Lubbock Times

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) issued a statement in response to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for April, which revealed an inflation increase of 0.3 percent and year over year inflation at 3.4 percent. Since President Biden's inauguration, prices have risen by a total of 19.3 percent.

Chairman Arrington expressed concern about the report: “The trend of rising monthly prices and high yearly inflation is very concerning, especially coupled with recent high interest rates and poor first quarter economic output. This report confirms that the grip of inflation won’t loosen anytime soon, even after 11 interest rate increases since March 2022. The massive amount of federal spending by President Biden and Democrats has made this inflationary fire storm difficult to contain.”

The return of inflation is attributed to an unprecedented surge in federal deficit spending during the pandemic, leading to a four-decade high inflation rate. To accommodate this spending, the Federal Reserve printed money and cut interest rates while the Biden Administration continued pumping money into the economy through initiatives like the American Rescue Plan (ARP). As a result, inflation rose from 1.7 percent before the ARP to a high of 9.0 percent in 2022 – marking its highest level in over 40 years.

Despite raising interest rates to combat this rise, progress on controlling inflation has stalled since mid-2023 when the Fed ceased these increases. The ongoing issue lies with government debt and deficits continuing unabated.

Arrington pointed out that resolving our current inflation crisis will require concerted efforts from fiscal and monetary policymakers: "Additional work will be needed from the Fed, while Congress and the White House must do their part to rein in out-of-control deficits and debt."

In conclusion, Arrington affirmed that House Budget Republicans are prepared for this challenge as they've passed their FY25 “Reverse the Curse” blueprint, which aims to balance the budget in 10 years and reduce deficits by $14 trillion over the next decade.