Stagflation is Coming

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I come from the part of the country where people are used to working hard and making things. For some, it is producing oil and natural gas. For others, it is farming. For me, it was owning a small business.

What we do may be different, but why we do it is not. We want to provide a better life for our family and our children. That is the American Dream. That is what we strive for. That is what we sacrifice for. That is what Democrats' radical policies are destroying.

Today, the ex-Chairman of the Federal Reserve said the U.S. economy is heading toward stagflation for the first time since the 1970s. Remember, in the late 1970s, Democrats had control of the White House, the Senate, and the House, just like they do now.

The CEO of Goldman Sachs also said that the risk of falling into a recession is very high.

Did you ever think that would happen in just 1 year of one-party rule?

The last time we went through stagflation was in the 1970s after an oil supply shock. Today, Democrats' radical policies are leading to a similar shock in terms of energy.

Since April 2021, prices have risen at least 5 percent every month. This year, under one-party control, prices have risen at least 7 percent for 5 consecutive months.

Now, what does that mean to the average American? Well, it means to every single American, in gas costs alone, families will pay an extra $2,000 this year to fill up at the pump.

That is $2,000, Mr. Speaker. That is money that could have been used for their children's education, summer vacation, or just paying the house payment or rent.

Democrats are presiding over one of the costliest years in recent history, and the next year could be even worse. Americans need stable, competent leadership that understands the problems our country is facing.

Want to lower the gas prices? The Republicans' answer is to unleash American energy. The Democrats' answer is to hire another six-figure, out-of-touch Washington bureaucrat who has never run a business to tell people who work for a living what to do, or what the President did just a week ago: shut down more leases and opportunity for America to produce oil, but try to buy it somewhere else, maybe Russia.

They are attacking energy producers to shift blame from their own failures. They have no better answers to the problems they created except to demand more control.

Mr. Speaker, that is what got us here in the first place. Last March, do we all remember when the Democrats dumped $2 trillion into a recovering economy and paid people not to work?

I remember very well, Mr. Speaker. Over on this side of the aisle, we warned you if you go through with this, you will create inflation.

Every single Democrat said no. They voted for it. Every single Republican knew what would happen, and they said no. They believed in the American people: Don't punish them. Don't cost them more.

Then, we heard the likes of it was transitory inflation; it wouldn't last; it was only short term. Every month, 5 percent growth, and then it went to 7 percent, and now we have the ex-Fed Chair saying stagflation, something we haven't seen since the 1970s.

One-party rule, in only a year and a half, not only has created inflation like we haven't seen in 40 years; it is putting the punishment onto the American people.

This $2 trillion that you claimed was going to go for COVID--when it is less than 9 percent--the scheme worked well for the well-connected when you are in one-party control. Blue States got bailouts. Washington Democrats got more power. Working families got crushed by the worst inflation in 40 years. This is why Americans don't trust Democrats.

Mr. Speaker, for all of those watching, for all of those struggling to put gas in the tank and food on the table, we know Democrats think they can afford to stay in power for 2 more years. The question is: Can you?

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