WASHINGTON, DC – House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) released the following statement after the Consumer Price Index showed prices remaining at a 40-year high of 6.5 percent, with overall prices having risen 13.9 percent since Joe Biden became President:

“President Biden and Washington Democrats created a vicious cycle of deficit spending leading to higher prices and rising interest rates the American people cannot afford. Out-of-control Washington spending got Americans and our economy into this mess. Congress owes it to the American people to confront the crisis head-on. The recently adopted rules package for the House of Representatives, and specifically the new restraints on Congress’s ability to spend, will help hold Congress accountable for its spending decisions, and focus our legislative efforts on reining in the kind of reckless spending that sparked this crisis in the first place.

“In the coming months, the Ways and Means Committee will work to provide relief for working families who are struggling under the crushing weight of Democrats’ inflation crisis. We will examine ways the tax code and trade policy can be used to create more jobs and address workforce shortages, drive more investment to our shores, increase wages, and lower the price of energy at home. Americans have suffered enough from high inflation and the consequences of Democrat one-party rule. House Republicans are ready to get to work to build a stronger economy for working families.”

–    House Ways and Means Chairman Smith

The Consequences of Democrat Spending

The highest spike in prices coupled with the fastest increase in interest rates in 40 years.

• Inflation is at a 40-year high of 6.5 percent.
• Inflation has increased 13.9 percent since President Biden took office.
• Real wages have decreased 3.8 percent since President Biden took office.
• The average mortgage payment is 36 percent higher than one year ago.

Reining in Reckless Spending Through House Rules
Policies and actions to enforce fiscal discipline in the House Rules package for the 118th Congress include:

• Eliminating new long-term spending: Imposes a point of order against any measure which increases mandatory spending by more than $2.5 billion for any 10-year window within a 40-year period after the original 10-year budget window.
• Halting the proliferation of new mandatory spending: Establishes the Cut-As-You-Go (CUTGO) rule that demands Congress address its spending problem with spending cuts, not tax increases – requiring lawmakers to find mandatory spending offsets for any mandatory spending elsewhere.
• Shining a light on inflationary spending: Requires CBO for the first time ever in its cost estimates to include an inflationary analysis for any major spending legislation (defined as having a budgetary impact of 0.25 percent of GDP).
• No budgetary carveouts for COVID-19 and climate change spending: Eliminates specific budgetary exemptions for spending that Democrats created during their one-party rule.
• Defending against future tax increases: Reinstates a requirement that no federal income tax increases can be passed by the House of Representatives without at least a three-fifths, supermajority agreeing to it through a recorded vote.