Rep. Scalise: Biden needs to stop talking to dictators and produce oil in America
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., on the Biden administration’s energy policy.
Our country’s economy has spun out of control.
Across America, millions of families are struggling to pay for food at the grocery store, fill their cars up with gas, and cover the cost of their electric and heating bills; yet President Joe Biden is refusing to take any responsibility for the skyrocketing prices, and he’s doubled down on the radical agenda that caused this problem.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION RESUMES OIL AND GAS LEASES ON FEDERAL LANDS AS GASOLINE PRICES SOAR
A caricature sticker of President Joe Biden pointing to high gas prices on a gasoline pump is visible in Lafayette, California, November 9, 2021. Photo courtesy Sftm. (Photo by Gado/Getty Images) (Gado/Getty Images)
In July 2021, Biden stated, "Our experts believe and our data shows that most of the price increases we’ve seen were expected and expected to be temporary."
As time would show, President Biden could not have been more wrong.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Consumer Price Index surged to a 40-year high of 8.5 percent.
Inflation forces families to borrow from their future to stay afloat today. By spending more money to put food on the table, keep the lights on, and keep up with normal expenses, millions of Americans are not able to save their money, invest, or pay off debt. For parents, this means not being able to invest in their children’s college funds. For a budding entrepreneur, this means not being able to save up and start their own business.
Inflation is especially damaging to the most vulnerable, and these costs add up.
Bloomberg News reports that U.S. households will spend, on average, an extra $5,200 per year because of increased prices.
Because of Biden’s inflation crisis, blue-collar workers – who experienced rising wages under President Trump – are seeing their weekly earnings reduced by 6 percent and their hourly earnings down by 2.7 percent.
Instead of enacting policies that would reduce energy costs, President Biden has done the exact opposite. By declaring war on American energy, banning drilling on public lands, and killing the Keystone pipeline, President Biden has increased electricity and home heating costs and caused the price of gasoline to skyrocket to record levels.
By ramming Democrats’ radical $1.9 trillion spending bill through the House and Senate in March 2021, President Biden advanced his far-left agenda at the expense of hard-working American families. Their trillion-dollar spending spree ignited inflation, and as a result, low-income and middle class families are depleting their paychecks and savings accounts just to be able to afford everyday goods and services.
Compared to last year, gas at the pump costs 48 percent more, the price of used cars has increased by 35 percent, most utilities are up 22 percent, appliances are up 12 percent, and food prices have increased by 8.8 percent.
No matter how the Biden White House tries to spin it, Democrats own this inflation crisis.
At first, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain promoted the idea that the inflation and supply chain issues negatively impacting the United States were just "high class problems."
How could the most senior advisor to the President of the United States be that out of touch with everyday Americans?
Now, Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media are trying to create a new narrative: skyrocketing inflation and energy prices are a result of Vladimir Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine.
Here’s the truth: over the past ten months, the Consumer Price Index rose above 5 percent – a clear indicator that prices were accelerating long before Russia attacked Ukraine.
When inflation becomes rampant, businesses struggle to stay afloat without raising prices.
In the National Federation of Independent Business’ latest survey of small businesses, inflation was listed as the number one problem facing small businesses and entrepreneurs.
A recent poll from CBS News found that 66 percent of respondents expressed that higher prices have been "difficult" for their families, and 65 percent said that President Biden "could do more" to lower gas prices.
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What stood out the most: 69 percent of respondents disapproved of President Biden’s handling of inflation, and 53 percent said that they are cutting back on food and groceries as a result of higher prices.
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The inflation rate was 1.7 percent in February 2021, the first full month of Joe Biden’s presidency. Today, the inflation rate is 8.5 percent. This is disgraceful. Democrats’ out-of-control spending, extreme climate policies, and regulatory assault on our economy are wreaking havoc on every American at the gas station and the grocery store. We deserve better.