Floor Statements

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Rounds).

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Rounds).

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Rounds).

Mr. President, before I begin, I want to join with my colleagues from Wyoming and my other colleagues here in the Senate and express my sorrow at the news received this morning that our former colleague Senator Mike Enzi had passed away.

Mike was a cherished colleague and one of the finest human beings you will ever meet. A former Budget Committee chairman, he was, in many ways, the conscience of the Senate on spending issues, always reminding Members that Federal dollars are not unlimited and that every dollar we add to the debt is a burden we are placing on our children and grandchildren.

One of my favorite memories of Mike happened a few years ago when he was a neighbor next door in the State of Wyoming. He was someone, as I said, for whom I had tremendous respect. He was always a gentleman. He had something that, I think, in politics is really rare, and that is, he would deal with big policy issues here in Washington, DC, but he always retained his common touch. He had a terrific way of connecting with people on a very personal level.

I remember I was experiencing heel pain from overrunning, which, it turns out, was plantar fasciitis, and I happened to mention it to Mike, who at one time was a shoe salesman and a shoe store owner. Well, it isn't more than a day later or so when he comes up to me and he has a solution. He had some heel inserts for my shoes, which turned out to be just exactly one of the solutions that I needed to deal with that. That was very typical of Senator Enzi. He was thoughtful. He was practical, incredibly hard-working, and very, very smart and very, very principled.

To his family--to his wife Diana, his wife of more than 50 years, and to his children and grandchildren--I want to say how much we will deeply miss him and how much we are sending our thoughts and prayers to them during this very, very difficult time.

Mr. President, there is still a lot of reason to be concerned. The Department's reversal was cloaked in bureaucratic language, leaving room for a future flip-flop by the administration. Too many schools around the country are already considering or adopting outlandish proposals informed by critical race theory, from a math course that suggests that focusing on the right answer in math is grounded in racism to materials implying that the nuclear family is somehow inherently racist.

This is a grave disservice to students of all races, and we need to make sure that Federal education dollars are going to genuine history and civics education and not radical propaganda. We owe all American students better than historically inaccurate history lessons.

I yield the floor.

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Rounds).

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Rounds).

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 Idaho (Mr. Crapo), the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Inhofe), and the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Rounds).

Mr. President, inflation is on the rise. Inflation in June was at its highest level in 13 years. Consumers are facing the effects: higher prices.

Americans are facing increases in rent, in their restaurant bills, in their grocery bills, gas prices, and the list goes on.

Want to buy a used car?

Expect to pay a lot more money than you would a year ago.

Inflation happens when the amount of money out there exceeds the supply of products. When that happens, when demand outstrips supply, prices increase. And that is what we are seeing now. It is being aggravated by Democrats' decision this spring to flood the country with unnecessary money.

During times of crisis, there is a place for increased government spending. The money the government invested in COVID vaccines, for example; the forgivable loans provided to small businesses to help them weather the pandemic; and the increased assistance to hospitals and healthcare providers as the crisis escalated.

But crisis spending is for just that, a crisis, or at least it should be. Unfortunately, Democrats have never met a temporary government dollar that they didn't want to keep spending. ``Temporary'' government programs aren't really a thing for my friends across the aisle.

And so as the crisis was waning and our economy was rebounding, Democrats doubled down on the crisis spending and passed a massive COVID relief bill filled with unnecessary handouts; hundreds of billions of dollars for State governments, the majority of whom were doing just fine without it. In fact, many running surpluses. Tens of billions more for schools who had barely made a dent in the billions of dollars they had already been given.

Republicans and at least one liberal economist warned that Democrats' massive spending plan could overstimulate the economy, but Democrats didn't listen. So it is no surprise that the flood of unnecessary government dollars is currently helping to boost inflation.

Here is the kicker, Mr. President. After flooding the economy with unnecessary money, Democrats are now preparing to double down on that strategy. That is right. Despite passing a largely unnecessary $1.9 trillion bill just 4 months ago, Democrats now want to spend an additional $3.5 trillion--$3.5 trillion.

The truth is that number is likely to be even higher, a lot higher. One estimate suggests that the $3.5 trillion is likely to be more like $5 trillion or $5.5 trillion. That is from an independent analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, where President Biden's own Treasury Secretary used to serve on the board. That is an inconceivably large amount of money.

To put that number in perspective, the entire Federal budget for 2019 was less than $4.5 trillion--the entire Federal budget. So Democrats are just casually tossing out a new spending bill that might very well exceed the entire Federal budget in 2019.

I can assure Americans that that much money would fuel increased inflation. Consumers would continue to be squeezed by rising prices and watch the value of their salaries decrease.

But the damage would not be just limited to the effects of inflation. Americans would also suffer as a result of the massive tax hikes Democrats are envisioning. Democrats plan to pay for all or some of their spending by raising taxes left and right on small businesses, large businesses, investment, well-off Americans. All of them and more will see tax increases under Democrats' plans.

The President, of course, likes to repeat his mantra that he won't raise taxes on those making under $400,000. In fact, that isn't really true, as the President's plans for a second death tax will undoubtedly hit middle-class Americans.

While it is true that the President won't be raising income taxes on Americans making less than $400,000 a year, middle-class Americans will unquestionably bear a substantial part of the burden of his tax hikes because raising taxes, any taxes, has consequences for everyone.

Democrats like to pretend that raising taxes is a consequence-free enterprise, but that isn't even close to being the truth. It doesn't take an economics degree to recognize that. It is common sense. Raise taxes enough on anyone or any business and that individual's behavior or that business's behavior is going to change. A business facing a substantial tax hike may raise prices; it may freeze salaries; or it may not hire as many new workers, and all of those decisions will be felt by ordinary Americans.

Think about it. If a business raises prices to deal with the impact of a tax hike, who is going to feel it the most? Ordinary Americans on a budget.

What is more, most Americans, if they are not self-employed or working for government, are employed by businesses, and if the business they work for isn't doing well, their prospects are going to be significantly affected. If businesses hold down wages to deal with the impact of tax hikes, for example, ordinary Americans' long-term earning potential will be diminished. These effects may not sound as concrete as being handed a tax bill, but they have just as real of an impact on Americans' incomes and Americans' lives.

Studies suggest that 50 to 70 percent or more of the burden of corporate tax hikes is borne by workers in the form of things like lower wages. Combine Democrats' proposed business tax hikes with their massive proposed increase in the capital gains tax, which would chill the investment that helps drive job creation, and you have a recipe for permanently diminished economic growth and a permanent reduction in opportunity for American workers.

If Democrats received any mandate in the last election, it was a mandate for moderation, for compromise, for bipartisan cooperation. Yet Democrats are behaving as if they had received a mandate for a partisan revolution. They are busy driving the country down the road to socialism with a massive and permanent expansion in the size of government, and their reckless tax-and-spending spree will hurt the very Americans they claim to want to help.

I hope some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will put the brakes on their party before the Democrats' massive spending spree ends in economic disaster for the American people.

I yield the floor.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), the Senator from Montana (Mr. Daines), the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Johnson), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran), and the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio).

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

Tanner is a graduate of Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls, SD. Currently, he is attending Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ, where he is pursuing degrees in finance and business entrepreneurship. He is a hard worker who has been dedicated to getting the most out of his internship experience.

I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Tanner for all of the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

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

Steven is a recent graduate of Northern State University in Aberdeen, SD, having earned a degree in government and criminal justice. This fall, Steven plans to attend the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University in Washington, DC. He is a hard worker who has been dedicated to getting the most out of his internship experience.

I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Steven for all of the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Rachel Schoon, 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.

Rachel is from Brandon, SD, where she graduated a semester early from homeschool to participate in a 6-month-long mission trip overseas. Currently, she is attending South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD, where she is pursing degrees in communications 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 Rachel for all of the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

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

Samuel is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN, having earned degrees in Russian and business law. This fall, Samuel plans to continue serving the American people by working on Capitol Hill. He is a hard worker who has been dedicated to getting the most out of his internship experience.

I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Samuel for all of the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.