Blackburn: Three Years On, Americans Continue to Suffer From Bidenflation

January 24, 2024

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) addressed how Tennesseans and the American people are continuing to suffer from three years of inflationary spending, overbearing regulations, and failed leadership under the Biden administration.

 

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Americans Are Feeling the Strain of Bidenflation Everyday:

When President Biden took office, year-over-year inflation was 1.4 percent. Just 17 months later, it reached a four-decade high of 9.1 percent. And last month, the annual inflation rate remained elevated at 3.4 percent—more than double the rate President Biden inherited.

Under President Biden, prices across the board are up 17.3 percent. Clothing prices are up nearly 7 percent. Rent prices are up 19 percent. Food prices are up 20 percent. Energy prices are up 31 percent. Gas prices are up 34 percent. And mortgage rates are at two-decade highs.

According to a report by the Senate Joint Economic Committee, families in Tennessee spent $10,344 more in 2023 than in 2021 to buy the same goods and services.

The Administration’s Far-Left Regulations Are Breaking Family Budgets:

President Biden’s out-of-control, inflationary spending would be bad enough for the American people. But to make matters worse, his administration has tried to regulate every part of a person’s life—from the car they can drive to the stove top they can cook with.

The President’s far-left regulations are an attack on our freedoms. And they are breaking family budgets, too. According to one estimate, President Biden’s regulations are costing Americans households nearly $10,000 per year.

To Rein in Inflationary Spending, Congress Must Cut Down the Size of the Federal Bureaucracy:

Congress cannot keep kicking the can down the road and spending trillions of dollars at the expense of our kids and grandkids who are going to be left to pay our bills.

We need to pass our spending bills and get our house in order. That means no more massive omnibus bills that saddle future generations with unsustainable debt.

I have introduced legislation to cut bloated federal spending by 1%, 2%, and 5%.

This would target non-defense, non-homeland security, and non-veterans affairs discretionary spending for fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

We also need to cut down on the size of the federal bureaucracy—2.2 million federal bureaucrats—that costs Americans billions of dollars in taxes and overbearing regulations.

Addressing the rising salaries and size of the federal civilian workforce should be a top priority when considering how to rein in the federal government and control spending.

This would begin the process of draining the swamp of unelected bureaucrats who are accountable to no one and make decisions that drastically impact the lives of every American.