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Chairman Smith: The Biden-Harris Administration Has Made Cost-of-Living Too Expensive

August 14, 2024

“None of these failures would be possible without Vice President Harris. She cast the deciding vote to advance the worst parts of the Biden-Harris agenda.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for July 2024:

“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, prices are 20 percent higher, paychecks don’t cover as much, and buying a house is now a luxury even fewer can afford. None of these failures would be possible without Vice President Harris. She cast the deciding vote to advance the worst parts of the Biden-Harris agenda: tax breaks for the wealthy and well-connected, trillions in new spending that sparked inflation, more IRS agents to harass families with audits, and the list goes on.

“That’s the Democrats’ plan for America’s future too: higher prices and higher taxes on working families. Just like President Biden, Vice President Harris has promised to repeal the Trump tax cuts. In fact, she’s promised to do it on day one. These tax cuts put more money in the pockets of working-class families, helped small businesses open and grow, and powered a strong economy. Ways and Means Republicans will keep fighting to stop the Biden-Harris tax hikes and build on the successful Trump tax cuts.” 

HEARING: Field Hearing on The Success of Pro-Growth, Pro-Worker Tax Policy in the American Midwest
READ: Averting President Biden’s 2025 Tax Hike
READ: Tax Teams Recap: Preventing the Biden-Harris $7 Trillion Tax Hike

Key Background:

  • Families Falling Behind on Bills: Over one-third of families (37 percent) paid a late fee in the past year.
  • Everything Costs More: Prices have increased 20.3 percent since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration. 
  • Americans Making Less: Real wages and benefits have fallen 3.9 percent since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration.
  • Inflation Above Fed’s Target: For 40 straight months, inflation has been above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target.
  • Inflation Higher Than Wages: Inflation outpaced wages for 26 straight months under the Biden-Harris Administration.  
  • Historic Interest Rates: Under the Biden-Harris Administration, interest rates hit their highest levels in 23 years.
  • Mortgage Costs 85% Higher: The monthly mortgage payment for a median priced new home has increased by $970 and is 85 percent higher than when President Biden and Vice President Harris took office in January 2021.
  • $1 Trillion+ Credit Card Debt: Credit card interest rates are at the highest level in more than three decades, while consumer credit debt has exceeded $1 trillion for five calendar quarters and the number of Americans struggling to pay credit card bills has increased to the highest level since March 2012.  Nearly 11 percent of credit card balances are more than 90 days past due.
  • Shrinking Savings: Thanks to higher prices, families have spent the entirety of their pandemic savings by 2024, and they are able to save less of their income. At 3.4 percent, the personal savings rate is near its historic lows.