U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Alabama) spoke about her concerns with inflation on Tuesday at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Britt questioned Dr. Jared Bernstein, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), on his steadfast support for the Biden Administration’s economic agenda items.
Sen. Britt noted previous statements by Dr. Bernstein downplaying inflation by claiming it was merely “transitory.”
Responding to Senator Britt’s questioning, Dr. Bernstein asserted that categorizing inflation as “transitory” was “correct” but “too ambiguous.”
Bernstein would not say that the term “transitory” should not have been used by the Administration.
Britt pressed the case that persistently high inflation has lasted longer than the Administration anticipated when they first used the “transitory.” Senator Britt also made the case that Dr. Bernstein, a current member of the CEA, simply wants to double down on the very policies that have fueled inflation since January 2021.
Britt claimed that Dr. Bernstein’s insistence on advising the President to continue pushing an “irresponsible, partisan tax-and-spend agenda” makes him unfit to serve as our nation’s chief economist – a role which traditionally is reserved for a nonpartisan, serious expert.
“The last thing the American people need is a continuation of crushing inflation,” said Sen. Britt. “Instead of owning up to this Administration’s failures and committing to a course correction, Dr. Bernstein used his testimony today to deflect blame, shirk responsibility, and even claim that this economy is a success. This is a stark departure from the harsh reality facing hardworking Alabamians around their kitchen table every day. Since President Biden took office, inflation is up 15.4%. As a mom of two school-aged children, I see this firsthand every time I walk the aisles at the grocery store or fill up at the gas pump: grocery prices are up nearly 20%, while energy costs are up 36%. Simply put, the American Dream is slipping further and further out of reach. Dr. Bernstein made it clear today that we can only expect more of the same under his counsel. He should be fired, not promoted.”
Real wages, adjusted for inflation, have fallen for 24 consecutive months while rising prices cost the typical household approximately $10,000 in the same period. In 2022 alone, real disposable income fell more than $1 trillion nationwide, the largest drop since 1932.
In a recent poll, just 16% of Americans consider economic conditions “excellent” or “good,” while 72% of the population thinks economic conditions are getting worse.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jeane-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday, “We have always said it will take some time for inflation to come down. And we may see bumps in the roads, but that’s why lowering costs and fighting inflation remains the President’s top priority.”
Katie Britt won a landslide election in November to win her first term as U.S. Senator. She is a former Chief of Staff for Sen. Richard Shelby, an attorney, and formerly the President and CEO of the Business Council of Alabama.
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