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WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today spoke on the Senate floor about the harsh realities families are facing due to the Biden-Harris administration’s tax-and-spend agenda. Thune noted that working families are paying more for everything from groceries to gas, while also dealing with soaring interest rates, mounting debt, and shrinking savings due to this administration’s misguided economic policies.

Thune’s remarks below (as prepared for delivery):

“Mr. President, America has always been a place where if you work hard, you can get ahead.

“But it’s a lot more challenging in the Biden economy.

“Inflation has dealt working families a series of setbacks that have made it harder to get ahead.

“And it’s in large part due to this administration’s reckless spending.

“Mr. President, three and a half years ago Vice President Harris cast her first tie-breaking votes in the Senate to advance $1.9 trillion in spending under the guise of pandemic relief.

“She and our Democrat colleagues had been warned that that level of spending risked setting off inflation unlike any we had seen in a generation.

“But they passed it anyway.

“And inflation began to take off almost immediately.

“Three years later, prices have gone up by more than 20 percent.

“Groceries are up 21 percent.

“The cost of car repairs is up 31 percent.

“Energy costs have gone up 40 percent.

“Nearly every aspect of daily life is more expensive in the Biden-Harris economy, and Americans are struggling to make ends meet.

“More than one-third of Americans are worried about paying their bills.

“They’re pulling back on their spending and putting more on their credit cards.

“Some people are even taking on extra work just to get by.

“But sometimes, it’s still not enough.

“As one new mom in Missouri put it: ‘It's just hard. I work full time. My husband works full time. I feel like at this point, we're moving more towards survival mode, rather than thriving.’

“Another mom in Virginia says of her sons and their wives ‘everybody is working as absolutely hard as they can. They are not farther ahead than my husband and I were 30 years ago.’

“And another woman in Pennsylvania, who’s working two jobs, says ‘Prior to inflation, I didn’t have any debt, I didn’t have any credit cards, never applied for like a payday loan or any of those things. But since inflation I needed to do all those things…I’ve had to downgrade my life completely.’

“Mr. President, they’re not alone.

“For many Americans, life in the Biden-Harris economy feels like a downgrade.

“It now costs a typical family $13,000 more per year just to maintain the same standard of living it enjoyed when President Biden took office.

“$13,000 more just to tread water.

“That’s an incredible strain on families’ budgets.

“And it’s not just higher prices, measures to tame inflation have also added to Americans’ financial pain.

“To fight inflation, the Federal Reserve has been forced to keep interest rates high, which affects Americans’ finances in a variety of ways.

“As I said, many Americans have turned to credit cards to cope with inflation.

“And higher interest rates, in part the result of the Fed’s actions, are making credit card bills harder to pay down.

“The same is true for car payments.

“And Americans looking to own their own home are facing what one housing expert called ‘the most challenging home buying market we’ve ever seen.’

“The average monthly mortgage payment is a staggering $2,600 – the result of a combination of higher mortgage rates and higher home prices.

“Mr. President, the White House has spent a lot of time trying to spin this economy as strong.

“But the American people aren’t buying it.

“An economy where people are working harder and still struggling to get by isn’t what most Americans consider a strong economy.

“And it can’t be America’s future.

“I said inflation began accelerating as a result of Democrats’ reckless spending.

“That’s not a Republican talking point.

“It’s a fact with which Democrat economists agree.

“Yet the Biden-Harris administration and congressional Democrats show no signs of backing off their reckless tax and spending agenda.

“In fact, it’s clear they envision a lot more of the same.

“The administration’s latest budget request is filled with burdensome new taxes and trillions in new spending.

“They want to see the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expire, which would mean more tax increases.

“And Democrats still have plenty of other tax and spending ideas they would like to implement.

“Mr. President, the American people have suffered enough.

“I don’t want to think about what kind of economic pain we could see from another four years of Democrats’ reckless spending.

“And I hope the American people will not have to experience it.

“Mr. President, I yield the floor.”