Washington, D.C.—Today, Senator Martin Heinrich, (D-NM), Chairman of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that prices measured by the Consumer Price Index increased 0.4% in April 2023, compared with the 0.1% increase in March and the 0.4% increase in February. Data also show that annual prices increased 4.9%, significantly below the peak of 9.1% in June 2022.
Today’s data shows that we are continuing to make progress in our efforts to lower inflation throughout the economy. Inflation is down significantly since its peak last summer, and continues to fall in categories that are key for American families, including groceries and electricity.
To maintain and continue this trend, Congress must pass a clean debt limit increase. As House Republicans push towards a default, they get closer to driving up the costs of mortgages, car loans, and small business loans for American families and workers. The longer the GOP delays paying our bills, the more likely they are to trigger a massive recession that could cost 8.3 million American jobs, shrink U.S. GDP by over $1 trillion, and threaten people’s hard-earned retirement savings.
An unprecedented default will have long-lasting consequences for American families and workers. We must act now to avoid this catastrophe.
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About Chairman Martin Heinrich
U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich has served the people of New Mexico in the United States Senate since 2012. In addition to his role as Chairman of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, Heinrich also serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and as a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Heinrich served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, four years as an Albuquerque City Councilor, as New Mexico’s Natural Resources Trustee, and in AmeriCorps with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
About the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee
The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee is Congress’s bicameral economic think tank. It was created when Congress passed the Employment Act of 1946. Under this Act, Congress established two advisory panels: the President's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) and the JEC. Their primary tasks are to review economic conditions and to recommend improvements in economic policy. Chairmanship of the JEC alternates between the Senate and House every Congress.??
