White House defends Inflation Reduction Act against CBO report

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White House defends Inflation Reduction Act against CBO report

The White House is defending the Inflation Reduction Act against a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that suggests that the legislation won't meaningfully lower inflation in the coming years.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the CBO analysis of the Inflation Reduction Act that says it would have no impact or negligible impact on inflation in 2022 and 2023 and could be addressed by the new CBO analysis.

Jean-Pierre said, leading economists have said that this Inflation Reduction Act that's been looked at by these economists will actually reduce inflation. Jean-Pierre was asked if her answer means she is dismissing the CBO report and if it is fair to call the legislation the Inflation Reduction Act when the CBO says inflation will not be meaningfully reduced.

5.1% of the population is affected by this.

She explained that if you think about the Inflation Reduction Act, it will have an effect on drug costs. Lowering prices on pharmaceutical costs is going to make a big difference for seniors and their families. Jean-Pierre said that the legislation will lower energy costs, the cost of utility bills and Medicare, while also putting $300 billion into lowering the deficit.

Jean-Pierre said that is going to make a difference. That is going to fight inflation, and so it should be called the Inflation Reduction Act, because that's what it's going to do. Jean-Pierre was reacting to a report from the CBO this week that said the bill would have a negligible effect on inflation.

The bill would have a negligible effect on inflation in CBO's assessment in calendar year 2022, the office said. In the year 2023, inflation would likely be between 0.1 percentage point lower and 0.1 percentage point higher under the bill than under current law, according to CBO estimates.

Jean-Pierre's defense of the legislation comes the same day Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N. Y. said a group of 230 economists who are warning that the legislation will increase inflation are wrong. Schumer told reporters that he didn't know who that list was.

The economists wrote in the letter that the U.S. economy is at a dangerous crossroads and the inaptly named Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 would do nothing of the sort and perpetuate the same fiscal policy errors that have helped precipitate the current troubling economic climate. The labor market is confronted with the twin threats of inflation and rising interest rates as the U.S. job growth unexpectedly accelerated in July, defying fears of a slowdown in hiring.