March 14, 2023
Arrington: Mr. President, You Can't Wish Away Inflation
WASHINGTON – House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX), issued the following statement after the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed another month of rising prices.“Today’s inflation report was another reminder that you can’t just wish-away inflation, as President Biden does in his budget.
“Addressing inflation will require serious solutions, not more of the failed policies that got us here. I encourage my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to work with House Republicans on spending cuts to reduce the deficit and rein in inflation.”
- Inflation is running at 6.0 percent.
- Real wages have declined by 3.7 percent since President Biden took office.
- Core inflation is at 5.5 percent, more than triple the level when President Biden took office.
- Gasoline prices are currently 44.4 percent higher than when President Biden took office. Energy prices have increased 37.4 percent since President Biden took office.
- President Biden’s budget would add more fuel to the inflationary fire with $17 trillion in deficits over the decade, driven by $82 trillion in spending.
- Optimistically assumes inflation of just 4.3 percent in 2023 and that inflation will decline to 2.4 percent in 2024, despite wildly underestimating inflation in [every] budget submission of his presidency.
- Last year, Biden’s FY 2023 budget predicted inflation of 4.6 percent in 2021 and 4.7 percent in 2022. Actual inflation for those years were 7.2 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively.
