Massive spending by Democrats and President Joe Biden has caused skyrocketing prices for gas and other consumer goods, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told fellow Republicans in a letter that pledged to “hold Democrats to account for their reckless handling of the economy.”
Republicans hope to tie Democrats to a historic rise in consumer prices, and in a memo sent to fellow party lawmakers this week, McCarthy outlined how higher gas and grocery bills are affecting families.
In the Senate, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell opened the floor Monday with a speech holding Democrats responsible for price increases. Consumer prices rose 5.4% in June.
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“Inflation just clocked the fastest year-on-year increase since 2008,” the Kentucky Republican said.
Republicans accuse Democrats of reckless spending that has triggered inflation.
Democrats passed a nearly $2 trillion COVID-19 aid package earlier this year and are now aiming to approve another $4.1 trillion in new spending on infrastructure and social spending programs.
“Another multitrillion-dollar reckless taxing and spending spree is the last thing American families need,” McConnell said.
McCarthy, a California Republican, said he has collected hundreds of comments from people whose lives have been negatively affected by rising inflation and higher prices at the gas pump.
“While reports on inflation are often framed in percentages, how they impact people is what matters most,” McCarthy wrote. “That’s why I recently asked my online followers to share stories about how inflation is affecting their lives. Though sometimes sad to read, each comment was further proof that our communities are hurting and in need of leadership.”
Republicans stand a reasonable chance of regaining the majority in the 2022 midterm elections. McCarthy, in the memo to fellow GOP lawmakers, listed other Democratic policies that are negatively affecting the nation, including efforts to defund the police, the proliferation of illegal immigration on the southern border, extended lockdowns, and the expansion of unemployment benefits that have triggered a labor shortage.
“The American people are working hard under these conditions to support themselves and their families,” McCarthy wrote. “Let’s be the leaders they and our country need.”
Democrats said their spending package will create more than a million jobs and boost the economy by helping families go to work and find employment.
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The party hopes to pass a $3.5 trillion “human infrastructure” bill that will provide universal daycare, free community college, and money to care for the elderly, as well as green energy provisions.
Democrats plan to pay for the bill by raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, called the spending package “the most significant legislation to expand support for families since the era of the New Deal and the Great Society.”
