February 10, 2022

Smith Statement on Inflation Continuing at 40-Year High

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Budget Committee Republican Leader Jason Smith (MO-08) issued the following statement after the Consumer Price Index showed inflation continuing to run at the highest pace in 40 years:

“Families are being crushed under this continued explosive spike in prices. And the only answer from Washington Democrats has been to spend more. The $2 trillion Biden Bailout Bill, full of the typical government waste, has done far more to spark inflation and these price increases than it did to address COVID-19. This was all predicted by numerous economists, including former Obama economic advisor Larry Summers. For months, at President Biden’s direction, Washington Democrats denied inflation existed and then dismissed it as transitory. While doing nothing to lower prices for working families, they worked to ram their next partisan, $5 trillion spending bill through Congress.

“The ‘Check Engine’ light for the Biden economy is on and flashing: America is facing the highest spike in prices in 40 years, federal debt has surpassed $30 trillion, businesses are seeing chronic worker shortages and a supply-chain crisis with no end in sight. Every day, Americans continue to pay the price for Democrats’ reckless spending. Instead of giving the Biden Administration more tax dollars to waste, Democrats in Congress should focus on addressing the inflation that is emptying family wallets and erasing wage gains for American workers.”