Watch the full speech HERE.
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senate Republicans blocked Senator Jacky Rosen’s (D-NV) attempt to pass her bill to bring down grocery costs for hardworking Americans. Senator Rosen’s No Tariffs on Groceries Act would exempt food and agricultural products from Trump’s cost-raising tariffs. Since coming into office, Donald Trump has imposed wide-ranging tariffs on groceries, household goods, and other items that have severely increased costs for Americans. A report released by the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) shows that the average U.S. household has already spent an average of $700 more in the first eight months under President Donald Trump, including nearly $1,000 more for Nevada families — among the highest in the nation.
Below is a transcript of Senator Rosen’s remarks:
Here’s a fact that Donald Trump seems to not understand or care about: Families in Nevada and all across this country are being squeezed, being squeezed by high costs.
Nevadans are struggling to afford even the most basic things – from groceries to rent to health care.
This is not just in Nevada.
All across the country, housing costs are up. Health care costs are up, even the most basic, unavoidable expenses like electricity have gotten MORE expensive.
But if you ask Donald Trump, he says affordability, and I’m going to quote here, is a “hoax”, it’s a “con job by the Democrats.”
He even said, and I’m going to quote again, “prices are coming down tremendously, inflation has stopped.”
I’m going to ask everybody here at home today, do you think affordability is a hoax? Do you feel prices going down?
So don’t listen to Trump, just take one look at your grocery bill this week. It is clear he isn’t paying attention to hard working people because the price of your groceries has done nothing but skyrocket!
And Donald Trump, he ran for president on the promise of lowering prices. Since he got into office nearly a year ago, Americans have spent – on average – well over a thousand dollars more than previous years just because of Trump’s cost-raising tariffs. He was supposed to lower prices on day one.
Well, it’s a lot further than day one. So I’m going to be clear about what these tariffs really are. They’re an additional tax on hardworking families, and they increase prices across the board.
Just look at housing.
Due to Trump’s tariff taxes, the price of construction materials, appliances, and furniture have skyrocketed, gone through the roof.
When you raise the cost of lumber, steel, and other materials builders rely on to build new homes, you slow down construction, and when supply can’t keep up with demand, prices go up.
That’s not just ideology – that’s simple economics.
Similarly, Trump’s self-imposed taxes have increased your costs at the grocery store.
You’re paying more for the essentials you rely on most – coffee, produce, meat, and so much more.
Trump and his billionaire buddies, who probably haven’t gone grocery shopping for themselves in years, don’t care about the price of groceries…
They might not care about paying more. But, seniors on fixed incomes do, parents trying to feed their kids do, and workers whose paychecks aren’t keeping up do. And they’re the ones being hurt by these reckless tariffs.
So Donald Trump may not care, but everyone else I know cares, and it matters.
That’s why I introduced my No Tariffs on Groceries Act.
This bill is simple, it would exempt your groceries from Trump’s tariffs, meaning the costs won’t be raised because of the tariffs.
It’s time that Congress reasserts our authority over trade and pushes back against Trump’s cost-raising tariffs, because I know a few things.
Groceries are not a luxury.
Food should never be a bargaining chip.
And working families should not be collateral damage in Trump’s reckless trade wars. This hits everyone at the kitchen table. Every person needs to eat.
You shouldn’t be collateral damage in Trump’s reckless trade wars.
So let’s prove that this chamber can still act on the issues that are most important to American families at their kitchen table, if they care about that and want to lower costs for everybody. Let’s pass my bill right now.
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