WASHINGTON – House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) released the following statement after the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) index, showed inflation remaining above its publicly-stated target of 2 percent:

“Working Americans are being told the economy is improving but they have yet to see it. They are still facing some of the highest prices ever. Interest rates are blocking them from buying a home, high credit card debt has made it harder to make ends meet, and more are being forced into default because they cannot keep up with rising prices. Inflation that is almost double the Fed’s stated target is not a win. It is another sign that more working families will be forced to have hard conversations about which bills they will be unable to pay. Washington Democrats’ spending binge created this mess, yet they refuse to support Republican passed solutions that cut wasteful spending and grow the economy. Under Speaker Johnson, House Republicans are energized and unified behind bringing down the inflation that continues to rob families.”

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 mortgage payment 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.

“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.