Blackburn: Inflation Raising the Possibility of Food Shortages

Friday on FNC’s “Hannity,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) explained how inflation, which she said was caused partly by the Biden administration’s embrace of the so-called Green New Deal, could lead to problems down the road.

Blackburn told “Hannity” fill-in host Sean Duffy that food shortages were possible because of farmers’ inability to plant as much because of the rising cost of fertilizer.

Transcript as follows:

DUFFY: Joining me now is Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn. Marsha, good to see you.

I got to tell you what. So listening to Congresswoman Escobar’s explanation of why we’re feeling this pain right now is that we didn’t actually transition to green energy early enough as opposed to we’re not drilling more in America, producing more American energy. What say you?

SEN. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R-TN): I say that now they’re trying to make it the people’s fault, because we didn’t fall in line with that Green New Deal and that socialist agenda and do this decades ago. And if we had, then we wouldn’t be having this problem now.

It is just amazing to me. They cannot ever say that Joe Biden said, he was going to end the oil and gas industry. And on day one, he said about taking the steps to make that promise come true.

With the Keystone with taking ANWR offline with your offshore drilling being ended, stopping fracking. The list goes on and on. He’s had 42 regulations since he took office that are directed directly at making it more difficult for the oil and gas industry to drill, to explore, to produce, to refine here in the United States.

DUFFY: Senator, he did run on that, right? He indicated listen, I’m going to attack American oil and gas and energy. He did say that and some people might give him kudos for sticking to his promise.

But you and I both served in the House together. I mean, at one point when your policies don’t help people, but actually hurt people, are kicking more people into poverty, you would think a leader would pivot and go, You know what, no, no, this actually isn’t working. I want to make sure my people are ok, that they can afford groceries. They can put gas in their car to go to work, so they can make a living for their family.

BLACKBURN: That is right. And I’ve been in five Tennessee counties today. And, Sean, it is amazing. Every one of them are worried about their county budgets. They hope that the budgets hold to the end of the year.

One of the counties was telling me about how the price of energy and inflation affects everything, all these county budgets, they needed some eight-inch pipe for a water line, they had been paying $4 a foot for that pipe. You know what it is right now? $14.50 a foot.

So all of these products that come from derivatives of oil and gas, you’re seeing the price hikes there too. Inflation at 9.1 percent, your groceries going through the roof, your price at the pump through the roof. People just cannot afford this.

And you know what, Sean, the food shortages, the fear this is causing with people, the way they’re anticipating food shortages, because in rural America, they know that the farmers are not planting as much this year to go into that supply chain for our food that you’re going to see on the shelves next year. And the reason they’re not planning, the cost of fertilizer, the cost of diesel, they cannot afford to get the crop in the ground.

DUFFY: Which is now going to drive up the cost of food. This is a vicious cycle, Senator. I know you see it firsthand in Tennessee. I see it firsthand in Wisconsin. And you know what, we’re grateful we have people like you fighting for some common sense policies in the Senate.

So thank you for joining me tonight too. I always appreciate your common sense.

BLACKBURN: Good. Good to be with you.

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor