WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Bryan Steil (WI-01), Ranking Member on the Select Committee on the Economy, issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the December Consumer Price Index (CPI) Report, which is a measure of inflation.
“President Biden’s failed economic policies are clobbering hard working families and seniors. While the White House touts ‘wage gains,’ workers are seeing their paychecks wiped out by higher prices and skyrocketing inflation. We need to change course and we need to change course now.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the CPI rose to an annualized rate of 7.0% in December 2021. This is the largest 12-month increase since 1982. This is up from November 2021 which saw a 6.8% CPI rise, outpacing growth in average hourly earnings. In December 2021, Americans paid 29.3% more for energy, and food prices increased 6.3%. According to an analysis by Penn-Wharton, the average family spent around $3,500 more in 2021 to buy the same amount of goods and services as they had in recent years.
