News Releases

  • Print

Click here to watch Sen. Barrasso’s remarks.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) today delivered remarks on the Senate floor about how Democrats’ reckless spending has triggered the fastest inflation in 30 years. He warned that Democrats’ trillion-dollar spending bill would only “pour fuel on the fire of inflation” that is eating up people’s paychecks in Wyoming and across America.

Excerpts from Senator Barrasso’s remarks:

“I come to the floor today to talk about what people in Wyoming are seeing every day, and that is rising prices. When they go to the gas station or the grocery store, they are paying more and more.

“Every month since Joe Biden took the oath of office, prices have been rising faster than wages. People are feeling the bite in their wallets of these higher prices.

“In effect, people all across the country and certainly in my home state of Wyoming have suffered a paycheck cut because the money just doesn't go as far.

“President Biden told us this wouldn't happen. He actually said inflation was transitory. Well, President Biden may still believe that. Yet, after seven months in a row, it doesn't look transitory to most Americans.

“Now, economists have actually revised their expectations. Their expectations of inflation and they have revised it in ways that we're going to be paying higher prices for longer periods of time. They revised their expectations about economic growth as well. They revised those downward.

“Inflation up, economic growth down. On Friday the commerce department said one measure of inflation has actually hit the highest that it's been in 30 years.

“The company's sale force now estimates that costs for Christmas shopping will go up by 20 cents for every dollar you would spend on Christmas presents. Now the store Dollar Tree has announced that it will start selling items that will cost more than $1.

“We have ten Dollar Tree stores in Wyoming, they’re a very important part of our communities, many people in rural areas rely on Dollar Stores for their everyday needs, and in Joe Biden's economy, these people are getting hurt the most.

“So why is it happening? It's because the money supply hasn't increased this fast in 75 years. Last year Congress spent trillions of dollars to respond to the worst pandemic in our nation's history. Actually in a century.

“With the Republican majority in the senate, they passed five relief bills, they were all done in a bipartisan, overwhelming majority vote. Much of the money still hasn't been spent and then this January Democrats took over the White House as well as the Senate.

“They got their hands on the nation's credit card and they started swiping it. In March, the president signed a $2 trillion spending bill. It was supposed to be about coronavirus, yet only 9 percent of the money actually went to public health.

“They cut Republicans out of the negotiations completely so much of the new spending went to Democrats' favorite groups, to labor unions, union bosses and bankrupt blue states.

“They put the bill for all of that spending entirely on the federal credit card. The Federal Reserve started printing money, prices started going up. Yet, Democrats haven't learned their lesson. They want to keep spending.

“They want to spend twice as much more money as they had just spent in March. They are also asking for the largest tax increase in 50 years. Tax increases also raise prices.

“Last week the White House Press Secretary made a statement, to me it was the most irrational statements that some business owners have ever heard because she said it is unfair and absurd for companies to raise prices in response to higher taxes.

“Well, it may be unfair but it certainly is not absurd. It is basic arithmetic. When the government raises taxes, the cost of doing business goes up. Companies then either have to cut costs or increase their revenue.

“When Democrats raise taxes, it means higher prices, fewer jobs, and in many cases both. It's why it's alarming that president Biden wants to raise taxes on American energy, energy prices have already gone up. Oil yesterday was at a seven or eight-year high, national gas prices have doubled this year.

“Democrats are now proposing a new fee on national gas production. According to one estimate, the new fee would cost the economy $9.1 billion and eliminate 90,000 good-paying American energy jobs It would also mean higher energy prices for people trying to heat and cool their home.

“Higher energy prices means higher grocery prices, higher retail prices. It may be unfair, according to the White House Press Secretary, but it is not absurd because prices are rising for a reason. They’re rising because Democrats spend trillions of dollars that we cannot afford.

“Democrats need to learn their lesson before it is too late. Stop this rush to more taxes and spending and borrowing. Stop cutting into people’s paychecks. American families are feeling the pain. Stop pouring more fuel on the fire of inflation that is raging across the country.