{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=C6A96E07-8F53-4DF7-BE0D-2A838EC41FCE", "Thune: Democrats Continue to Ignore Ongoing Crises, Prioritize Socialist Spending Spree", "2021-11-16", "2021", "2021-11", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", "thune", "https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed how Democrats have prioritized their reckless tax-and-spending spree over addressing the numerous crises they have created, which are impacting families in South Dakota and across the country. Thune noted that Democrats\u2019 latest proposal would significantly increase the size of the federal government and expand its reach into Americans\u2019 lives.\n\nThune\u2019s remarks below (as prepared for delivery):\n\n\u201cMr. President, we\u2019re coming up on a year of Democrat governance here in Washington.\n\n\u201cAnd what do Democrats have to show for it?\n\n\u201cNothing good.\n\n\u201cOn the international front, the president\u2019s most significant act was his disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, which lowered our standing with our allies and continues to jeopardize our national security.\n\n\u201cOn the domestic front, Democrats have largely ignored a massive crisis along our southern border that continues to rage.\n\n\u201cAnd then, Mr. President, there\u2019s inflation.\n\n\u201cYou might call it Democrats\u2019 signature domestic \u2018achievement.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo how did they get us here?\n\n\u201cWell, despite their lack of a mandate and their extremely narrow majorities in Congress, Democrats came into office last January determined to expand government and implement a far-left, socialist agenda.\n\n\u201cAnd in their minds the coronavirus crisis provided the perfect opportunity to advance their plans.\n\n\u201cAnd so despite the fact that Congress had just passed a nearly $1 trillion, bipartisan coronavirus response bill in December \u2013 the fifth bipartisan bill Congress had passed in just 10 months \u2013 Democrats declared that we immediately needed another piece of \u2013 ostensibly \u2013 coronavirus relief legislation.\n\n\u201cAnd not just another piece of legislation \u2013 a massive piece of legislation.\n\n\u201cDespite the fact that the December bill had met essentially all the pressing coronavirus needs the country was facing, Democrats decided that we \u201cneeded\u201d to spend another $1.9 trillion.\n\n\u201cDemocrats were warned that the size of their so-called American Rescue Plan \u2013 which was substantially in excess of anything the economy required \u2013 ran the risk of spurring inflation.\n\n\u201cObama economic adviser Larry Summers warned in the Washington Post, and I quote, \u2018there is a chance that macroeconomic stimulus on a scale closer to World War II levels than normal recession levels will set off inflationary pressures of a kind we have not seen in a generation, with consequences for the value of the dollar and financial stability.\u2019\n\n\u201cDemocrats passed their bill anyway.\n\n\u201cThey flooded the economy with a lot of unnecessary government money.\n\n\u201cAnd the results have been predictable.\n\n\u201cInflation.\n\n\u201cSignificant inflation.\n\n\u201cInflation, to borrow a phrase from Larry Summers, \u2018of a kind we have not seen in a generation.\u2019\n\n\u201cLast week, we found out that inflation rose 6.2 percent year-over-year in October, the largest increase in more than 30 years.\n\n\u201c30 years, Mr. President.\n\n\u201cFamilies are facing higher prices at the grocery store.\n\n\u201cAnd when I say higher, I mean a lot higher.\n\n\u201cThe price of meat, poultry, fish, and eggs was up 11.9 percent year-over-year in October.\n\n\u201c11.9 percent.\n\n\u201cFamilies are also facing higher prices at the gas pump.\n\n\u201cFor housing.\n\n\u201cFor electricity.\n\n\u201cFor furniture and vehicles and pets and pet products.\n\n\u201cAnd the list goes on.\n\n\u201cWhile wages are rising, they\u2019re being outstripped by inflation, which means that many families are dealing with a de facto pay cut.\n\n\u201cAnd a big reason families are struggling with the higher cost of pretty much everything is Democrats\u2019 decision to flood the economy with unnecessary government money by passing the so-called American Rescue Plan.\n\n\u201cAnd you don\u2019t have to take my word for it.\n\n\u201cHere\u2019s what former Obama economic adviser Jason Furman had to say recently when discussing our current inflation problem: \u2018The original sin was an oversized American Rescue Plan. It contributed to both higher output but also higher prices.\u2019\n\n\u201cMr. President, you might think that the inflation that has resulted from the American Rescue Plan would be giving Democrats pause right now.\n\n\u201cYou might think that they\u2019d be putting a hold on any more big spending until inflation calms down somewhat from its 30-plus-year high.\n\n\u201cBut you\u2019d be wrong.\n\n\u201cDemocrats are actually planning to double down on the strategy that helped cause so much inflation in the first place and pass ANOTHER giant spending bill.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s right.\n\n\u201cDemocrats are trying to finalize a new, $1.75 trillion tax-and-spending spree \u2013 the so-called \u2018Build Back Better\u2019 plan \u2013 on top of their $1.9 trillion spending spree from earlier this year.\n\n\u201cI say $1.75 trillion \u2013 but Democrats have only arrived at that number through a combination of shell games and budget gimmicks.\n\n\u201cAn honest accounting of the cost of this proposal over 10 years would reveal a much higher price tag.\n\n\u201cAnd if Democrats succeed in passing this latest partisan spending spree, Americans should brace themselves \u2026 because this new flood of government money will undoubtedly make an already serious inflation situation worse.\n\n\u201cMr. President, it\u2019s no exaggeration to say that Democrats\u2019 main focus this year has been growing the size of the federal government and expanding its reach into Americans\u2019 lives.\n\n\u201cNo sooner had they passed their massive $1.9 trillion spending bill in March than Democrats moved on to their next massive spending proposals, which have coalesced into the so-called Build Back Better bill the House is planning to take up this week.\n\n\u201cOther government business has been forced to take a back seat.\n\n\u201cDemocrats have ignored the massive crisis at our southern border.\n\n\u201cThey\u2019ve ignored our inflation crisis.\n\n\u201cAnd they\u2019ve pushed consideration of essential legislation in favor of working on their tax-and-spending plan.\n\n\u201cThis week, the Senate will finally \u2013 finally \u2013 consider the fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act \u2013 a month and a half after the 2022 fiscal year started.\n\n\u201cShipbuilding projects, military infrastructure projects, development of new combat systems, a pay increase for our troops \u2026 they\u2019ve all had to wait while Democrats negotiated over their socialist spending spree.\n\n\u201cAnd about that socialist spending spree.\n\n\u201cDespite the fact that Democrats have pushed aside most other matters in favor of focusing on their spending plan, they still haven\u2019t managed to come up with a bill that can pass the House and Senate.\n\n\u201cAnd the tax proposals they plan to use to \u2013 partially \u2013 pay for the bill seem to change on a daily basis.\n\n\u201cA corporate tax hike \u2026 no, a corporate minimum tax.\n\n\u201cA new death tax \u2026 no, a new tax on wealth.\n\n\u201cFunding for their bill seems to be a matter of throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks.\n\n\u201cAnd of course all of Democrats\u2019 current funding proposals put together will not be able to pay for their legislation \u2013 especially when you remove the budget gimmicks that are disguising the true cost of their plans.\n\n\u201cMr. President, as their narrow majorities made clear, the 2020 election did not give Democrats a mandate for socialism.\n\n\u201cAnd if that wasn\u2019t clear to Democrats in 2020, it should certainly be clear to them now, after the election for Virginia governor earlier this month, which saw Republicans win statewide for the first time since 2009.\n\n\u201cVoters in Virginia sent a clear message to Democrats that they weren\u2019t looking for far-left government \u2013 or a far-left social agenda that would seek to circumvent parents\u2019 role in their children\u2019s lives and education.\n\n\u201cBut just as inflation concerns have not stopped Democrats, it\u2019s become clear that their rebuke in Virginia won\u2019t stop them either.\n\n\u201cIn fact, some Democrats seem to think that their response should be to run faster and further to the left.\n\n\u201cAnd so the big agenda item for Democrats for the rest of the year continues to be passing their partisan \u2018Build Back Better\u2019 tax-and-spending spree \u2013 which means Americans will be able to look forward to further inflation and a weaker economy, not to mention increased government control of their decision-making.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a poor legacy for Democrats\u2019 first year in office.\n\n\u201cBut it seems to be the legacy Democrats are determined to secure.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:30:49Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], 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