Biden Administration

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Now one final matter, Mr. President. This morning, I will be joining three other congressional leaders to meet with President Biden at the White House. There is certainly no shortage of important business to discuss.

The President campaigned on a promise that his agenda would unite a divided nation. And he inherited a favorable situation. Vaccines were flooding America. Science had proven schools can reopen. Job openings were beginning to pile up.

Republicans sought to continue the 2020 bipartisan streak on COVID relief, but our new President and our Democratic colleagues preferred a one-party approach. They used the end of the pandemic to pass what the President's own staff admitted--admitted--was ``the most progressive bill in American history.'' Not exactly shopping for consensus.

Republicans were upfront with our concerns. We said these old liberal ideas would slow rehiring, slow down the reopening, and stoke inflation. Of course, just a few minutes ago, the Bureau of Labor Statistics published the most dramatic monthly inflation report in more than a decade. Many of the things American families buy have grown more expensive at a dizzying pace. Last week's incredibly disappointing jobs report showed what happens when Washington taxes working people to pay other people more to stay home.

I am going to discuss these and other concerns with the President today, but I also hope we can begin to come together on pressing issues that should actually unite us.

The last time Congress took comprehensive action on surface transportation infrastructure, 83 Senators signed on. By the way, that bill was produced by Senator Boxer, myself, and Senator Inhofe--a totally bipartisan effort across broad ideological lines. The last time we drilled down on water resources, the margin was 92 to 6. Infrastructure can and should be a bipartisan issue; the same for supporting working families; the same for supporting our national defense.

If the President can remember that he promised to govern for all Americans, not just the far left, if my Democratic friends can remember they have just a 50-50 Senate and a closely divided House--not exactly a sweeping mandate for a socialist agenda--there is much we can deliver together for the country.

I hope today marks the start of a new course correction from this White House and a more successful dialogue across party lines. That is what Americans need, and that is what they deserve.

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