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JEC Releases New Report on Democrats’ Actions to Address Inflation

The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) recently released a new report on the actions Democrats have already taken—and those they are continuing to fight for—to address inflation and lower costs for U.S. workers and families now and for the future.

The United States has experienced a record-breaking economic rebound from the coronavirus recession. But supply chain bottlenecks and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have pushed up prices worldwide, especially on food and energy, which is depriving U.S. workers and families of the full benefits of the recovery.

The latest inflation data has showed signs of progress, with monthly and year-over-year inflation dropping. However, Americans continue to feel the burden of higher prices.

The Biden Administration and Democrats in Congress have deployed a range of tools to lower out-of-pocket costs for families now and are working together to bring down inflationary pressure for the long term, including:

  • Increasing the oil supply: The Biden administration coordinated the largest-ever release of both domestic and international oil reserves to aggressively expand oil supply and temper gas price increases.
  • Combatting and investigating corporate profiteering by the oil industry: House Democrats recently passed the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act, which would make it illegal to sell consumer fuels at an excessive or exploitative price during an energy emergency.
  • Improving supply-chain resilience: The bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $550 billion to help reverse years of inadequate federal investment in critical infrastructure to create jobs, enhance productivity and improve supply-chain resilience.
  • Boosting food production: The Biden Administration announced a series of actions to lower costs for farmers, maximize yields to boost production and increase food affordability and availability for U.S. workers and families.

 

With the release of the new report, and in advance of new Consumer Price Index data tomorrow, JEC Chairman Don Beyer (D-VA) released the following statement:

“We have put the worst of the pandemic behind us thanks largely to the President’s successful vaccination campaign and the American Rescue Plan, which contained the economic fallout from the coronavirus recession and jumpstarted our economic recovery.

“But supply chain bottlenecks and Putin’s price hikes are depriving workers of the full benefits of our recovery, even as we see signs that inflation may be easing.

“While the Fed is best positioned to address short-term inflation, Democrats are using every tool at our disposal to ensure households can make ends meet now and build overall economic resilience.

“From increasing the oil supply and combatting price gouging to bring down gas prices, to fixing the supply chain snarls that have burdened households, to increasing food production to lower grocery costs for shoppers, President Biden and Democrats in Congress are addressing higher costs head on and fighting for investments that will ensure workers and families keep more of their hard-earned dollars for the long term.”