and the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn).

Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn) would have voted ``yea.''

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr) and the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn).

Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn) would have voted ``yea.''

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn).

Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn) would have voted ``yea''.