Mitch McConnell

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, American families are being crushed by a giant backdoor inflation tax, and it has been fueled, in large part, by Democrats' huge mistakes. Month after month, families pick up the newspaper, flip on the television, and hear that Democrats' inflation is setting new 40-year records. Month after month, families find themselves shelling out hundreds upon hundreds of extra dollars per month just to actually tread water. Forget about saving and getting ahead. In this Democrat-run economy, working Americans have to shell out hundreds of extra dollars every month just to remain standing still. Even when you factor in the nominal pay raises that workers have earned, the average American worker got a 3.9 percent pay cut--pay cut--last year due to Democrats' inflation. According to the Joint Economic Committee, inflation cost the average American household $635 last month alone--$635 in 1 month. For families in Colorado, combined effects of Democrats' inflation and higher household spending put that number at a staggering $825. In Arizona, it is $733 extra per month. In Nevada it is $731. For New Hampshire families, it is $653. It is $599 in Washington State, and $598 in Georgia. Everybody knows why this is. Food costs are up more than 10 percent, year on year. Gas is up nearly--listen to this--50 percent. Rent is at a 35-year high, and would-be home buyers are being squeezed between high prices and soaring interest rates. In my home State, Kentucky, that monthly inflation bill comes out to more than $500 every month. Right before Senate Democrats spent $2 trillion last spring, the Democratic leader said he wasn't worried--wasn't worried--about the possibility of inflation. Now, working families are paying dearly for that incredibly bad judgment. I hear from hard-working Kentuckians who are falling behind on home payments or late on their utility bills or cutting back at the grocery store, families who are skipping-- literally skipping--summer vacation. Every month, the average Kentucky household now spends over $500 more than they did before the Biden Presidency. One of my constituents from Beaver Dam wrote to tell me: Things are looking pretty grim for me and my family right now. Everything-- Everything. --is too expensive. His family was already giving up buying chicken and beef at the grocery store. Next they may have to stop making car payments. They are literally out of slack. Another constituent from Science Hill told me that his family is maxing out credit cards to stay above water. He is watching as the Democrats who control Congress continue--continue--to advocate for more reckless spending and laments that Washington does not appear to understand what is happening--what is happening--to our heartland. A third constituent from Paint Lick is struggling because--clarifies that she is not asking for a handout because she doesn't believe it would help. ``After all,'' she writes, ``money is not free; taxpayers must pay it back.'' If only Washington Democrats had that much wisdom. If only our one-party government had exercised that much common sense back last spring. Three of the most basic duties that any government owes its citizens are stable prices, public safety, and secure borders--stable prices, public safety, and secure borders. Unfortunately for our country, the Democrats have struck out--struck out--swinging. Political Violence Mr. President, now on a completely different matter, yesterday marked 5 years since the attempted assassination of numerous Congressmen on a baseball field across the river. The perpetrator was a far-left activist who doublechecked that it was Republicans on the field before he started shooting. Five years on, political violence and threats are again making national headlines. The far left has spent weeks fomenting rage and panic over the possibility that one or more upcoming Supreme Court rulings may not deliver the liberal policy outcomes they would prefer. Last week, the authorities arrested a deranged person who traveled to Washington from California with a premeditated plan to assassinate an Associate Justice for ideological reasons--fruit of a toxic culture that is fueled by the precedent-breaking leak of a draft opinion last month and a torrent of reckless talk from prominent Democrats. It took that assassination attempt and then another week of wasted-- wasted--time for House Democrats to stop slow-walking a bipartisan bill to beef up Supreme Court security that passed the Senate unanimously more than a month ago. The same people--the same people--fanning the flames of fear and anger blocked that noncontroversial bill for more than a month--more than a month--before they finally sent it to the President. Meanwhile, as mobs continue to mount angry demonstrations outside these Justices' private family homes, President Biden's Department of Justice continues to assiduously ignore--ignore--the fact that this is totally illegal now under existing law. Section 1507 of the Criminal Code makes it perfectly clear: It is flat-out illegal to demonstrate at a judge's private family residence to pressure them in a pending case. That is the fact set that we have here. It is not just immoral; it is not just civically toxic; it is literally a Federal crime. Where is Attorney General Garland? As the former chief judge of the DC Circuit, he should understand the need for judicial security and independence as well as anyone. But the same soft-on-crime ethos that pervades the modern Democratic Party apparently extends even--even--to ignoring illegal pressure campaigns aimed at Federal judges. Two years ago, a New Jersey judge had a gunman show up to her front door in disguise and murder her son. Just recently, somebody murdered a retired judge in Wisconsin, and then last week's near assassination. But where is President Biden? He won't even denounce the ongoing protests at Justices' private homes, and our supposedly nonpolitical Attorney General will not lift a finger--a finger--to enforce existing Federal law. Today, every Republican member of the Judiciary Committee and I are sending another--another--letter to Attorney General Garland. His dereliction of duty on this subject must come to an end. The far-left political violence and intimidation efforts do not stop with judges. In the weeks since the draft opinion suggested the Court may--may--overturn an abortion decision that even Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg acknowledged was poorly reasoned, a spate of vandalism, threats, and even some arson attacks have been unleashed upon Catholic churches--upon Catholic churches--and pro-life crisis pregnancy centers all around the country. In 2022, simply being a Christian or being pro- life seems to be sufficient cause for angry radicals to call in threats, graffiti your door, or firebomb your office. Once again, President Biden and his Justice Department have been totally silent-- not word about any of it; unable to even simply denounce the hatred. The same Democrats who want to make a national spectacle out of their supposed opposition to political violence will not even call out violence and intimidation from their own side, let alone--let alone-- fulfill their oaths and put a stop to it. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCONNELL. A few months ago, from this desk, I talked about the results of a recall election in San Francisco. In February, a multilingual, multiethnic coalition in San Francisco stood up for common sense and rejected three members of the far-left school board who had prioritized woke lunacy over the basics of education. Well, last week, these same fed-up citizens provided a sequel. Even the deep-blue Bay area decided they had had enough--enough--with their radical-left district attorney--a prosecutor in name only--who had become nationally famous for running a soft-on-crime experiment. As deaths from drug overdoses skyrocketed, his office chose to almost entirely stop prosecuting drug dealing. Burglaries shot up 50 percent. Chain stores had to close locations because of rampant shoplifting. One person who had been arrested five times in 6 months in 2020 was let out every time--every single time--until he killed two women with a stolen car. Liberals actually bragged about how they had cut down incarceration rates, even as disorder swallowed up more and more of the city. The citizens were fed up--fed up--with being the far-left's guinea pigs. They flocked to the ballot box, and they voted for change. This phenomenon is not only playing out in San Francisco, it is nationwide--nationwide. For years, the far left has zeroed in on local prosecutors and district attorneys as juicy opportunities to make America radically softer on crime. According to recent news reports, for example, one far-left billionaire donated more than $1 million each to the political campaigns of soft-on-crime prosecutors in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. According to one group's analysis, the army of soft-on-crime prosecutors supported by this one donor--this one donor--and his networks oversees as much as 20 percent of the Nation's entire population. Once in office, many of these prosecutors set about abusing their authority by basically unilaterally decriminalizing various crimes that neither voters nor legislators have actually decriminalized in reality. As the attorney general of Virginia put it recently, ``Instead of trying to change the law . . . these groups are electing prosecutors who simply ignore it.'' As this liberal campaign has been playing out at the State and local level, we have seen violent crime surge all across the country. Here are just a few recent news reports. From Minnesota: ``Robberies, assaults, and gun crimes are causing waves of anxiety and fear among suburban residents across the Twin Cities.'' From Colorado: ``Since the beginning of the pandemic . . . murders had gone up 47 percent, some types of property crime had nearly doubled, and [the] seizures of fentanyl and methamphetamine had quadrupled'' in just the last year. Atlanta ``saw a 30-year record in homicides last year [in 2021],'' and 2022 has been looking actually even worse. At least as of a few months ago, both murders and rapes were way ahead of even that 2021 pace. Residents of Phoenix who try to use public transit to escape soaring gas prices have found out that ``assaults and drug crime in and around public transportation have risen over the last five years.'' Philadelphia is reporting an 80-percent increase in assaults aboard buses. In my hometown of Louisville, we are struggling as well. ``Over the past several years, violent crime has sharply risen across the city, breaking gruesome records including record homicides and assaults.'' And we have seen carjacking ``more than triple in the [last] five years.'' Last weekend alone--last weekend alone--Louisville saw 3 homicides and 10 nonfatal shootings. Five teenagers and a 9-year-old were shot during a single altercation at my hometown's Big Four Bridge. Violent criminals turned a popular attraction for families and tourists into a literal war zone. Stable prices, border security, and public safety are three of the most basic deliverables that any government owes to its citizens-- strike one, strike two, and strike three for Democrats at the Federal, State, and local level. That explains one last headline I will mention this morning: ``Americans are more worried about crime than at any other time this century.'' Ukraine Mr. President, now on a different matter, the latest news from Ukraine confirms that our friends need more robust weaponry, and they need it fast. ``Outgunned Ukraine Needs More Weapons Fast as Russia Advances, Officials Say.'' ``Ukraine Pleads for Weapons, Saying Russia Has Much More Artillery.'' The people of Ukraine have inspired the world with their resilience, but resisting Russian aggression takes reliable supplies of lethal force. As the Biden administration continues to provide shipments and prod our allies, they must adopt the kind of strong and positive posture that has eluded them at earlier points in the conflict. As early as last November, I was urging sanctions for deterrence and pushing for NDAA provisions to send enhanced lethal aid last November. Throughout December and January, I urged the President to bolster NATO's eastern flank with more U.S. forces and get more weapons to Ukrainian forces before--before--Russia attacked. In February, I called on President Biden to anticipate Russian manipulation of the energy markets and back off his own holy war against domestic American production. But for months, the Biden administration seemed mute, seemed actually more focused on deterring itself than deterring Putin-- too much hesitation, too much hemming and hawing, too little preventive action in advance. The United States cannot make the same mistakes again with prolonged dithering over whether to provide longer range or more powerful weapons. That is where we are now. It is time to get Ukraine what it needs to finish this fight, including artillery and long-range rockets, and strongly and firmly push our European allies to do the same. The wealthiest European countries need to move fast to do their part--no more hesitation, and quit making excuses. This war has carried terrible human costs for the Ukrainian people. We cannot bring back the thousands who have been lost, but with strong assistance, we can help Ukraine limit future losses, reduce the risk of greater conflict, and create a deterring precedent for other would-be aggressors, like China. There is another area where the Ukraine crisis has showcased the need to take decisive action quickly while there is still time. That is with respect to our own defense industrial base and our supplies of critical arms. Equipping Ukraine has seriously depleted our own stockpiles of Javelins and Stingers. According to the Secretary of the Army, the U.S. military has ``taken some risk to our own readiness.'' This sounds exactly like the sort of situation that prompted the creation of the Defense Production Act, but thus far, we have heard far more from Washington Democrats about using the DPA to fast-track green energy boondoggles than to expand production capacity for critical weapons and munitions. Our allies and our partners are interested in buying American military technology. This should be a win-win: allies spending their own money to strengthen themselves by buying American and making our militaries more interoperable in the process. But too often, our partners are hamstrung by American constraints on the process, like the heel-dragging bureaucracy that runs our military sales, and lagging production schedules. We must adequately stockpile weapons and munitions for our own military and have sufficient supplies and production capacity to arm our friends, and we need to do this before it is too late. Building up our own stores and upgrading our allies' is the best way we can avoid nightmare scenarios down the road where America could be forced into a terrible choice between committing U.S. troops to a conflict or doing nothing. The remedy is to help our allies upgrade their military capabilities in advance. Of course, this takes money. All the serious preparations and military modernization that it will take to compete with Russia and China require resources. Tomorrow, the Armed Services Committee will mark up the National Defense Authorization Act. This is a key opportunity to show that both parties are serious about the real growth in defense spending that it will take to keep us on the cutting edge. The Biden administration's defense budget request was woefully insufficient. The President has proposed a real-dollar cut for defense spending after President Biden's own inflation. Our colleagues on the committee must help Congress to deliver an NDAA that provides for real, robust growth above inflation so that we can modernize our forces, ensure adequate inventories of critical weapons and munitions, and keep America safe. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, runaway inflation has pushed workers and families to the breaking point. According to one recent poll, nearly 60 percent of Americans are making an effort to drive less and cut back on electricity use. Three in four are pinching their budgets for food and entertainment outside the home, and two-thirds are bracing for prices to climb even higher in the coming year. Six months ago, in December, President Biden told the American people we had reached the ``peak''--the peak--``of the crisis'' with inflation. He said that prices would start falling ``over the next couple months.'' But like so many of Democrats' other confident predictions about our economy, the President's statement has proven completely false. Friday morning's inflation report provided more official confirmation of what American consumers know painfully well: The Democrats' out-of- control inflation is not letting up. In fact, it is actually getting worse. This year to May, consumer prices rose 8.6 percent, blowing away expectations, jumping a full percentage point over the previous month and setting--you guessed it--a new 40-year high. The data underneath tell a brutal story for working families and American businesses. The categories driving inflation last month were the ones they can't do without. Overall energy prices clocked a year-on-year increase of nearly 35 percent. Drivers are paying 48.7 percent more at the pump. And fuel oil consumers have seen prices more than double. Food costs continue to climb at over 10 percent. Grocery prices, in particular, hit nearly 12 percent inflation, the worst year since 1979. And full service restaurant prices saw their largest increase on record. Of course, that is not to mention the 31-year high for inflation in the services sector, the 35-year high for rent inflation, or the 42- year high for rising airfare. Day by day, all of these painful milestones add up to one simple reality: Americans' hard-earned dollars aren't going nearly as far as they once did. Runaway inflation has swallowed up any shot of rising pay bringing more prosperity. In fact, the average worker has seen a 3.9-percent pay cut in the last year. One mother of two in Indiana recently reported that she is earning more than she ever has in her career but ``says she still feels like she is financially losing ground.'' This is what she had to say: I should be able to live on my own. I'm getting ready to pay rent and it's going to take every single dime I've made. As one of my constituents in Barbourville put it recently, ``We're cutting back on everything--and I mean everything. Gas, meat, bread, it's all expensive as hell. One moment you think you can afford to buy something, then you go to the store and it's like, `Nope, can't get that anymore either.''' And here is a real kicker. One young couple in Utah has taken to asking themselves weekly, ``What did we spend money on that we could not have spent money on?'' Imagine if Washington Democrats were willing to engage in that sort of self-reflection. Remember, it was their policy choices that made this painful situation possible. It was the Democrats' choice to insist on flooding--flooding--the economy with trillions of dollars in liberal spending last spring. And it was Democrats' choice to spend months last summer and fall working on ways to pour even more gasoline on the fire, even though working families were already feeling the pinch of inflation. The Democratic leader himself said last spring: I do not think the dangers of inflation, at least in the near term, are very real. None other than some of his own party's top economists warned the exact opposite. But Washington Democrats were not to be deterred. Working families' budgets took a backseat to the far-left's wish list, and now Democrats' decision is literally driving them off a cliff.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, 2 years ago, the Senate Democratic leader stood on the steps of the Supreme Court and threatened two Justices by name. ``You will pay the price,'' he shouted. ``You won't know what hit you.'' A month ago, after the precedent-breaking leak of a draft opinion, top Democrats intensified the reckless talk. Hillary Clinton said the Court was poised to ``kill and subjugate women.'' Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi said the Court would be ``ripp[ing] up the Constitution.'' Some of the most powerful people in the country pushing total hysteria over the possibility that Justices may--may-- overturn a decision that even Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said was badly reasoned. Far-left activists publicized Justices' private addresses and encouraged angry people to flock to their homes. President Biden and his White House were asked to condemn these intimidation tactics, and they refused. I wrote to Attorney General Garland about a month ago, asking why he wasn't enforcing the laws on the books already against judicial intimidation. Look, everybody saw where this climate might lead. So, yesterday morning, U.S. marshals arrested a deranged person who traveled to Washington from California in order to assassinate a Supreme Court Justice at his house. He has reportedly been charged with attempted murder. The FBI says the would-be assassin was armed and equipped for a break-in. He told authorities that he was trying to think about how to give his life a purpose. Apparently, it was only when he came across the Justice's address posted online that it occurred to him to attempt a murder-suicide. He explained that his problem with this Justice was ideological, citing abortion and the Second Amendment. While this would-be assassin was making his plan and traveling across the country, House Democrats have spent weeks--weeks--blocking bipartisan legislation to strengthen security for the Justices and their families. This bipartisan bill passed the Senate unanimously in early May. Chairman Durbin is a strong supporter. But inexplicably--inexplicably-- this urgent and uncontroversial bill has been sitting on Speaker Pelosi's desk ever since. The same House Democrats whose irresponsible rhetoric has contributed to this dangerous climate are themselves blocking added security for the Justices and their spouses and their children. Even last night--last night--even after this arrest was made, even after a leftwing group published an ominous social media post concerning a school that a Justice's children attend, when Leader McCarthy asked consent to pass the uncontroversial bill, House Democrats objected to it. Meanwhile, the Biden Department of Justice, under Attorney General Garland, continues to flatly ignore section 1507 of the Criminal Code, which would appear to make it a Federal crime to protest at the homes of Federal judges to influence them over a pending case. That is the law right now. So this has been a shameful and disturbing two-step from Washington Democrats. First they use reckless rhetoric that helps fuel the dangerous climate, and then they refuse to do their jobs and address the problem. The same far left that has spent years trying to improperly pressure the Court is now aiding and abetting this illegal intimidation campaign through total inaction. So why won't President Biden call on his supporters to leave the Justices alone? President Biden, call on your supporters to leave the Justices alone. Why won't the Attorney General of the United States enforce existing law? Why won't the Speaker stop blocking a bipartisan security bill that passed the Senate unanimously? So it is hard to avoid concluding that perhaps some Democrats may want this dangerous climate hanging over the Justices' heads as they finish up this term--a disgraceful--disgraceful--dereliction of duty. This is antithetical to the rule of law. The Speaker of the House and the Attorney General must honor their oaths to the Constitution and do their jobs. I understand Democrats want to stage a big spectacle this week about what they claim is their opposition to political violence, but in reality, they are going out of their way to block concrete steps to prevent political violence. Foreign Policy Madam President, now on an entirely separate matter, 1 year ago yesterday, the Biden administration announced its withdrawal from Afghanistan had reached a halfway point. Analysis after analysis has confirmed what was clear to many of us in real time: The President's shoddy plans for a reckless pullout were doomed to disaster from the start. Back in February, an Army investigation found that in the run-up to President Biden's botched retreat, his senior national security and diplomatic advisers were ``not seriously planning for an evacuation'' and not paying attention to ``what was happening on the ground.'' That is an Army investigation of the withdrawal. Last month, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction blasted the administration's bad judgment before Congress. He explained that removing U.S. military and contractor support to our Afghan partners was ``the single most important factor'' in the collapse--the collapse--of Afghanistan's resistance to the Taliban. It is not just that this giant policy failure should have been foreseeable to the Biden administration; it was, in fact, foreseen. Experts spent months warning that the President's policies would create chaos. I spent months saying the very same thing. Now many of the worst predictions about the aftermath are coming true before our eyes. Our country and our partners are facing needlessly heightened risk from terrorists because of how the Biden administration botched Afghanistan. Yet the administration is still in denial. In a letter to Congress just yesterday, the Commander in Chief claimed the United States ``remains postured to address threats'' to both our homeland and our interests ``that may arise from inside Afghanistan.'' But the reality is that Pentagon leaders have been clear about the dramatic ways the withdrawal has limited our ability to identify, to target, and to strike terrorists in Afghanistan. The former commander of U.S. Central Command says that forcing U.S. air assets to travel longer distances to reach Afghan airspace means severely limiting the time they can spend actually performing counterterrorism missions--just as we predicted. A brandnew report from the lead inspector general for our ongoing counterterrorism operations further confirms that the Biden administration's mistakes have put us way, way behind the curve. Without human intelligence or bases in the country, the United States is already suffering from less insight into emerging terror threats. Our sources are drying up just as we predicted. We haven't conducted a single strike against a military target in Afghanistan since the last military personnel left Kabul, and that isn't because there aren't any terrorists there. As the IG report confirms, it is because of ``logistical challenges and limited intelligence.'' The Taliban-Haqqani government in Kabul is not just a state sponsor of terrorism, it is literally a government made up of terrorists and kidnappers with deep ties to Al Qaeda. Even as the Biden team continues to pretend that over-the-horizon operations are not inadequate in Afghanistan, they are implicitly acknowledging that same insufficiency in other theaters. Last month, President Biden redeployed U.S. troops to Somalia, reestablishing a limited but real presence intended to help local partners prevent their country from becoming a terrorist haven. So President Biden's own actions in Somalia give rise to the false claims in Afghanistan. In point of fact, the longest term vision about counterterrorism this White House has managed to lay out is their obsession--obsession--with someday shutting down the Guantanamo Bay detention center entirely. I have yet to hear any coherent plans for what the Biden administration intends to do with the dangerous killers currently held there. Will they continue to rely on third countries to detain terrorists? That is the strategy that made possible the Taliban's massive jailbreak of thousands of hardened terrorists from Bagram after this administration fled Afghanistan. Does the administration intend to send terrorists to Syria to be held indefinitely by a nongovernmental entity like the Syrian Defense Forces? In that case, how long is the Biden administration prepared to remain in Syria to make sure that ISIS, Hezbollah, or the Assad regime can't facilitate another giant jailbreak? The American people and our coalition partners deserve a clear, coherent counterterrorism strategy that leaves our homeland safer and our partnerships stronger. The Biden administration is providing, unfortunately, exactly the opposite. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, 6 months ago, the Washington Post published an extremely disturbing report. According to the report, a man in his mid-20s was stopped near the house of a Supreme Court Justice carrying a weapon and burglary tools. He reportedly told police he intended to murder the Justice. Reportedly, he indicated he was angry at the decision he thinks the Court may reach in an upcoming case in light of the unconscionable leak from a few weeks back. So this is where we are. This is where we are. If these reports are correct, it was an assassination attempt against a sitting Justice, or something close to it. This is exactly--exactly--the kind of event that many feared that the terrible breach of the Court's rules and norms could fuel. This is exactly the kind of event that many worried the unhinged, reckless, apocalyptic rhetoric from prominent figures toward the Court going back many months and especially in recent weeks could make more likely. This is exactly--exactly--why the Senate passed legislation very shortly after the leak to enhance the police protection for Justices and their families. This is commonsense, noncontroversial legislation that passed in this Chamber--in this Chamber--unanimously. But House Democrats have spent weeks blocking--blocking the measure that passed here unanimously related to security for Supreme Court Justices. The House's Democrats have refused to take it up. Now, look, that needs to change, and it needs to change right now. Right now. House Democrats must pass this bill and they need to do it today. No more fiddling around with this. They need to pass it today. They need to stop their multiweek blockade against the Supreme Court security bill and pass it before the sun sets today. I will have more to say on this subject as the facts continue to unfold.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Back in 2019, while running for the White House, President Biden made a public promise. Here is what he said: I guarantee you, we are going to end fossil fuels. I guarantee you, we are going to end fossil fuels. Once in office, he wasted no time starting down that path, and now working families are paying the price. During the previous administration, under Republican policies, our Nation became a net exporter of oil for the first time literally in decades. We were producing all that we needed and then some. The headlines under this all-Democratic-controlled government are quite different. Here are two from January 2021, right out of the gate: ``Biden halts oil and gas leases [and] permits on US land and water.'' Here is another: ``Biden Order Blocks Keystone XL Pipeline.'' January 2021. Here are the headlines more recently. From a few weeks ago: ``Biden pulls 3 offshore oil lease sales, curbing new drilling this year.'' From just this past week: ``Biden EPA to make it easier for states to block fossil fuel projects.'' So even if oil and gas producers could get past the Biden regulatory gauntlet to actually explore and produce in this country, they likely could not get a pipeline approved to move it to market. President Biden is delivering the holy war on domestic American energy that he promised on the campaign trail. Meanwhile, energy costs and gas prices for American families have absolutely skyrocketed. Gas prices have literally doubled since his administration took office. The average price at the pump has doubled. The President's staff try to play this off as ``Putin's price hike.'' How many times have we heard that? But the reality is that prices were already climbing steadily long before--long before--the escalation in Ukraine; up more than $1 per gallon before--before--Putin's escalation. Prices for natural gas and other home heating sources were likewise elevated all last winter. Don't count on the warmer months bringing much relief. Here is what the New York Times wrote about a month ago. ``Get Ready,'' the Times said, ``for Another Energy Price Spike: High Electric Bills.'' Already frustrated and angry about high gasoline prices, many Americans are being hit by rapidly rising electricity bills . . . the biggest annual increase in more than a decade. According to another report, ``the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission predicts electricity prices could rise by as much as 233 percent over last summer's power prices. And electricity costs aren't the only problem; there is also the question of reliability. According to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, Americans--particularly in the West and Midwest--should brace for potentially dangerous electricity blackouts this summer. Once again, you can credit Democrats' war on fossil fuels. It retired too many fossil fuel-powered electricity generators too quickly, while replacing them with big subsidies for less reliable sources of power. Just a few days ago, President Biden said that soaring gas prices were just part of ``an incredible transition that will leave us less reliant on fossil fuels.'' Did you hear that, American workers? Democrats say your financial pain is the necessary cost to make America more to the liking of the radical environmental left. The Secretary of Energy has naively suggested that green energy will leave us in a better strategic position than fossil fuels. Well, maybe she is not aware that more than 80 percent of the world's polysilicon is made in China, and about 80 percent of America's rare earth mineral needs are met by Chinese imports as well. This is why it is such a joke for the administration to misuse the Defense Production Act to prop up solar panel manufacturers. They will just end up subsidizing Chinese suppliers upstream. Our stockpiles of actual military requirements, like Javelin missiles and essential munitions, are being depleted. Production of critical inputs, like energetics and solid rocket motors, is backed up months and even years. But instead of using the Defense Production Act for our Nation's defense, the President is using it to indirectly line China's pocket. Washington Democrats are hostile to the kinds of domestic mining and drilling that we will need to produce any kind of energy here at home, even green energy. Last year, House Democrats proposed a literal dirt tax--dirt tax-- that would crush domestic minerals and rare earth mining. They are so opposed to domestic mining, including for critical and rare earth minerals, Democrats literally tried to tax--listen to this--they wanted to tax dirt. Tax dirt. So, look, this doesn't have to be this way. The American people know exactly what we need: an all-American domestic energy strategy, crude oil responsibly drilled in America, natural gas responsibly fracked in America, and more minerals and high-tech components responsibly mined in America. Democrats have a different plan: less production and higher prices. And Americans are paying for it literally every day.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Last week, we paused to honor the men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to our Nation and in defense of our freedoms. For families all across America, the long holiday weekend also kicked off the excitement of summer traditions, but, unfortunately, a year- and-a-half into the failed policies of this all-Democratic government, even modest family celebrations came with pricetags that were literally sky high. Today, the average price of gas in America reached a new record high. There is now just one State in our whole country where average prices haven't passed $4.30. From trips across town to visits with relatives, driving is becoming an even more painful proposition for working families. In Boyd County, one Kentuckian said it now cost him about $73 to fill up the tank. I just hope those prices will go down. Another in Lexington said: I'm traveling up north to take care of my mother up in Michigan. It's a long haul, and yeah, it's hard when it is this expensive. And sky-high fuel prices aren't just hurting drivers. April saw the biggest 1-month spike in airfare on record with tickets up nearly 20 percent. The cost of backyard cookouts and all other home-cooked meals are continuing to rise. Prices on everything from ground beef to eggs have clocked the fastest annual increase since 1979. What about big household purchases? Many families wait for Memorial Day weekend sales to fill a need around the house. Well, tools and hardware are 11 percent more expensive than they were a year ago. Major appliances cost 12 percent more. And furniture is up almost 15 percent. These record-setting prices have got working families literally surrounded, and the American people know exactly where these hardships are coming from. They know this pain is a direct--a direct--result of the failed policies that Washington Democrats pursued even as everybody warned that their reckless spending would cause inflation. A little more than a year ago, Democrats dumped $2 trillion of liberal waste onto our economy. Their own experts--their own experts-- told them not to do it. President Obama's top economist warned then it was ``definitely too big for the moment.'' President Clinton's Treasury Secretary said it could ``set off inflationary pressures of a kind we have not seen in a generation.'' And both of them said it at the time. It was reported a few days ago that even Secretary Yellen, the President's own Treasury Secretary, knew the spending spree was reckless and wished it were smaller. But our colleague, the Democratic leader, brushed aside expert concerns, saying that ``I do not think inflationary dangers, at least in the near term, are very real.'' Well, now his party is presiding over out-of-control inflation, the worst in four decades, a year-on-year inflation rate of--listen to this--8.3 percent. And even that terrible number may be an understatement. In the early 1980s, right after the last bout of inflation this bad, the Bureau of Labor Statistics changed how they measure inflation. Larry Summers has coauthored a new research paper that tries to create an apples-to-apples comparison between the inflation figures today versus 40 years ago. So here is what they found: The current inflation regime is closer to that of the late 1970s than it may at first appear. In other words, Democrats have brought inflation much closer to the bad old days of the late seventies than the official numbers even make it look. Of course, no matter which way economists measure it, the American people know historic inflation when they feel it. It is impossible to ignore, from the gas pump to the supermarket, to the big-box store. On Democrats' watch, working families' hard-earned dollars are buying them less and less. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. In America, inflation has topped 5 percent every month for the past year. The consumer price index continues to hover at levels our economy hasn't seen in four decades. As we head into Memorial Day weekend, the American people have become reluctant experts in its painful, real-life effects. The average working family is now spending the equivalent of $5,000 a year on gas money. A year ago, the number was $2,800. Nationwide, gas prices have risen 46.9 cents just in the last month, and in Kentucky, they have risen actually even faster. Here's a quote from one of my constituents: ``I'm getting taken full advantage of,'' said one driver in Lexington. Another said: ``It costs so much to fill up I have to do it half a tank at a time now.'' But according to President Biden, it is all part of what he calls an ``incredible transition.'' Well, that is a heck of a way to describe his administration's war on the most affordable, reliable, and abundant forms of energy in our country, forcing fuel prices so high that it requires Americans to transition to more expensive cars with supply chains controlled primarily by China and other hostile regimes with lower labor and environmental standards is not my idea of incredible. But pain at the pump is only one of the tangled consequences of Washington Democrats' radical policies and reckless spending. Depending on where you are trying to go, higher fuel costs are hurting Americans' ability to enjoy major summer traditions. Rental car costs have jumped to 10.4 percent in the past year. Hotel rooms are going for 22.6 percent more, and plane tickets are up 33.3 percent. Of course, millions of Americans are having a hard enough time paying for basic expenses, let alone planning summer vacations. Grocery stores now stock painful surprises on every aisle. Ground coffee is 14.7 percent more expensive than it was a year ago; eggs, up 22.6 percent. Anyone wanting to grill a bacon cheeseburger over Memorial Day weekend will find ground beef up 15 percent and bacon up 18 percent compared to only 1 year ago. And utility bills now arrive with gut punches. For ratepayers in New England, electricity rates are projected to cost 16.4 percent more this summer than last summer. Everywhere they turn, American families are having to pare back expectations, put dreams on hold, and make bitter sacrifices. It is no longer a shocking scandal; it is just normal life in Democrats' version of America: harder to fuel the tank, harder to feed the family, harder to get by. Tribute to Jennifer M. Kuskowski Madam President, on an entirely different matter, 9 years and a couple of months ago, an impressive young woman interviewed for a position in my office over in the Russell Building. She had worked for her home State senator out of college. At that point, she sharpened her chops on the House side. I knew 5 minutes into the meeting with Jennifer Kuskowski that we had found someone very special. And now that young staffer from a decade back is departing the Senate as a commanding policy expert and one of my most indispensable advisors. Jen began as my legislative assistant for healthcare. In less than 2 years, she earned a no-brainer promotion to be the legislative director for my whole personal office, a sort of player-coach overseeing all policy areas. For a couple of years, Jen briefly betrayed us and obtained committee experience with Chairman Hatch at the Senate Finance Committee. But we soon stole her back for my leadership office here in the Capitol. For more than 3 years, she has been my crucial point person on some of the most complex issues we face--from healthcare to education to tech and telecom. She is the consummate professional, reliable, calm, clear under pressure. She knows her portfolio like the back of her hand, and Jen genuinely loves the legislative process. As her colleagues playfully reminded her with some frequency, Jen is a policy nerd's policy nerd. Now, don't get me wrong, Jen's not naive. She has the realism and tenacity of a grizzled veteran, but even as a top staffer who works directly with Senators and coordinates across committees, Jen has still got the same earnestness as the young woman I met a decade back. And I think I know why. I think Jen Kuskowski loves mastering thorny policy issues because she understands that policy impacts people. In between her first and second stint on the Hill, Jen served in the Peace Corps, working on health issues in Ecuador. That is hands-on experience you never forget. And towards the other bookend of her Senate service, Jen spent the coronavirus pandemic first as an expectant mother and then with a newborn. She knew what was at stake as she tracked the science and helped assemble the Senate's historic, bipartisan response. Jen has honed expertise in issues that touch families' lives very directly. And with that expertise, she has done unbelievably well. She was an early driving force to focus Congress on the opioid epidemic. She was alert to the plague of substance abuse years before anybody in Washington was even discussing it. Jen was the central player in my effort to raise the minimum tobacco age to 21. She played a huge role in structuring the historic relief for hospitals and providers that kept health systems above water in the early weeks of the COVID crisis. She was a key quarterback as we crafted support for vaccines and therapeutics that got America back on offense. Across many years, across many issues, Jen Kuskowski's expertise and professionalism have literally saved lives throughout Kentucky and across America. It is not an exaggeration; it is literally true. Families across the Commonwealth and across the Nation that will never meet Jen have benefited from the fact that she has been one of the most reliable closers on Capitol Hill. When an issue lands in her court, it gets resolved, period. Now, saying Jen cares about policy because she cares about people might sound like sort of a sappy cliche, but everybody in the Senate can attest there is nothing remotely sappy or ``Hallmark card'' about her. Jen's sarcastic sense of humor is world-class. She does not suffer fools. She pursues goals with bulldog determination, and a competitive fire burning below the surface. But all this coexists with a deep kindness and care for others. It is really a very special package. Jen has been the likeliest member of our team to seek out a colleague who is having a hard day and offer a pep talk and the likeliest person to aim a witty barb at a friend who is feeling overconfident and needs to be taken down a peg. Any team would be lucky to have either someone as diligent and professional as Jen or somebody as compassionate or someone as wickedly funny. It has been our special blessing to have all three in one person. So as you can see, Jen has rendered the Senate a special and unique service. So I am happy to report the institution has repaid Jen in a special and unique way as well. When we first met Jen, she was Jennifer Conklin, but she leaves the Senate partnered to her husband Officer Andrew Kuskowski of the United States Capitol Police. They are proud parents of little Zachary. And after a decade of late-night negotiations and weekend conference calls, our friend is excited to strike out and tackle new challenges. So, Jen, I am so grateful for your outstanding service. We know you will continue to be a force of nature wherever you go, and you will keep serving the common good, just in new and different ways. You have done your family proud. You have done me proud. And I hope you are proud. Your fine service has literally saved lives and changed our country for the better.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I enter a motion to reconsider the vote.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, our country is sickened and outraged by the senseless evil that struck Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX, only yesterday. According to early reports from authorities, it appears that a deranged young man tried to murder his own grandmother, then crashed his car, and then ran into an elementary school and began killing. At least 19 young children and 2 teachers were murdered--murdered-- for no apparent reason at all. These innocent kids were simply going to school. They put on their backpacks, said goodbye to their parents, and headed off for another day of learning and friendship. There were only 2 days left before summer break. And because of this maniac, at least 19 of these kids never made it home. One of the victims was a 10-year-old girl whose father described her as ``full of life, a jokester, always smiling.'' A 10-year-old boy who loved sports and art had just received his honor roll certificate a few hours earlier. His mother says he was thrilled--thrilled--about moving up into middle school next year. It is literally sickening--sickening--to consider the innocent young lives that were stolen by this pointless, senseless brutality; to consider the parents and families who sat waiting at the civic center, waiting to either be reunited with their son or their daughter or to learn they never would be. The investigation is still underway. The authorities will continue to learn exactly what happened and how. In the meantime, we are also praying for the Border Patrol officer who, according to reports, was wounded after he responded to the scene, and for all the law enforcement, paramedics, and first responders whose dedication yesterday saved lives. Most of all, the entire Nation's hearts are broken for the victims and for their families. Words simply fail. Yesterday, the Uvalde school superintendent said: We're a small community [and] we're going to need your prayers to get us through this. We pray fervently that in the midst of this nightmare of grief, our Heavenly Father will make manifest to those families his promise in Psalm 34 that ``the Lord is near to the brokenhearted.''

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, gas prices have set new alltime record highs every day for more than 2 weeks. Overall inflation is the worst it has been in more than 40 years. And the Biden administration is preparing to follow their botched Afghanistan retreat with a disastrous nuclear deal that would help Iran and hurt America. But this week, the Senate Democrat majority is not taking action on any of those things; the Senate is instead spending the week cramming more far-left bureaucrats into the executive branch, where they will keep making these problems even worse. Later today, Senate Democrats want to confirm as Assistant Administrator for EPA someone who has previously researched the environmental impact of football tailgating and concluding it would be best for the environment if the authorities--listen to this--banned charcoal grills and gas generators. This is no joke. Dr. Christopher Frey literally coauthored a research paper that argued that ``the most environmentally responsible policy would be . . . a universal ban on idling, charcoal grills, and old generators''--just the nominee the American people need confirmed by Memorial Day weekend. So, honestly, where do they find these people? The same nominee wrote in defense of the illegal, job-killing so-called Clean Power Plan. As a past chairman of the EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, he worked to politicize its work from outside. Things aren't going any better at the committee level. This morning, the HELP Committee deadlocked on the nomination of Kalpana Kotagal, whom President Biden wants to put on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Ms. Kotagal is a liberal plaintiff's lawyer who is best known for rewriting Hollywood legal contracts to push movie casting toward racial quotas, gender quotas, and sexual orientation quotas. The President has found the one person in America who thinks liberal Hollywood is not woke enough. The nominee also has a record of hostility to American energy. She has been both an official spokeswoman and a registered lobbyist for a far-left group that wants to eliminate fossil fuels. She is on the board of another organization that has frivolously sued the State of West Virginia over energy issues. The American people know Washington Democrats' policies hurt working families. They have seen that in our colleagues' legislation. And it is more of the same when it comes to the nominees they are picking to design and carry out their tsunami of regulations.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on the campaign trail, Candidate Biden made some big promises for America's economic recovery. His campaign published ``the Biden Plan to revitalize Main Street and invest in small businesses'' and another ``to give America's working families the tools, choices, and freedom they need to build back better.'' So just how have the working families and small businesses fared with President Biden and the Democratic Party calling the shots? Sixty-nine percent of Americans say our economy right now is bad. Even more--77 percent--say they are pessimistic about costs rising even more in the coming months. Just last month, one longstanding measure of optimism among small business owners reached its lowest level on record. Month after month, the historic high inflation Democrats helped unleash with runaway spending last spring is taking its toll on Americans' hope for the future, but more immediately, it is taking its toll on their wallets. More than a third of Americans say they are having difficulty paying for usual household expenses. Just last month, the price of a gallon of milk was 16 percent higher than the year before. Gas prices are scraping the stratosphere. In Kentucky, the average price for a gallon of regular reached an alltime high 2 weeks ago. Today, it is 20 cents higher than that. In Lexington, one resident who drives a rideshare put it this way: I'm not trying to be a billionaire, I'm just trying to pay some bills. She is facing more pain at the pump, and so are the folks paying even more to fill up trucks, tractors, or delivery vans with diesel. The costs behind small business owners' headaches are behind consumers' hardship. But somehow, as our Nation reaps the effects of their first year of one-party control, Washington Democrats are operating as if the exact opposite conditions were afoot. After their spending bonanza helped kick off historic inflation, they want to pile on the biggest tax hikes in history. After their radical day 1 climate agenda hammered the most affordable forms of American energy, they want to double down on far- left fantasies. As the Biden administration passed its 100th day in office, I urged the President to ``recommit to solving our nation's actual problems.'' Well, here we are, approaching his administration's 500th day in office. By now, America's working families have figured out for themselves that the so-called ``Biden Plan'' for them is just a fast track to historic hardships.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, the Country Music Highway cuts through seven counties in eastern Kentucky that have produced some of the finest singers in American history, from Loretta Lynn, to Chris Stapleton, to Ricky Skaggs. Now, this formidable list of world-famous Kentucky country artists has a new member: Noah Thompson. Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Noah for becoming the first Kentuckian to win ``American Idol.'' A few months ago, few people--even in Noah's hometown of Louisa--had ever heard America's best new vocalist perform. Noah was working as a construction worker at Addiction Recovery Care, had never sung publicly, and hadn't even been musically trained. When Noah's best friend Arthur signed him up for ``American Idol,'' the singer worried about making it past auditions, never imagining he would earn the ``golden ticket'' to Hollywood, let alone become a finalist. But Arthur believed Noah had a special talent, and, after several arduous rounds, he emerged victorious after receiving the most votes out of 16 million cast by fans all across the country. In the process, he brought the ``American Idol'' camera crew back to Louisa to film a hometown video with community leaders, his family, and thousands of fans. He shined a light on eastern Kentucky, sharing the special culture and history that makes the region such a hotbed for musical talent. Throughout the contest, Noah radiated humility and warmth. Labeled the ``king of `aw shucks' '' by one of the judges, he entered every round of competition with the best of Kentucky's attitude and spirit. Even when Noah caught COVID-19 and had to isolate in his hotel room, he performed cheerfully and continued to win viewers' hearts. I am proud of Noah for winning this contest and jumping headfirst into what I can only imagine will be a successful musical career. And I am proud of Louisa, KY, for producing such a fine young gentleman to represent the Commonwealth on the national stage. On behalf of the Senate, I share our congratulations with Noah and wish him the best as he pursues his dreams as a recording artist.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, Americans' concern about violent crime is the highest it has been in 6 years, and the statistics plainly show why that is. Between 2019 and 2020, the murder rate shot up by the largest 1-year increase in over a century, and the rate has kept on rising. Nearly 60 percent more law enforcement officers were killed in 2021 compared to 2020. Cities all across America set alltime record highs for homicides last year. My hometown of Louisville, KY, was one of those cities. We also now average more than one carjacking every 48 hours. Innocent citizens across America know this situation has literally spiraled out of control, but, unfortunately, the Biden administration and Senate Democrats continue to team up and find new ways to go soft on crime. The nomination and confirmation of Judge Jackson to the Supreme Court crowns a deliberate effort by Democrats to make the Federal judiciary literally softer on crime. They are specifically intentionally stuffing the Federal bench full of men and women whose starting perspective tilts toward sympathy for criminals rather than victims. Even the New York Times had to admit this ``concerted push by the Biden administration'' to prefer nominees with ``experience in criminal defense work'' is ``a sea change in the world of judicial nominations.'' The Times continued: The type of high-profile murder cases handled by some of Mr. Biden's nominees would have been considered disqualifying only a few years ago; now the president, who himself served briefly as a public defender early in his legal career, is actively seeking to name more jurists who have [that kind of] experience. So, Mr. President, we are not arguing that public defenders ought to be excluded from the nomination process. Clearly, their work is important. Everyone deserves a lawyer, even the most heinous criminals. But the American people are not exactly clamoring for President Biden to dramatically tilt the entire judiciary toward the criminal-friendly perspective--least of all during this historic crime surge. This week, with a long list of serious problems facing the country, the Democratic majority has decided to spend floor time on another judicial nominee with this one particular background, a second nominee who appeared during her committee hearing to be unfamiliar with a basic concept in trial law, and a third nominee whose pro bono record includes helping sue the New York City government over policing and trying to reverse another person's robbery conviction. So I would urge Senators to oppose these controversial nominees. I am proud to be one of many Republicans joining a new resolution from Senator Cassidy begging this all-Democratic government to prioritize solutions for the violent crime wave. To start, the administration should stop this willful--willful--campaign to make the judiciary systemically softer on crime. Innocent Americans can't afford it.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, yesterday, in a bipartisan landslide, the Senate advanced legislation to get more arms and assistance to the innocent people of Ukraine. Senators Collins, Cornyn, Barrasso, and I just returned last night from Europe. Our first stop was Kyiv. It was moving to feel some of the impacts of Putin's aggression, to see a free and independent nation made to literally fight for its life. But it was also inspiring to witness the bravery and the determination that have united Ukrainians in the face of this onslaught. Ukraine has had more than its share of domestic political differences in recent years. Putin must have thought some Ukrainians would welcome--would actually welcome--invading Russian forces. Instead, both Ukrainian-speaking and Russian-speaking Ukrainians have united in defense of their sovereign nation. Some predicted Ukraine would fold in a few days and Russia would stroll right to Kyiv. That was wrong too. Ukraine is tough, and Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands, with life moving back toward normalcy despite the continued threat. Our delegation was honored to meet with President Zelenskyy. He expressed his gratitude to the United States for our leadership and support on a bipartisan basis, as well as for other countries that have stood by his people in their time of need. America is not the only free country that has Ukraine's back. President Zelenskyy was moved by certain European countries who have given Ukraine, in his words, literally ``everything they had.'' Of course, other European countries can and should do more to help Ukraine. And the administration should lead an effort to ensure broad, sustained international support for Ukraine. America's support for Ukraine has highlighted the limits to our stockpiles of certain munitions and shortcomings in our own defense production capacity. A number of European countries have dipped even deeper into their weapons inventories. They will need a refill as well. As our European friends wake up from their ``holiday from history'' and increase defense spending, I hope the United States will be a reliable supplier of advanced weaponry to our NATO allies, a textbook win-win. Our delegation reiterated to President Zelenskyy the bipartisan consensus which the Senate demonstrated with last night's vote. The United States of America has Ukraine's back and will stand with our friends until they win. Ukraine is not asking anybody to fight their fight for them. They are only asking for help in getting the resources and tools they need to defend themselves. And we and our friends and partners across the free world will stand behind Ukraine until they achieve victory as they define it. The outcome of this fight has major ramifications for the West, and the Ukrainians should not be left to stand all alone. As an overwhelming bipartisan majority of the Senate reaffirmed yesterday, America's decision to support Ukraine is not some frivolous act of charity. It serves our own national security and strategic interests for international borders to continue to actually mean something. It serves our own security and interest to impose massive costs on Putin's long-running campaign of violent imperialism. And it directly and powerfully serves our national interest to deter potential future wars of aggression before they start. So, Madam President, I assure you that President Xi and the CCP are watching Ukraine carefully. There is a concrete reason why democratic Asian countries like Japan and Taiwan are rooting hard for Ukraine to prevail. Moreover, if we are stuck in a long-term strategic competition with China, we will want a stable, secure, and strong Europe on our side. Speaking of America's national interest, our delegation also visited what we hope and expect will soon be the two newest members of the NATO alliance. We arrived in Stockholm and Helsinki just as the leaders of Sweden and Finland announced their nations will seek to join the alliance that has secured peace in Europe for more than 73 years. It was an honor to have robust discussions with Prime Minister Andersson, Defense Minister Hultqvist, and key parliamentary leaders in Stockholm; and President Niinisto, Prime Minister Marin, Defense Minister Kaikkonen, and parliamentary leaders in Helsinki. I gave them my assurance as Senate Republican leader that I fully support both Finland's and Sweden's accession. I will do all I can to speed treaty ratification through the Senate. Finland and Sweden are impressive and capable countries, with military capabilities that surpass many of our existing NATO allies. As new members, they would more than pull their weight. These two nations' geographic locations are strategic. They have well-equipped and professional armed forces. Their military and high- tech industrial bases are robust. There is already significant interoperability that connects their defenses and NATO's. I will have more to say on this subject in the days and weeks ahead. Finland and Sweden would make NATO even stronger than it stands today. Finally, it must be noted that our delegation was not the most important group of Americans shipping out to stand with our friends in Europe--not by a longshot. There are 100,000 American soldiers currently stationed in Europe to bolster the peace and shore up NATO. This includes the Kentucky-based V Corps. And we received word just last week that 4,700 members of the 101st Airborne from Kentucky's Fort Campbell will also travel to Europe in the coming months. The Screaming Eagles have a long history of defending America's national security interests in Europe. I am proud of these brave men and women for being ready to deploy at a moment's notice. I am proud America can make this peaceful contribution to our allies' sovereignty and strength in Europe, and I am proud of the entire Fort Campbell community for keeping these men and women well- prepared for this mission.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, now on another matter, by early 2020, before the pandemic, Republican policies had helped create one of the best economic moments for working Americans literally in our lifetimes. Unemployment was low, inflation was low, and real take-home pay was rising steadily. In fact, we had wages rising faster for the bottom 25 percent of the wage scale than for the top 25 percent. The incoming all-Democratic government was handed a reopening economy and a million vaccines going into arms per day. The country was packed with optimism and primed for a comeback. But through their far-left policy choices, Washington Democrats have driven our economy right into the ground. Inflation is setting 40-year records in consecutive months; gas and diesel prices have set new all-time highs on consecutive days; and sticker shock continues to cause headaches for Americans buying household essentials. One college student in California said that buying groceries has him ``taking extra loans to pay for my expenses. I'm maxing out my credit cards.'' A woman in Virginia reports she has taken to visiting three different food stores in one trip to make sure she is getting the best prices on everything she needs. A warehouse worker in New Jersey says she and her husband are spending more time hunting for coupons. It's not a lot, but I'm trying to buy healthy things that also fill us up. Overall grocery prices have jumped 10 percent in the past year, just one part of why many Americans say the Biden economy is not working for them. Fewer than one in four American consumers say the current economic conditions are even somewhat good, and fewer than one in five say the Biden administration's policies have done anything to help. Democrats made runaway reckless spending their new normal here in Washington. So historic, painful inflation has become the new normal for working families everywhere else.