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WASHINGTON – Rep. Ron Estes (R–Kansas) delivered a floor speech about Democrats’ America last policies’ effect on the inflation and rising prices during a special hour on fiscal responsibility and the state of our economy.

“There’s a lot of noise in this bubble we call Washington, D.C., but everyday Americans have the same top concerns about the economy and rising prices,” said Rep. Estes. “After a year of total Democratic control in this city, Americans no longer have a positive outlook on the economy. Our economy shrank in the first quarter. Americans are paying more for everything they buy on a regular basis. Gas has skyrocketed to an average above $5 per gallon, and consumer sentiment has dropped to a record low of 50.2.”

On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a higher-than-expected inflation rate of 8.6% with a cumulative 11.4% rise in inflation since Biden took office. On average, American households are spending $635 more in monthly costs due to rising prices. 

Video of Rep. Estes's remarks

Full Remarks:

Madam Speaker, tonight as many Americans put their kids to bed; they are checking their schedules for the next day and doing a quick review of their bank accounts; they are deeply concerned about how they are going to be able to live with the crushing price increases in Joe Biden's America.

We're talking a lot about the debt tonight. How do you afford to make your payments on the issues that you have to address today? But also, how do you have to plan for the future knowing how this debt will weigh down on people, weigh down on Americans. How will this weigh down on individuals as well as their kids and grandkids? There's a lot of noise in this bubble we call Washington, D.C., but everyday Americans have the same top concerns about the economy and rising prices.

In fact, it has been a top concern for months now. Even last year, at a town hall in October, 98% of respondents to me said they'd seen an increase in the cost of regular necessities. Last week, I had the opportunity to speak with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen about why it has taken the administration so long to recognize inflation as a problem. She complained about other challenges that the Biden administration faced in January 2021.

Let's look at what's really happened over the last 18 months. When President Biden took office, he was met with a growing economy that was already recovering from a global pandemic. We're already seeing the debt being addressed and working in that direction. The COVID vaccine that was developed in Operation Warp Speed was being distributed around the world as well as throughout the United States. We saw inflation stabilize at a mere 1.4%, and filling up your gas tank only cost $2.39 thanks to American energy independence.

Despite all the pandemic-related challenges that Americans have gone through over the past year, consumer sentiment was relatively high at 79. But after a year of total Democratic control in this city, Americans no longer have a positive outlook on the economy. Our economy shrank in the first quarter. Americans are paying more for everything they buy on a regular basis. Gas has skyrocketed to an average above $5 per gallon, and consumer sentiment has dropped to a record low of 50.2.

It's bad news for our country. Joe Biden and Democrat policy are taking away prosperity and the American Dream from families and small businesses across the country.

On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a staggering higher-than-expected inflation rate of 8.6%, but that's the year-over-year number. It really doesn't show the impact of the inflation that has come up during the Biden administration – what a lot of people are calling Bidenflation. If we go back to January 2021, when President Biden took office, we can see that the month-by-month inflation is actually up a cumulative 11.4%. So, think about that. If you bought something in January of 2021, it now costs 11.4% more than it did, and that's a marketplace average. Some products have been a whole lot higher than that. You see it in gas. You see it in meat and bacon and milk.

So now, what's that mean for the average American? We're looking at the average American household an additional $635 in monthly costs. As you can see, prices have continued to climb for American families each month, meaning that on average, each household has already paid an additional $5000 for these failed policies under the Biden administration. Even if inflation stays the same, households will pay an additional $7620 over the next 12 months.

My Republican colleagues and I understand how devastating this is for Americans. We warned for months that kneecapping American energy production while flooding the economy with federal dollars and deficit spending would create runaway inflation as it has. Today, my colleagues on the other side could ease the burden on families by encouraging American energy production and stopping their pursuit of big government spending sprees.

We would have a stronger economy and stronger America through energy independence, ability to balance the federal budget and a smaller government. These are the keys to reverse the course on a disastrous economy, and I would encourage my colleagues in the majority to disband this far-left, extreme agenda to face the crisis they've created.

As we've talked about tonight, the debt continues to increase, and we need to focus on that. We need to focus on lowering the amount of "free stuff" that comes out of the United States government and focus on what we need to do to help everyday Americans in the things that they go through and the things that they deal with their families and their small businesses.

I'd like to close and thank my friend Jody Arrington for hosting this so we can talk about the fiscal state of the country and the problems we face going forward.