WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) spoke on the Senate floor this week about President Biden’s failing economic agenda and the damaging impact of “Bidenomics” on Nebraska families and small businesses. During her remarks, Senator Fischer also spoke about her stops across Nebraska during the August work period.

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Following is a transcript of Senator Fischer’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

Twenty-two years ago, Apple released the first desktop version of its Mac OS operating system. The first Harry Potter movie and the first Lord of the Rings movie both came out. Alicia Keys and Destiny’s Child were topping the charts. And Bill Clinton left office.

Twenty-two years ago was also the last time mortgage rates were as high as they are now — yes, they’re higher now than they were during the 2008 financial crisis.

Mortgage hit its lowest rate in American history in January 2021. Then, Joe Biden became president.

Over the past two-and-a-half years, mortgage rates have almost tripled. In the meantime, inflation rates are still climbing higher.

This past month, as I traveled Nebraska during the Senate’s state work period, I visited with dozens and dozens of middle-class Americans. It’s truly the best part of my job — meeting small business owners, ag producers, schoolteachers, nurses, students, and employees around my home state. But this year, aside from the fun, I was sad to hear about the economic struggles Nebraskans are facing.

Middle-class Nebraskans are scraping by financially. And what’s ironic is that they’re doing it on the watch of a president who calls himself “Middle Class Joe.”

President Biden’s line recently has been: “When the middle class does well, everyone does well.”

I agree with him. I’d just add that right now, everyone is not doing well. That’s especially true for the middle class. And it’s because this administration’s ill-advised policies keep pumping air into an economy that’s already bloated.

The so-called “Bidenomics” agenda is poison disguised as a cure for middle-class Americans. M. President, that’s not an exaggeration. Last month, I saw Bidenomics up close in Nebraska — so let me tell you how it’s going.

One Saturday this August, I visited a small town in Western Nebraska. That afternoon, a small business owner told me that his electricity bills have shot up exponentially over the past couple years, both for his home and his business.

Electricity, groceries, you name it — these essentials are tough to afford, if not impossible to afford, for the average middle-class American.

That’s Bidenomics in Nebraska.

Business owners and families alike shared that they could hardly pay skyrocketing rent and mortgage rates. In fact, all year, an increasing number of middle-class Nebraskans have resorted to asking the Salvation Army for money so they can pay their utilities.

That’s Bidenomics in Nebraska.

As I traveled the state, the issue of child care affordability popped up repeatedly. Child care costs have skyrocketed, and dads and moms are at a loss for how to afford rising rates.

That’s Bidenomics in Nebraska.

The Bidenomics agenda has made many promises, but I haven’t seen the administration keep a single one. Remember the president’s American Families Plan? Almost two-and-a-half years ago, the president promised that low- and middle-income families would spend no more than seven percent of their income on child care.

But leading up to the fourth year of Biden’s presidency, here’s what family life looks like:

Nebraskan families are already struggling due to inflation — they’ve seen price increases on bills, groceries, and almost everything in between. In many cases, both parents need to work so they can make enough to pay off debt or afford those sky-high mortgage rates.

But when child care costs are through the roof, it’s impossible for both parents to work. According to the Economic Policy Institute, child care costs 24.4% more per year than average rent and 53.5% more than in-state college tuition. Did you get that? 53.5% more per year.

That means parents are stuck between a rock and a hard place financially — either they live off one income rather than two, or they pay an arm and a leg for child care.

Again, that’s Bidenomics in Nebraska.

From the American Families Plan to the Inflation Reduction Act, this administration’s efforts to grow our economy from the middle class out have totally failed.

My message to the president is this: When the middle class does badly, everyone does badly.

So we’d better start undoing the harmful, excessive regulations that are making middle-class Americans suffer. We need to put the priority on reducing costs for everyday Americans.

We need to unleash American energy to lower our gas prices. We need to support an economic plan that will lower inflation. And we need to pull the plug on wasteful policies that don’t help anyone.

Let’s spend more time listening to real Americans’ concerns than coming up with political slogans.

Bidenomics isn’t working in Nebraska. And it’s not working in the other 49 states either. Our administration needs to hear this — it’s two-and-a-half years past time to make a change.

Thank you, M. President, I yield the floor. 

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