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WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today spoke on the Senate floor about the incredible burden South Dakotans are facing as a result of “Bidenomics.” Thune noted that Americans are having to deal with record-high prices and sky-high interest rates on credit cards, mortgages, and car loans due to President Biden’s big-government, big-spending agenda.

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

“Mr. President, yesterday morning the monthly inflation report came out.

“And once again, inflation was well above the Fed’s target rate of 2 percent.

“Overall, prices have risen by 17.6 percent since President Biden took office.

“17.6 percent.

“And price hikes in certain categories are even worse.

“Groceries are up 20.9 percent over that same period.

“Gasoline prices are up 54.8 percent.

“Electricity is up almost 25 percent.

“Rent is up 18 percent.

“Car repairs and maintenance are up 26.5 percent.

“And the list goes on.

“The president said the other day that Bidenomics is the American dream.

“It turns out that Bidenomics is more of a nightmare.

“Mr. President, President Biden likes to talk about giving American families “a little bit of breathing room.”

“But that is the exact opposite of what his policies have provided.

“Wealthy Democrats may not be concerned about a 20 percent increase in the cost of their groceries, or a 54 percent increase in the price of gas.

“But for a lot of hardworking American families, those kind of price increases have meant the difference between having that ‘little bit of breathing room’ and having absolutely none.

“The Joint Economic Committee estimates that Bidenflation is costing American families $953 per month.

“$953.

“Per month.

“Even at half that, inflation would be a massive burden on working families.

“How many families have put off needed home or car repairs, deferred a kid’s braces, or eliminated a family vacation because they are paying hundreds of dollars more a month for their basic needs?

“And how many other families haven’t even been able to pay for their basic needs thanks to the inflation crisis the president helped create?

“It’s no surprise that 65 percent of voters said they had cut back on nonessential spending.

“Or that 52 percent of voters – more than half – said they had cut spending ‘on food or other everyday necessities.’

“Or that 55 percent of voters say they are worse off financially under President Biden.

“Or that 66 percent of Americans rate the economy as ‘fairly bad’ or ‘very bad.’

“The fact of the matter is, Mr. President, Americans can’t catch a break under President Biden.

“First there was the worst inflation crisis in 40 years – a crisis that has improved from its worst point but is still very much with us.

“And now there are the heightened interest rates that the Federal Reserve was forced to put in place to help rein in this inflation crisis.

“So now Americans are dealing not only with persistently high prices, they’re also dealing with sky-high interest rates on credit cards and mortgages and car loans, which are being driven in part by the Fed’s rate hikes.

“The monthly mortgage payment on a single-family home has increased 19 percent since last year.

“A recent NBC News article reported, and I quote, ‘… in late 2020, the monthly mortgage payment on a typical, newly sold home was around $1,100 in principal and interest. It’s now about twice that.’

“Let me just repeat that, Mr. President.

“‘… in late 2020, the monthly mortgage payment on a typical, newly sold home was around $1,100 in principal and interest. It’s now about twice that.’

“If the American dream is owning one’s own home, it’s a dream that’s out of reach for too many Americans in the Biden economy.

“On the car-buying front, Mr. President, Americans are facing loan rates last seen, as one article noted, during the Great Recession.

“And soaring credit card interest rates are making it difficult for Americans to afford their credit card bills, much less make progress at paying them off.

“(A situation not helped, of course, by the fact that many Americans have had to turn to their credit cards to help them get by under Bidenflation.)

“Mr. President, it’s been a rough three years for the American people.

“And I wish I could say that Americans could expect some relief.

“But with at least a year more on the president’s time in office, I’m afraid that Bidenomics will continue to eliminate American families’ breathing room for the immediate future.

“So much for the president’s ‘American dream.’

“Mr. President, I yield the floor.”