Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, led by Texas Rep. Michael Cloud, are requesting a briefing from Biden administration officials on how increased federal spending will impact key economic indicators.
Congressional Democrats have passed more than $2.6 trillion in new spending along party lines through two reconciliation bills in the 117th Congress, and bipartisan legislation has added billions more. Inflation reached 8.5% year-over-year in July 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists from across the political spectrum have noted the impact of increased federal spending on inflation. (RELATED: Brian Deese Calls For More Gov’t Spending As Inflation Hits 40-Year High)
“Economists tried to warn you, but you and your Administration ignored them. Now, as the American people are struggling to afford groceries, gas, and rent, you continue to gaslight them, denying there is a recession,” the Republicans wrote in a Thursday letter to President Joe Biden, obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller. The letter is signed by all five GOP members of the Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy.
Read the letter here:
Letter to President Biden Regarding Recession by Michael Ginsberg on Scribd
Biden administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, repeatedly claimed that inflation would slow as the U.S. moved further away from COVID-19-related lockdowns. Despite their predictions, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded its highest year-over-year percentage increase for the 12-month period ending in June.
“Nations can rise and fall due to fiscal responsibility,” Cloud said in a statement to the Caller. “The Biden administration’s reckless spending has crippled our economy and led us into a recession. Rather than rein in spending, the far-left jammed an additional near trillion-dollar spending bill into law, inevitably raising inflation and exacerbating America’s economic turmoil. We can do better for the American people.”
The White House Press Office did not immediately respond to the Caller’s request for comment.
Biden administration officials have also argued that the U.S. is not in a recession, despite the economy meeting the long-accepted definition of two quarters of negative growth. Yellen cited a hot labor market and increased industrial production while urging a different definition.
“We have a very strong labor market. When you are creating almost 400,000 jobs a month, that is not a recession,” she said in July.
The U.S. economy added 372,000 jobs in June and 528,000 in July, according to the Department of Labor.