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ICYMI: REP. AUCHINCLOSS IN FOX: “REPUBLICANS POLITICIZE INFLATION WHILE DEMS WORK TO FIX IT. LET’S TACKLE THIS TOGETHER” 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 30, 2021
PRESS CONTACT: [email protected]

ICYMI: REP. AUCHINCLOSS IN FOX: “REPUBLICANS POLITICIZE INFLATION WHILE DEMS WORK TO FIX IT. LET’S TACKLE THIS TOGETHER” 

Auchincloss: “Republicans can’t wring their hands about inflation while continuing to support anti-vaxxers. The best way to fully and permanently reopen the economy is to vaccinate more people.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a new Fox News op-ed today, Rep. Jake Auchincloss underlined why Republicans must “shake off their habit of scoring political points off economic issues” by treating inflation as a political football, and how supporting steps like getting Americans vaccinated are critical to lowering prices and permanently re-opening the economy. Auchincloss also highlighted how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law directly reduces inflation and how “even economists critical of the administration” agree that the Build Back Better Act legislation is not inflationary.

This comes on the heels of reporting revealing how Republicans have endorsed a grab-bag of disastrous measures to “take on” inflation, ranging from pure political obstructionism to policies like rolling back measures to fight COVID-19 that would burden families with higher costs, slow down the economic recovery, cost the economy millions of jobs, and allow COVID-19 to spiral out of control.

Read key excerpts of the op-ed below:

  • “Like so much else in Washington, inflation has become a political football. That’s unnecessary. Inflation, like infrastructure, should be a bipartisan issue. Building on the momentum of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, Democrats and Republicans could tackle inflation next. But that requires Republicans to shake off their habit of scoring political points off economic issues—as we’ve witnessed with their game of chicken with the debt-ceiling—and instead address policy.”
  • “This holiday season, elected and civic leaders from both parties should share the same message: help local service businesses by gifting experiences and by supporting vaccination drives. High-contact industries like restaurants need more of their patrons to feel safe indoors this winter. Republicans can’t wring their hands about inflation while continuing to support anti-vaxxers. The best way to fully and permanently reopen the economy is to vaccinate more people.”
  • “Businesses also need help hiring. This has been a strong recovery for job creation, but too few of those jobs are filled. This exacerbates inflation by constraining supply. Harvard Business School estimates there are up to 27 million hidden workers in America.”
  • “On the House Financial Services Committee, we have been investigating some job market flaws that trip up those disproportionately out of the labor force. This includes parents who took time off, the formerly incarcerated, and people without a college degree. With good faith engagement, there are bipartisan solutions, from spotlighting unfair resume screening algorithms by big corporations to cutting red tape in occupational licensing.”
  • “The outlook for 2022 is brighter. Instead of fear mongering about climate action, Republicans should offer their ideas on how to buttress the president’s tough measures against oil exporters that abuse their power; on electrifying the economy, so there’s less concentration in energy suppliers’ market power; and on promoting a thriving clean energy industry here at home.”
  • “A major element in American energy policy is infrastructure. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal invests tens of billions of dollars into clean energy production and transmission. Our grid will be more resilient and efficient, lowering prices for everyone. The infrastructure bill will also upgrade our ports and improve our transportation system.”
  • “All these efforts lower the cost of supplying goods and services, which reduces inflation. And, even economists critical of the administration do not expect the sequel to the infrastructure bill, the Build Back Better Act, to be inflationary, either.”
  • “Republicans, then, should stop using inflation as a wedge issue. They need not agree with Democrats on every policy item to make countering inflation a bipartisan exercise. They do, however, need to come to the table with more than just talking points for the midterms. The GOP must demonstrate it can engage on policy, instead of with a cult of personality.”

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