On the recordJune 22, 2022
I thank my good friend from Tennessee for this opportunity. Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss the historic inflation and soaring gas prices that are hurting American families all across America. You know, as my good friend from Wisconsin was saying earlier, he talked about the 8.6 percent inflation rate and how that doesn't seem to jive with the American public. It just doesn't seem like it could possibly be 8.6 percent. My good friend talked about the inflation rate in the building industry. We are just going to talk a little bit about gas, for example, 106.7 percent; butter, margarine, 20.2 percent up; milk, up 15.9 percent; pork up 13.3 percent. How in the world can the official inflation rate actually be 8.6 percent? It doesn't make sense, Mr. Burchett. It doesn't make sense, and every American out there knows it. I am here to tell you that the sky-high prices that we see at stores and at the pump are, in large part, thanks to Democrats' planned policies to force the U.S. off of fossil fuels. On President Biden's first day in office, he ended the XL Pipeline, the Keystone XL Pipeline, suspended drilling permits, and froze oil and gas leases on public lands. The Biden administration successfully brought domestic energy production to a halt. Just 19 months ago, if you can remember, America was energy independent: $2.30-odd cents a gallon. Since then, we have seen gas more than double in price.…
