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Floor Speech
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Ms. ROSEN. Mr. President, it has now been more than 2 weeks since President Donald Trump took the oath of office, and there have been virtually no actions--virtually no actions--to lower costs at the grocery store.
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump made promises, over and over, that he would address rising costs. In fact, he said, ``On day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again.'' On day one.
And he said, ``When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on day one.''
Well, way past day one, it is now day 16 of his Presidency, and so far, the Trump administration has failed to meet the President's own goal and promise to hard-working families.
Just look what it costs to buy milk, bread, and eggs. When Nevadans are going to the grocery store, many are seeing empty shelves where the eggs are supposed to be. And the eggs people do find, well, they cost an arm and a leg.
So just look at this picture here from Reno, NV, a grocery store there, empty shelves, that is where the eggs would be. And meanwhile, the Trump administration is doing nothing to help fix this or stop corporations from jacking up the prices. Instead, President Trump has been cozying up to billionaire CEOs and taking actions that will hurt families and drive prices up and up. Trump's first actions were to push through a whirlwind of Executive orders, including to roll back actions to lower prescription drug prices.
So I want to repeat that. One of President Trump's first actions was to stop efforts to lower your prescription drug costs. And just this past weekend, President Trump announced reckless tariffs on Mexico and Canada. This is essentially a new tax on hard-working families for products from these two countries--our biggest trading partners, by the way.
While he has promised to delay his tax on Canadian and Mexican goods for a month, ultimately these tariffs will hurt our economy. Canada is Nevada's biggest export partner. They provide us with chicken, with grain, sugar, and livestock. And the impact of these tariffs, well, they don't just stop at the grocery store shelves; they will also increase what you pay at the fuel pump. They will increase the price of construction materials, making housing even more expensive.
And so I ask everyone in this Chamber, I ask everyone across the Nation: How does that help you? How does that help you? How does it help lower costs? How does it help provide financial relief for families? How does it make your paycheck go farther? How does it put more money in your pocket? It doesn't.
President Trump, he is now even saying that inflation is no longer his No. 1 issue. He has flipped on his promise to you. He has flipped on his promise to you. And the fact is as Americans work hard every day, Nevada families, the finest families in our Nation, they work hard every day, and many are struggling to get by because prices have skyrocketed over the last few years.
It is why I have been taking action to lower costs for families and reduce their financial burden to give folks some much-needed breathing room, to make their paycheck go even farther. I am working to lower housing costs by investing in our construction workers to increase our housing supply. I helped lead the charge, last year, against the proposed Kroger-Albertsons megamerger that would have let grocery stores jack up prices even higher than they already are.
And there are steps we in Congress can take and have been taking to tackle inflation.
I urge the President to take this issue seriously and tackle it head on, and I am willing to work with him and work with anyone else if it means lowering costs for hard-working families.
But we need to get going right now. So I urge my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, to come together and prioritize solving kitchen-table issues, instead of pushing extreme wedge issues. It is what the American people need us to do for them. That is what the American people are counting on us to do for them. We need to get busy and do that.
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