This week, my fellow Members of Congress and I returned to Washington after the yearly district work period in August. For first time in a month, we came back to vote on legislation, which is scheduled by the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
On Tuesday morning, Americans received bad news. Consumer prices rose 8.3 percent in August compared to last year. We expected this number to be high, but this was even higher than expected.
Inflation remains red-hot, and it is rightfully the number one issue facing our country today in the eyes of the American people. Sadly, Speaker Pelosi and Congressional leadership did not allow any legislation on the floor this week that would address the inflation crisis.
Under President Biden, the top priority of the federal government has been unchecked spending and raising taxes; priorities that will continue the burden of this economic crisis.
In March of 2021, two months into his tenure, President Biden signed his reckless $1.9 trillion "COVID relief" bill. A month prior to the bill becoming law, in a House Budget Committee hearing, I warned my colleagues of the consequences of passing such a massive spending package – an increase in consumer costs along with a weakening U.S. dollar.
This summer, the Biden Administration passed the "Inflation Reduction" Act, a deceptively-named bill that costs taxpaying Americans $745 billion and imposes a tax increase on American businesses, especially oil and gas producers. The legislation additionally doubles the size of the IRS so, conveniently, the government has a new army to enforce its new taxes.
Oddly enough, the "Inflation Reduction" Act has yet to tackle inflation, and instead will exacerbate the many problems currently facing our nation in the near term.
Most recently, the President announced he "canceled" $10,000 in outstanding federal student loan debt for millions of Americans, $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients, and extended the pause on payments through December 31, 2022. In total, the cancellation, combined with the extension of the payment pause and an "income-driven repayment plan" proposal, is estimated to cost in the neighborhood of $500 billion. Meaning that this action — you guessed it — adds even more to our national debt and deficit. |
As you might learn in economics 101, the Federal Reserve continually printing money decreases the value of the U.S. dollar. This means that someone on a fixed income, like Social Security recipients, are hurt the most because their monthly paychecks are worth less than a year ago.
While America faces a turbulent economic crisis with no end in sight, it's long past the time for Congress to come together in a bipartisan manner to help ease this pain for millions of Americans across the country.
