Thune: Republicans Prioritize Putting More Money in Americans’ Pockets

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WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:

Thune's remarks below (as delivered):

"Mr. President, last week Leader Schumer came to the floor to announce, and I quote, 'Lowering costs will be Senate Democrats' North Star in 2026.'

"He continued, and I quote again, 'Let me repeat that, so that America and our Republican colleagues hear it: lowering costs will be Senate Democrats' North Star in 2026.'

"Well, Mr. President, you have to give the Democrats a lot of credit for their nerve.

"Or maybe their case of amnesia?

"Because to hear Democrats speak lately, you'd think that they have zero memory of the massive affordability crisis that they created.

"Let's just review for a minute, Mr. President.

"Five years ago this week, Democrats were getting ready to pass a massive, $1.9 trillion spending bill [with] no offsets - their so-called American Rescue Plan - despite warnings that their bill's excessive spending could cause a serious inflation crisis.

"They passed it anyway.

"And it helped unleash the worst inflation crisis in 40 years.

"An inflation crisis whose reverberations are still being felt today.

"And even as inflation rose, and rose again - and again, and again, and again - Democrats either failed to recognize, or tried to minimize, the problem.

"Worse, they tried to double down on the strategy - excessive government spending - that helped set off the crisis in the first place.

"So Democrats are going to have to forgive me if it's just a little hard to swallow their sudden interest in lowering costs.

"Mr. President, Democrats, they may talk a good game.

"But it's Republicans who are actually putting in the work to make life more affordable for the American people.

"There is no single silver-bullet solution to inflation, but since we took control of Washington just over a year ago, we've taken a number of actions to help alleviate the burdens on hardworking Americans.

"The first step was putting more money in Americans' pockets, which is exactly what we did with the Working Families Tax Cuts.

"Thanks to Republicans' landmark bill, the American people are benefiting from significant tax relief this year.

"We prevented a $2.6 trillion tax hike on working families - with no help, zero help from Democrats - and implemented a slew of new tax relief.

"As Americans file their taxes, they're seeing lower tax bills and significantly bigger refunds.

"And because Republicans delivered permanent tax relief, working people can count on having more breathing room in their budgets in the years to come, enabling them to spend, invest, and save more of their money with confidence for the future.

"Mr. President, government regulations can actually have a huge impact on costs - whether they're driving up the cost of new housing construction or driving up the cost of your kitchen appliances.

"That's why Republicans have also put a lot of effort into untangling the web of costly regulations put in place during the Biden administration.

"Much of that has involved reversing Green New Deal-style rules on everything from appliances to the car you drive.

"Through the Congressional Review Act process here in Congress, we were able to rescind a number of Biden-era rules impacting households and small businesses.

"And together with actions taken by the Trump administration, we took aim at Biden-era mandates to force Americans into costly electric vehicles:

"Rules requiring most new passenger vehicles to be electric in less than a decade - and 35 percent by this year!

"Similar requirements for heavy-duty trucks.

"And the EPA waivers that would have allowed California to impose a de-facto electric vehicle mandate on the entire country.

"Mr. President, thanks to President Trump and Republicans, these EV mandates are a thing of the past.

"And the American people will have the freedom to choose the vehicle that works for their needs and - importantly - for their budget.

"Mr. President, the Biden years were also characterized by a clear hostility to conventional energy production - putting us on a dangerous path to a future with more expensive and less reliable energy.

"Republicans promised to unleash American energy.

"And we've made a concerted effort to ensure America's abundant natural resources are used to the benefit of the American people.

"The Trump administration has reversed a number of Biden-era decisions preventing energy production in energy-rich regions of our country.

"Republicans also did away with the Biden natural gas tax - a tax that would have driven up energy prices even further and destroyed jobs in the energy sector.

"There's more to do to bring down the cost of energy and to safeguard our energy security.

"And Republicans continue to work to ensure that the American people have access to an affordable and reliable energy supply for the long term.

"Mr. President, Republicans kicked off 2026 by passing a funding bill that included a number of provisions to improve health care access and affordability.

"Among its most important provisions were measures to bring down the cost of prescription drugs at the pharmacy counter, which will complement efforts by the Trump administration to lower the cost of prescriptions.

"And this week, we've begun consideration of the ROAD to Housing Act - the most significant housing reform bill in at least a decade.

"We know that a lot of Americans are being priced out of homeownership.

"And this bill will go a long way toward making buying a home more affordable and accessible for hardworking Americans.

"Mr. President, the massive, $1.9 trillion spending spree that Democrats passed five years ago helped set off a once-in-a-generation inflation crisis.

"And while Democrats may talk a good game about lowering costs, it's already becoming clear that should they again regain the majority in the next election, their strategy will be more of the same.

"More spending and bigger government - the same things that helped plunge our nation into an affordability crisis in the first place.

"Don't believe me?

"Well, just this week, the senior senator from Vermont released legislation that was hailed as a marker for Democrats.

"What's in it?

"More spending and bigger government.

"We saw how that worked out the first time, Mr. President.

"In fact, the country is still cleaning up from how that worked out the first time.

"Democrats may have amnesia when it comes to their record on costs.

"But I'm pretty sure that the American people don't.

"And I very much doubt that they're going to trust the people who caused this affordability problem to solve it.

"But I guess the Democrats can always hope.

"Meanwhile, Mr. President, Republicans will continue to act.

"We'll continue to work to put more money in Americans' pockets and to make life more affordable for American families."

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