Rising Costs

Floor Speech

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Ms. BARRAGAN. Mr. Speaker, House Republicans continue to enable Donald Trump's costly and disastrous war of choice against Iran, all while refusing to lift a finger to help working families as their bad policies drain Americans' wallets.

We need Republicans to act, to rein in this dangerous President and help Americans have a shot at getting ahead in Trump's economy.

This district work period, I traveled around my district to hear directly from people. I heard the same thing over and over again: Everything costs more and families are struggling. Gasoline prices have skyrocketed. Grocery bills have gone up. Cost of shoes? Up.

Let's be clear about why. It is Trump's war of choice that is costing American families, and it is his tax through tariffs on American families. Due to the war, oil prices and gas prices have jumped dramatically. When gas prices go up, everything goes up.

Jessica Hernandez is a driver who transports people with disabilities in a wheelchair-accessible van. She serves people in communities in California like Lynwood, South Gate, Long Beach, and Lakewood every single day.

However, now, because of rising costs, she works longer hours to cover the cost of getting her passengers to where they need to go while making sure she can still feed her family.

Think about that. She is working harder, longer, and still falling behind because of Trump's reckless war in Iran.

Jessica was not the only person I heard from. I also heard from a truck driver who said the rising diesel gas prices have caused the price of delivering goods to go up. It also means hiring fewer drivers.

If that is not enough, if you order your goods through Amazon, they just announced a price increase because of this reckless war of choice that Trump and Republicans support.

I also spoke to a small business owner in Carson, Monica Jordan. She is the general manager of a small family business, a restaurant. Her suppliers have raised their prices. When we met, she showed me just one of the letters she received from a vendor saying that costs had increased 13 percent, and they had to pass on at least half of the cost to her small business. The result is higher prices for her business and customers.

This story is not unique to this business. We are hearing these stories from businessowners across the country that they are experiencing higher costs, fewer customers, and some are having to close their doors.

Then there is my constituent Marysol Arellano, a single mom with two kids in San Pedro. She used to take her kids out every Sunday for a family meal, a moment to bond. Now she can't afford it. What used to be a simple family meal is now a luxury.

That is what this cost-of-living crisis looks like. It is people working longer hours. It is small businesses barely hanging on. It is families losing the moments that matter most.

Instead of addressing the rising costs, President Trump has slapped tariffs on many products that enter the United States, and that is a tax on our working families.

Trump's war with Iran is costing Americans billions. While Americans pay up to $7 for just a gallon of gas so they can drive to work or drop their kids off at school, the U.S. spends at least $2 billion of their hard-earned taxpayer dollars a day firing missiles and dropping bombs.

When Americans are struggling, these are the wrong priorities, and Trump shows no sign of focusing on Americans first. His latest proposed budget calls for cuts to programs like energy assistance and affordable housing that would help Americans get back on their feet but asks for huge increases in military spending instead.

That tells you everything you need to know; billions for war overseas but nothing to lower costs here at home.

Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve better. They deserve leaders who are focused on bringing costs down, not driving them up. House Democrats are fighting to lower costs and make life affordable for working families.

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