WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) released the following statement after the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed prices rising 17.4 percent since President Biden took office and surveys showing that families plan to spend less on the holidays this year:

“This Christmas, thanks to President Biden’s inflation crisis, many parents will struggle to afford that holiday meal with family and friends or presents for their kids. The extra expense of the holidays is an unwelcomed reminder of the already high cost families are facing. Instead of doing anything to help families struggling to afford the cost of living, out-of-touch Democrats prefer to pretend that prices are falling and small businesses are thriving. Working families leaving items unchecked on their kid’s Christmas wish list know the truth.”

Families Cutting Back on Christmas

• Families earning less than $40,000 expect to spend less on holiday gifts, according to a Gallup survey.
• 38 percent of Americans expect to incur credit card debt for the holidays.

Key Background

• Prices have increased 17.4 percent since President Biden took office.
• Real wages and benefits have fallen 3.7 percent since President Biden took office.
• Inflation has become so deeply ingrained in the economy that core inflation (4.0 percent) is even higher than headline inflation.
• Inflation outpaced wages for 26 straight months of Biden’s presidency.
• Mortgage rates reached a 23 year high of 7.8 percent in October. The average monthly mortgage payment has increased by $1,051 and is 93 percent higher than when President Biden took office in January 2021.
• Credit card interest rates are at the highest level in nearly three decades, while consumer credit debt has reached an all-time high of just over $1 trillion and the number Americans struggling to pay credit card bills has increased sharply.