The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its June consumer price index (CPI) report, which measures inflation. The report showed that year-over-year inflation slowed for the 12th straight month to just 3%, the lowest figure in over two years. Let me be clear, this doesn’t mean inflation is no longer an issue, but it does mean the trends are absolutely headed in the right direction.
To me, a lawmaker who has worked tirelessly to accelerate the recovery of our nation’s economy since the economic crisis began with the COVID-19 pandemic, this inflation report offers a moment to reflect and to recommit.
Conversations about inflation deserve nuance. So, let’s be upfront about what this CPI report means: inflation is not accelerating as rapidly as it was last year. That’s good news for our small businesses and a growing middle class, but we clearly have work to do.
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As inflation cools, it’s important to think about how far we’ve come since the crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
When faced with these unprecedented challenges, the Biden administration and Congress took decisive action to help Americans return to their everyday lives and accelerate an economic recovery that is focused on uplifting hard-working families and small businesses across the country.
At this time last year, due to the efforts of the Biden administration and congressional Democrats as we emerged from the pandemic, we were seeing strong economic growth, historically low unemployment, and large wage increases, particularly for low and middle-income workers.
However, Americans were still experiencing high prices. Lingering impacts of the pandemic, coupled with supply chain disruptions exacerbated by the invasion of Ukraine, drove up the prices of food, energy, healthcare and more.
It was clear that Congress had to act to provide economic relief to all those experiencing financial hardship.
I’ve spent my time in Congress fighting to build a strong, stable economy from the middle out. I’m a proud member of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of nearly 100 moderate Democrats committed to strengthening our economy. When faced with the challenge of rising inflation, we took action.
I led the charge in forming the New Dem Inflation Action Plan, the first plan of its kind and what Forbes called the "best inflation-fighting blueprint to come out of Congress." Now, as Chair of the New Dem Economic Growth and Fiscal Responsibility Task Force, I’m helping spearhead the Coalition’s implementation of the plan.
New Dems have been hard at work, partnering with the administration and our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to continue to enact impactful policies.
Through bills like the Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS and Science Act, we are investing in the future of our economy by kickstarting innovation and creating hundreds of thousands of high-quality jobs.
That brings us to today, a year after New Dems put forward our original action plan. Our efforts are beginning to produce results, and inflation is cooling. It’s clear we are on the right track.
That’s why the New Dems just released our Economic Opportunity Agenda, a comprehensive economic plan to continue lowering costs, fighting inflation and growing the middle class.
This agenda examines the progress we’ve made over the past year and identifies the critical next steps lawmakers must take to continue providing economic relief to families, workers and businesses across the country.
The agenda includes proposals on how to grow and modernize our workforce, reduce energy costs, increase the availability of affordable housing, strengthen our supply chains to increase America’s competitiveness in the global economy and more.
Importantly, the Economic Opportunity Agenda outlines the importance of getting Americans back to work. We’ve made a lot of progress – last Congress, New Dems pushed for, and ultimately passed, legislation that provided critical funding for workforce development.
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Through initiatives like the Recompete Act pilot program, which invests $200 million to empower communities to bolster their workforces, these historic initiatives are engendering real change. But there’s more to do.
Moving forward, New Dems will continue to push for bipartisan legislation like the STEM Restart Act, which I introduced to help mid-career workers reenter the workforce, and the Workforce Mobility Act of 2023, introduced by my New Dem colleague California Democratic Rep. Scott Peters to address barriers to worker mobility.
I joined the New Dems because within the coalition I saw a group of like-minded lawmakers working to find common ground and advance innovative solutions to our nation’s toughest problems.
That’s exactly what we’re doing through our Economic Opportunity Agenda.
