Self-Inflicted Crises

Floor Speech

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Mr. BURCHETT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding. Second Congressional District, but first in our hearts.

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Mr. BURCHETT. Mr. Speaker, 1 year ago, the average cost of gas in America was $2.17 a gallon. Today, it is $3.07 per gallon, a 41 percent increase.

But it isn't just gas prices. Costs for many goods and services Americans rely on are quickly rising. The Consumer Price Index, which tracks the cost of things, like food and energy, jumped 5 percent in May compared to 1 year ago.

This inflation is the ultimate cost of President Biden's $2 trillion Big Government spending spree back in January, Mr. Speaker. The Federal Government is printing money at a breakneck pace, decreasing the purchasing power of our dollars.

Meanwhile, businesses can't get folks to come back to work, thanks to President Biden's generous unemployment benefits. And lately in east Tennessee, I have heard stories from small business owners who can't find enough workers to keep up with their demand.

They need to tell the folks at Wright's Cafeteria, where my good friend David Wright owns his restaurant that was his mama's and daddy's, they can't get folks to come back to work. He is still too behind in the kitchen. He hasn't been open for months.

Another friend of mine, Mike Chase, owns Calhoun's, which is a world- famous restaurant chain in the area. And, actually, in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, they have had to close down in a tourist section of our community that is heavily populated during the day by well-heeled tourists wanting to spend their money, yet he had to close down because he can't get people to work.

Another friend of mine, Charlie Peroulas, at the Pizza Palace, world- famous onion rings. Mr. Speaker, I would literally crawl across Magnolia Avenue on glass to eat their onion rings. They are that good. And his pizzas are great as well. He has not been able to have full shifts and to serve the community as he has in the past.

Stories like these, though, aren't unique to east Tennessee, Mr. Speaker. This is happening all over the country. Businesses are raising their prices to stay alive, and those costs are passed along to the American consumers.

President Biden promised there would be no tax increase on working Americans, but inflation sure as heck isn't leaving any money in the pockets of our middle class, Mr. Speaker. His outrageous spending is causing long-term economic damage and saddling future generations with debt. And if President Biden isn't stopped in this venture, future generations will inherit a worthless American dollar, Mr. Speaker.

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