According to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., rising inflation results from more people joining the labor, not because of the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better Act proposed by President Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia.
With inflation growing by 7.5% in the last 12 months, George Stephanopoulos explained on ABC’s “This Week” questioned Nancy Pelosi what Democrats in Congress are doing about it during her appearance on the show.
Pelosi blames inflation on low unemployment, says Manchin ‘not right’ on BBB criticismhttps://t.co/2Vbm1MfYii
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 13, 2022
“The fact that people have jobs always contributes to an increase in inflation, and that’s a good thing,” the House Speaker answered. “But inflation is not a good, you know, we have to contain it.”
Stephanopoulos countered the congresswoman, “Wages are not keeping up with prices.”
“That’s right, and let me just say what Congress has been doing,” Pelosi replied.
This month’s House passage of the COMPETES Act, which addressed supply chain problems caused by the coronavirus outbreak, was praised by Pelosi. $45 billion will be invested to guarantee that those essential items are manufactured in the United States rather than being outsourced from China.
“What contributes to inflation? More people had jobs, scarcity of product, which makes prices go up, and the rest,” she stated. “So we passed the Competes Act last Friday – this was a giant step for it.”
On the other hand, Pelosi pushed Biden’s $1.75 trillion Build Back Better Act, which is almost hopeless because of Manchin’s filibuster-proof Senate majority. However, Pelosi hit back on Sunday, stating that passing BBB is, in fact, a “budget reduction measure,” despite Manchin’s claims to the contrary.
“Clearly, he has—” Pelosi stopped herself in her tracks and spoke these words. “Look, Joe Manchin, as you said, is the senator that counts, every senator counts, and we have legislation that is so transformative for our country. When you say what President Biden has done and in this year, whether it’s the Rescue package that has placed money in people’s wallets, taken people off of poverty, vaccines in their arms and the rest—”
“Yes, but people aren’t feeling it right now,” the anchor cut off the congresswoman. “They’re upset,” he added.
“I understand that, but there has to be a cumulative effect, a cumulative effect. And part of the consequences of all of that investment and the infrastructure bill and the rest is that more people have jobs and therefore inflation goes up,” Pelosi replied.
She continued, “Yes, we have inflation. It’s very important for us to address it, we must bring it down, but it’s not right; with all due respect in the world for my friend Joe Manchin, it’s not right to say that what we’re doing is contributing to inflation, because it’s exactly the opposite.”
When asked about the rise in violence, Pelosi said that Rep. Cori Bush’s position on defunding the police was “not the Democratic Party’s position.”
The congresswoman finishes with, “Community safety, to protect and defend in every way, is our oath of office. Public safety is our responsibility.”
