Barry Moore: Building back broke

As the Fourth of July approaches, family cookouts are in full swing. Thanks to Biden’s inflation crisis, these celebrations cost 30 percent more than they did five years ago. Staples like hamburger buns, ground beef, hot dogs, baked beans, chips and ice cream all cost more, and general grocery prices are up an average 21 percent.

The Biden Administration’s only solution to this crisis is to lie about it. This week, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said grocery prices are down, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she goes to the grocery store weekly and has not noticed an increase in prices – probably because her net worth is $20 million.  Alabamians certainly don’t agree with Secretary Yellen.

Thanks to Biden’s out-of-control spending, prices have risen an average of 19.3 percent during his presidency, while the average paycheck has shrunk by four percent. Even those who receive a steady paycheck have to deal with the fact that it buys less than it did a few years ago. This drop in purchasing power has many families relying on credit cards to make ends meet, pushing outstanding balances up to $1.1 trillion.

As folks are forced to put more necessities on credit cards, the interest rate on that $1.1 trillion is at a record high. Those higher interest costs can also be seen on mortgages, student loans and car loans. Between those charges and the lost buying power from declining real earnings, a typical American family has lost $8,100 of their annual income compared with when Biden took office.

This isn’t “Building back better” — this is building back broke.

Registered voters under 30 agree, as more than 70 percent of them noted in a recent CBS News survey, that they are struggling to buy a home, get a good job, and start a business compared to previous generations.

House Republicans’ first priority this Congress was the Lower Energy Costs Act, which would combat Biden’s inflation crisis by unleashing American energy and reducing gas and electric bill costs. Although this legislation passed the House, Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer refused to bring it up for a vote in the Senate.

The most important thing we can do to increase the money in Americans’ wallets is stop out-of-control spending, which is fueling our nearly $35 trillion national debt. House Republicans are working to do just that by cutting costs to keep them below the President’s budget requests in the four appropriations bills we’ve passed so far which fund Military Construction and Veterans’ Affairs, Homeland Security, State and Foreign Operations, and Department of Defense.

I will continue to fight Biden’s inflationary policies so American families can afford to celebrate our independence with cookouts and fireworks. I hope everyone has a wonderful Fourth of July and remembers to keep our Nation in your prayers.

If you need help from my office with the VA, IRS, or another federal agency, or if we can help you with a government service like processing a passport request, I hope you will reach out to us. We’ve resolved over 5,000 cases since I took office in 2021. Visit one of my offices in Wetumpka, Dothan, Andalusia, Troy, or Washington, call us at 334-478- 6330, or visit http://barrymoore.house.gov to learn how we can help.