WASHINGTON – House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) released the following statement after the October meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee:

“‘Bidenomics’ is such a disaster that the Federal Reserve has signaled it expects to keep interest rates elevated for the foreseeable future to combat the high prices on everything working families need to survive. Already, if a family is lucky enough to find a home, mortgage rates are at the highest levels in over 20 years. More Americans will struggle to pay the mounting credit card debt they’ve racked up dealing with President Biden’s cost of living crisis. Inflation remains far above the Federal Reserve’s target, meaning more pain is likely in store for families and small businesses from chronically high interest rates. With the cost of borrowing high, the federal government spent on average almost $2 billion per day in fiscal year 2023 on interest payments to creditors – a trajectory that leaves interest on our debt alone nearly as high as the nation’s defense budget. The responsibility for this mess lies directly with President Biden’s big spending agenda that has sent prices skyrocketing and forced the Fed to take action to combat the worst spike in prices in a generation.”

Key Background:

• Prices have increased 17.7 percent since President Biden took office.
• Real wages and benefits have fallen 3.9 percent since President Biden took office.
• Since President Biden’s first month in office, Americans have faced 32 straight months of rising prices.
• Inflation outpaced wages for 26 straight months of Biden’s presidency.
• Mortgage rates are now the highest since November 2000. The average monthly mortgagepayment has increased by $1,275 and is 112 percent higher than when President Biden took office in January 2021.
• Credit card interest rates are at the highest level in nearly three decades.
• Net interest payments on the federal debt in Fiscal Year 2023 totaled $659 billion.

“Bidenomics” In Action

• Working Americans Living Paycheck to Paycheck: The poorest 20 percent of Americans spend 80 percent of incomes on basic needs like food and housing.
• More Americans Earning Less: Median household income fell in 2022 for the third year in a row. 17 states saw median income fall, while only five states saw median income grow.
• Middle-Class Families Have Run Out of Savings: Except for the wealthiest 20 percent, all other income groups have less cash now than before the pandemic.
• Families Falling Behind on Bills: Credit card delinquencies rose in the second quarter to the highest levels in 11 years and car loans delinquency is at the highest levels on record because of rising interest rates.
• Higher Income Needed to Buy A Home: An American needs a salary of $114,627 to afford the median-priced home, up 15 percent from last year.
• Rising Foreclosures: Almost 125,000 properties were foreclosed on in the third quarter of this year, a 34 percent increase from last year and a stunning 28 percent increase from the second quarter.
• Senior Poverty Rising: In 2022, 14 percent of seniors were living in poverty, a three percentage point increase.