WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the economy:
“The American people know our country is hurting.
“One national survey just found that only 22% say our country is headed in the right direction.
“Seven in 10 Americans just told another poll that our nation’s economy is ‘in poor shape.’
“The worst inflation in 40 years is fleecing American consumers, from the gas pump to the grocery store. American workers are earning raises, but prices are climbing faster than their pay.
“The Biden Administration has tried to pass the buck for this mess. They’ve tried to blame everything but their own radical policies.
“They’ve claimed that a year of runaway inflation was actually ‘Putin’s Price Hike’ because of a war in Europe that’s barely a month old.
“They’ve claimed the problem is evil profiteering CEOs— because apparently the private sector was not seeking profits back when Republicans had the economy humming with low inflation just a few years back.
“American families aren’t buying the spin for one second.
“When asked by another poll what they think is the main reason for rising gas prices, Americans’ top answer was ‘the Biden Administration’s economic policies.’
“And an outright majority of the country agree the President has made inflation worse.
“But the Administration isn’t changing course. They’re doubling down.
“The Biden Administration began this week by proposing a budget that would skyrocket domestic discretionary spending on liberal wish-list items and smack the country with the biggest tax hike in American history.
“Just last night, Democrats tried to ram through another radical nominee who would have only compounded the economic pain.
“President Biden’s choice of David Weil for a senior post at the Department of Labor was a naked attempt to achieve through bureaucracy what the far left cannot achieve through legislation.
“This nominee is famous in Washington for hostility to small business. He has received tens of thousands of dollars from Big Labor to do their bidding. He openly sought to end both the franchise system and the gig economy as we know them.
“Fortunately, a bipartisan majority of Senators rallied together last night. We saved the President and the Democratic Leader from digging themselves into an even deeper hole with this nominee.
“Also overnight, we learned that President Biden is going to try to slap another band-aid on gas prices by draining more oil out of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
“The Reserve is supposed to exist for giant unforeseen crises such as a war between great powers. It’s not there so that anti-energy politicians whose policies have raised gas prices can try to hide that from the public.
“It’s also worth remembering that that back in 2020, as oil prices were cratering, Republicans tried to seize the opportunity to refill the Strategic Reserve.
“It would have been a win-win-win: Helped stabilize our energy industry in the early days of the crisis; gotten American taxpayers an incredible deal with oil at bargain-basement prices; and enhanced our readiness going forward.
“But you know what happened, Madam President? Senate Democrats blocked it. They said buying oil at rock-bottom prices and building up our Reserve would have been, ‘a bailout for Big Oil.’ So the Democratic Leader bragged about killing that provision.
“You cannot make it up. Our colleagues misunderstand basic economics and basic national security every chance they get.
“Taxing, spending, radical nominations, and gimmicky half-measures.
“The American people already blame the Democrats for the fix we’re in. And every week, our colleagues seek out new ways to prove them right.”