WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) spoke on the Senate floor about how President Biden’s disastrous economic policies have driven inflation to a 40-year high of 7.5 percent. As a result, Americans are hurting as they face sky-high prices for gas, groceries, and energy.

Click here to watch Sen. Barrasso's remarks. 

Excerpts from Senator Barrasso’s remarks:

“I come to the floor today to talk about our economy. Right now, inflation is at a record high.

“At the same time, what we are seeing that Joe Biden’s approval rating by the people all across this country is at a record low. And there is a connection.

“This morning, the Majority Leader came to the floor of the Senate and said the Democrats were going to talk about inflation at their policy lunch today, February 15, 2022.

“Thirteen months after Joe Biden took office. Democrats have been in power for almost 13 months. They control the White House, they control the Senate, they control the House of Representatives.

“Ten months into this inflation crisis, what they are doing is putting forward gimmicks. Not solutions.

“They want to get past the upcoming election. They don’t want to get to long term solutions for our nation.

“On Thursday, the world found out that prices in the United States had risen at their fastest pace in 40 years.

“And of course, that was the same day that Joe Biden’s approval rating dropped to 40 percent.

“The American people are getting squeezed financially. They are feeling the pain and they are furious with President Biden.

“Since Joe Biden became President, wages have gone up slower than prices. Prices have gone up faster than wages. People can’t keep up. It’s hard to even stay even.

“As a result, the American family today can afford a lot less than they could the day Joe Biden took office.

“Over the last year, inflation outpaced wages by over $1,400. That’s over $100 a month differential.

“Who gets hurt the worst when your wages fall behind the increase in costs of Joe Biden’s economy?

“Well, it’s families who are struggling. It’s young couples, it’s people living on a fixed income. It’s people trying to go to work every day to put bread on the table.

“In other words, the people that are hurt the most are the people who can afford it the least. They’re feeling the pain in paying the price every time they go the grocery store and every time they go to the gas pump.

“The biggest prices increases have occurred in energy. CNBC reports that one in five American families can't afford to pay the energy bill over the past year.

“The same number roughly kept their homes at an uncomfortable and unhealthy temperature because they can't afford the cost of energy to heat it.

“Many have had to choose whether they were going to heat or to eat. Gas prices have gone up by over a dollar a gallon since Joe Biden became president.

“American energy production still is not to the level that it was before the pandemic. So we’re still producing 1.2 million fewer barrels of oil each day than we were before the pandemic.

“Not producing it here. But, by the way, Vladimir Putin is selling five million barrels a day of crude oil in the international markets.

“This is a direct result of the anti-American energy policies of Joe Biden and his entire administration and the Democrat Party in this country.

“People understand simple supply and demand. When supply goes down, and the demand stays the same or goes up, prices go up as well.

“This is also what’s happened with America’s workforce. Democrats created the worst labor shortage in American history.

“We’ve broken records for unfilled jobs in five of the last 12 months. So, when did it start?

“It started in March of this past year, when Democrats passed their $2 trillion spending bill, which was not paid for, added to the debt, and the bill gave a bonus payment for people to stay home from work.

“People were getting paid more to not go to work than they were able to make had they gone to work.

“What happened when the bonuses ran out? Joe Biden imposed a national vaccine mandate. Saying, if you don’t get the vaccine, you lose your job.

“The vaccine mandate took a sledgehammer to the American workforce.

“According to one survey, half of American small businesses, couldn't find enough workers in just this past December.

“You drive around Wyoming, you will see help wanted signs all around my home state. What has happened when you have fewer workers, it meant empty shelves and higher prices.

“Supply goes down, prices go up. Now the opposite is also true. That's what we've seen with the value of the dollar.

“Last March, Democrats flooded the country with government cash. Now the dollar in many people's wallets and pocketbooks doesn't go as far as it did before.

“Democrats passed the largest single spending bill in American history. Put $2 trillion on the nation's credit card.

“Republicans warned do not do this, it will cause inflation. Democrats didn't listen.

“Every single Democrat in this Senate voted for it. Every single Democrat voted for it. Every single Republican voted against it. And Joe Biden signed it.

“Since then prices have gone up faster than wages.

“First, they said it was going to be temporary and astonishingly in July, Joe Biden said inflation was expected. He kind of bragged that he'd seen it coming all along.

“But if he'd seen it coming along, why didn't he do something about it?

“All that this president has done is put jet fuel on the fire of inflation.

“He told us inflation would be transitory. And he said month after month after month after month.

“He can’t say it anymore. Oh, no. Inflation is here and people are paying the price and feeling the pain. Last week's inflation report should be a blaring siren to the Democrats in Washington.

“And I'm so happy to hear the majority leader this morning saying finally today at lunch, February 15th, 2022, that the Democrats were going to start talking about inflation out their policy lunch today.

“They should all be suffering from significant indigestion. This is a crisis and Democrats are doing nothing about it.

“Democrats borrowed trillions of dollars. This year, this week, Democrats in the house are talking about getting rid of the debt ceiling completely.

“Spend more, talking about a blank check, unlimited borrowing, trillions and trillions, more in spending.

“So only being higher and higher inflation. Inflation will not go away on its own.

“Democrats need to stop the reckless spending. They need to stop the nationwide mandates. They need to stop shutting down American energy.

“The American people cannot afford any more records like the ones the Joe Biden is setting right now.”

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