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Americans Still Trapped in the Biden-Harris Interest Rate Crisis

November 07, 2024

Chairman Smith: “Ways and Means Republicans look forward to working with President Trump to return to an economy that works for working people.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) issued the following statement after the Federal Open Market Committee announced its decision to cut the benchmark rate by 25 basis points:

“The Biden-Harris Administration’s reckless spending is the reason that inflation and interest rates were at the highest levels in a generation in the first place. The American people are demanding relief from the disastrous economic policies of the past four years. A quarter point cut will not undo the suffering families endured from the worst cost of living crisis in 40 years. The slowest pace of U.S. job creation since late 2020 in October and significant downward revisions to previous jobs reports is more evidence the Biden-Harris Administration is leaving behind a weak economy.

“That’s why Ways and Means Republicans have been aggressively preparing for the Super Bowl of Tax next year in order to prevent tax increases on working families and deliver real economic relief. Our 10 Tax Teams have held over 120 listening sessions in 20 states to build on the success of the Trump tax cuts and find ways to give workers, families, small businesses, and farmers help from the Biden-Harris Administration’s failed economic policies. Because of the 2017 Trump tax cuts, real wages grew by $5,000, 6 million families were lifted out of poverty, and American corporations stopped shipping their profits overseas. Ways and Means Republicans look forward to working with President Trump to return to an economy that works for working people.”

READ: Averting the Harris Tax Hike
RECAP: Preventing the Biden-Harris $7 Trillion Tax Hike 
RECAP: Over August, Ways and Means Tax Teams Continue to Hit the Road
RECAP: 2025 Super Bowl of Tax is Pro-Growth, Pro-America Tax Policy vs. Tax Hikes for Every American
RECAP: Preventing the Harris 2025 Tax Hike: Chairman Smith Holds Ways & Means Tax Teams Event in Kansas City, Missouri
RECAP: Tax Relief for the Heartland: Chairman Smith Holds Ways & Means Tax Team Event in St. Louis, Missouri
RECAP: Across the Country, Ways and Means Tax Teams Hear One Thing: Do Not Allow the Trump Tax Cuts to Expire

Key Background:

  • Historic Interest Rates: Under the Biden-Harris Administration, interest rates hit their highest levels in 23 years.
  • Mortgage Costs 96 Percent Higher: The monthly mortgage payment for a median priced new home has increased $1,087 and is 96 percent higher than when President Biden and Vice President Harris took office in January 2021.
  • Everything Costs More: Prices have increased 20.5 percent since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration.
  • Americans Making Less: Real wages and benefits have fallen 3.2 percent since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration.
  • Inflation Above Fed’s Target: For 43 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.
  • $1 Trillion+ Credit Card Debt: Credit card interest rates are at their highest levels in more than three decades, while consumer credit debt has exceeded $1 trillion for five calendar quarters. 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. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the personal savings rate has fallen sharply to 4.6 percent, which is 46 percent lower than the average of all prior recorded months.
  • Families Falling Behind on Bills: Over one-third of families (37 percent) paid a late fee in the past year, and the current rate of late payments on credit cards is the highest in over a decade.
  • Washington Has a Spending Problem: After the Trump tax cuts, federal revenue as a share of GDP averaged 17.2 percent, near the average since FY2000. Since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, federal spending as a share of GDP has exploded to 26.5 percent, more than 6 percentage points higher than the average from FY2000 to the pandemic.