DES MOINES, Iowa – During a press call on Friday, U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, said Iowa families are currently seeing the consequences of government spending with record inflation.
“For months, Republicans have been sounding the alarm on what would happen if the government continued to spend trillions and trillions of dollars that we don’t have. We said it would cause inflation and that this would put a terrible strain on hardworking families who are now paying more for just about everything groceries, gas, and utilities,” she said.
Hinson noted that gas prices are up about 45 percent, milk is up over five percent, fruit is up by seven percent, and car rentals are up 87 percent.
“I came to Congress to be a taxpayer advocate, and I know the value of a dollar and how hard Iowans are working to provide for their families. And I also know how harmful the current tax and spend agenda is to Iowans. So it’s a top priority for me to make everyone’s life more affordable and to make people’s paychecks go further. But I firmly believe that won’t happen if the government spends like it has a blank checkbook,” she stated. “And unfortunately, that is how the administration and Speaker Pelosi are acting right now. The Biden administration just called for three and a half trillion more dollars in spending, when we’ve already spent nearly $7 trillion money we don’t have this year alone.”
During a press conference last Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that inflation could last longer and increase higher than previously thought.
“As the reopening continues, bottlenecks, hiring difficulties, and other constraints could continue to limit how quickly supply can adjust, raising the possibility that inflation could turn out to be higher and more persistent than we expect,” he said.
“Indicators of long-term inflation expectations appear broadly consistent with our longer-run inflation goal of 2 percent. If we saw signs that the path of inflation or longer-term inflation expectations were moving materially and persistently beyond levels consistent with our goal, we would be prepared to adjust the stance of policy,” Powell continued.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced consumer prices rose 5.4 percent for the year ending June, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending in August 2008.
Hinson agreed with Powell.
“I believe he’s right with what we’re seeing. And the best thing we can do right now is to turn off the spending spigot. We have to stop this inflation tax on our middle and working-class families. And it’s disappointing to me to see that the administration’s not only hearing from hardworking families across the country who are paying more for these everyday goods and services, but they see the numbers, they have the data, and they still refuse to reverse course on these big spending policies,” she said.
Listen to the full press call:
