[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 111 (Friday, June 25, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H3151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            PRICE OF INFLATION PAID BY MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILIES

  (Mr. CLINE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CLINE. Madam Speaker, despite our Nation sitting on the edge of a 
fiscal cliff, the Biden administration continues to propose trillions 
upon trillions of dollars in new taxpayer spending.
  Sadly, yet not unexpectedly, the American people are beginning to see 
the consequences of taking their hard-earned tax dollars for continued 
and unprecedented levels of deficit spending.
  The Consumer Price Index has increased 5 percent from this time last 
year, which marks the fastest rate of inflation since right before the 
economic crisis in 2008 and a nearly 13-year high. This is in addition 
to producer prices rising 6.6 percent over the past year, the fastest 
increase on record.
  I don't care what the reasons are; I know that Americans are feeling 
it right now in their pocketbooks. Rising inflation at this rate is the 
same thing as a tax, and American consumers are feeling it as they shop 
for the essentials.
  Gasoline is 56 percent more expensive today than it was 12 months 
ago. Transportation services are up 11 percent since last year. 
Together, food and energy prices have increased 3.8 percent, which is 
the fastest rate since 1992.
  Middle-class families are paying the price for the lack of fiscal 
responsibility shown by this administration.
  It is time to get our fiscal house in order to ensure our children 
and our children's children are left a thriving economy.

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