House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D., S.C.) on Thursday said congressional Democrats knew when they signed off on President Joe Biden's multitrillion-dollar legislative plans that the laws would lead to increased inflation.
"Let me make it very clear. All of us are concerned about these rising costs, and all of us knew this would be the case when we put in place this recovery program," Clyburn said on MSNBC after host José Díaz-Balart asked about Americans' struggles with surging food and energy prices. "Any time you put more money into the economy, prices tend to rise."
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But Clyburn and the rest of Democratic leadership in Congress championed that recovery program and other legislation, insisting the bills would not damage the economy, even as experts say the bills contributed to the country's record inflation.
Clyburn voted in favor of Biden's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan and $738 billion Inflation Reduction Act. Economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco said the American Rescue Plan contributed significantly to inflation, and Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi said the Inflation Reduction Act would have no meaningful effect on reducing inflation.
Just four months after he signed the American Rescue Plan, Biden insisted that "no serious economist" was "suggesting there's unchecked inflation on the way."
Today, polls show inflation is one of the top issues for voters heading into the midterm elections, and the prices of many foods and energy expenses are up more than 10 percent from a year ago.