WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Joint Economic Committee Vice Chairman David Schweikert issued the following statement after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its January Consumer Price Index (CPI) report showing that consumer prices rose 0.5 percent and have increased 3.0 percent over the past 12 months, beating Bloomberg’s estimate.

“The persistent inflation this report shows partially correlates directly with years of excessive government spending and poor economic policies” said Chairman-Designate Schweikert. “Despite a change in administration, the economic challenges that American families face have not disappeared overnight.”

“Americans deserve a government that takes fiscal responsibility seriously,” Rep. Schweikert continued. “We must introduce legislation that promotes prosperity for businesses and ensures wages-growth without erosion from inflation.”

“We are at a turning point,” Schweikert said. “Congress has an obligation to pursue policies that create a framework for future generations to thrive. I will continue fighting for real solutions that bring financial relief and economic opportunity to the people of Arizona and beyond.”

Food prices continue to strain American households, with the food index rising 0.4 percent in January and food at home increasing 0.5 percent. A staggering 15.2 percent spike in egg prices—the largest monthly increase since 2015—accounted for nearly two-thirds of the total increase to food at home. Over the past year, egg prices have surged 53.0 percent.

“The math is clear – my kids, your kids, [and] your grandkids are going to be part of the first generation poorer than their parents and grandparents. That’s not America. This was the country of aspiration, and it still can be, but only if this place stops acting intellectually incapable, charged by the fear of going home and explaining the truth to our constituents” Schweikert concluded.

  

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Click here to view the Joint Economic Committee Republicans’ latest monthly inflation update.

Click here to view the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index report.

Click here to view the Bureau of Labor Statistics Real Earnings report.