While Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker, struggled to get along with her audience Tuesday as she gave a speech on White House lawn in celebration of President Biden signing the Inflation Reduction Act,
Pelosi spoke alongside Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader, to say that the “landmark” law, which Biden signed last week, “driving down prices for kitchen table items for America’s working families”.
After a short silence, Pelosi said to the audience, “That’s an applause-line,” prompting cheers from the crowd.
Later, President Biden addressed the crowd to commemorate the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act last month. A new government report revealed how difficult it was to bring prices down to pre-pandemic levels.
Tuesday’s economic report, which showed inflation at 8.3% from July to August, but just 0.1% between July and August, was a stark reminder of how difficult it could be to reach the Federal Reserve’s inflation target for 2% per year. Even though gasoline prices have fallen since June, housing and food costs remain high. This suggests that Fed rate hikes will continue and economic pain will be intensified to lower prices.
