Democrats cannot change the Biden-Harris record of high prices
By U.S. Rep. Jason Smith
R-Missouri
https://waysandmeans.house.gov
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) released the following statement after the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) index, showed inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2 percent target:
One thing Democrats cannot change is the Biden-Harris economic record: 20-percent rise in prices and skyrocketing interest rates preventing families from buying a home and small businesses from growing. Whether it was supporting the trillions of dollars in Democrat spending that overheated the economy or endorsing the absurd claim that inflation was transitory, Kamala Harris has been in lockstep with every one of Joe Biden’s radical economic policies. The Biden-Harris record is such a disaster that after climbing to the highest levels in a generation, inflation is still above the Federal Reserve’s target for the 39th month in a row.
When Republicans look at working families, we see the best of America and the promise of a brighter economic future. That’s why the Trump tax cuts put more money in the pockets of working-class families, helped reduce poverty to its lowest level ever recorded, and grew the economy. Unfortunately, the Biden-Harris Administration sees American families as little more than an ATM, which is why their 2025 plan is to raise taxes on workers, families, farmers, and small businesses already crushed by inflation. Ways and Means Republicans are fighting to protect families from the Democrats planned increases, make the economy work for hard-working Americans, and outcompete China. Our Tax Teams are on the job, traveling the country, listening to the American people, to find ways to build on the successful record of the Trump tax cuts.
Key Background:
• Everything Costs More: Prices have increased 20.1 percent since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration.
• Americans Making Less: Real wages and benefits have fallen 3.6 percent since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration.
• Inflation Above Fed’s Target: For 39 straight months, inflation has been above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target.
• Inflation Higher Than Wages: Inflation outpaced wages for 26 straight months under the Biden-Harris Administration.
• Historic Interest Rates: Under the Biden-Harris Administration, interest rates hit their highest levels in 23 years.
• Doubled Mortgage Costs: The monthly mortgage payment for a median priced new home has increased by $1,038 and is 91 percent higher than when President Biden and Vice President Harris took office in January 2021.
• $1 Trillion+ Credit Card Debt: Credit card interest rates are at the highest level in more than three decades, while consumer credit debt has exceeded $1 trillion for the second calendar quarter and the number of Americans struggling to pay credit card bills has increased to the highest level in 12 years.
• Shrinking Savings: Thanks to higher prices, families have spent the entirety of their pandemic savings by 2024, and they are able to save less of their income. At 3.4 percent, the personal savings rate is near its historic lows.
• Families Falling Behind on Bills: Over one-third of families (37 percent) paid a late fee in the past year.
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