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Floor Speech
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Ms. ROSEN. Mr. President, here is a fact that Donald Trump seems to not understand or care about: families in Nevada and all across this country being squeezed--being squeezed--by high costs. Nevadans are struggling to afford even the most basic things from groceries to rent to healthcare.
This isn't just in Nevada. All across the country, housing costs are up; healthcare costs are up. Even the most basic, unavoidable expenses like electricity have even gotten more expensive. But if you ask Donald Trump, he says affordability--and I am going to quote here--is a ``hoax.'' It is a ``con job by the Democrats.'' He even said--and I am going to quote again--``prices are coming down tremendously . . . inflation is stopped.''
I am going to ask everybody here at home today: Do you think affordability is a hoax? Do you feel like prices are going down? Don't listen to Trump. Just take one look at your grocery bill this week. It is clear he isn't paying attention to hard-working people because the price of your groceries has done nothing but skyrocket.
Donald Trump, he ran for President on lowering prices. Since he got into office nearly a year ago, Americans have spent on average well over $1,000 more because of Trump's cost-raising tariffs. He was supposed to lower prices on day one. Well, we are a lot further than day one.
I want to be clear about what these tariffs really are. They are an additional tax on hard-working families, and they increase prices across the board. Just look at housing. Due to Trump's tariff taxes, the price of construction materials, appliances, and furniture have skyrocketed, gone through the roof. When you raise the cost of lumber, steel, and other materials builders rely on to build new homes, you slow down construction. And when supply can't keep up with demand, prices go up. That is not just ideology; that is simple economics.
Similarly, Trump's self-imposed taxes have increased your costs at the grocery store. You are paying more for the essentials you rely on most: coffee, produce, meat, so much more. Trump and his billionaire buddies, who probably haven't gone grocery shopping for themselves in years, don't care about the price of groceries. Well, they might not care about paying more, but seniors on fixed incomes do; parents trying to feed their kids do; workers whose paychecks aren't keeping up do. They are the ones being hurt by these reckless tariffs. So Donald Trump may not care, but everyone else I know cares--and it matters.
That is why I introduced my No Tariffs on Groceries Act. This bill, it is simple--simple. It would exempt your groceries from Trump's tariffs, meaning the costs won't be raised because of the tariffs. So it is time that Congress reasserts its authority over trade and pushes back against Trump's cost-raising tariffs.
I know a few things: Groceries are not a luxury; food should never be a bargaining chip; and working families should not be collateral damage in Trump's reckless trade wars. This hits everyone at the kitchen table. Every person needs to eat. You shouldn't be collateral damage in Trump's reckless trade wars. Let's prove this Chamber can still act on the issues that are most important to American families at their kitchen table. If they care about that and they want to lower costs for everybody, let's pass my bill right now.
3229 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; that the Rosen substitute amendment, which is at the desk, be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
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Ms. ROSEN. Mr. President, food should never be a bargaining chip. People's kitchen tables, their refrigerators should never be a bargaining chip. This is not a partisan issue, feeding people in the United States. We should not be mixing natural resources with the essential things that we need like food.
Are my Republican colleagues--if they want to lower prices, they can start--they can start--by this one small act of letting this bill go through. They can help me lower prices right here, right now. I am very disappointed. This bill would lower prices at the grocery store for hard-working families all across America. And by stopping it from passing, you and your Republican colleagues--well, I am afraid you are telling the American people that their kitchen table isn't your priority and that Washington Republicans would rather bow to Trump than pass legislation to lower at least one section of grocery prices and make food more affordable for their constituents.
Again, this isn't partisan. People in my State and yours are being crushed by rising costs. Washington Republicans have the power to do a little something about it, but they choose not to. So if you really want to do what is right by your constituents, if you want to do right by kitchen tables across this country, Republicans would stand up to Trump, stand up against these reckless tariffs on food, and support my legislation.
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