PRESIDENT BIDEN’S CONTINUED FOCUS ON LOWERING PRICES FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 10, 2022
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PRESIDENT BIDEN’S CONTINUED FOCUS ON LOWERING PRICES FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES

President Biden travels to Virginia today to highlight plan to bring down health care costs including prescription drug prices

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The President is using every tool at his disposal to strengthen the economy and lower the cost of living for Americans, including by ensuring we make more goods in America and move them efficiently across the country, while creating good-paying jobs, and advancing his Build Back Better plan to bring down kitchen table costs for working and middle class families. While today’s CPI is elevated, economic forecasters continue to expect inflation to ease over the coming year, with the prices of items like cars now moderating. Additionally, data released today on new claims for unemployment insurance show that more Americans are getting back to work, and wage growth is up over the past month.

“President Biden has led the way by aggressively taking on the pandemic, successfully jumpstarting the economic recovery, and ensuring Americans can safely get back to work by the millions. But he knows there is more work to do to ensure wages keep going up and prices come down so that working families have a fair shot at getting ahead,” said Building Back Together Executive Director Danielle Melfi. “The Biden-Harris Administration is fighting every day to lower the cost of living, from strengthening our supply chains, making more things in America, and increasing economic competitiveness to bring down prices for consumers, to working to pass his Build Back Better plan to lower the cost of health care, utilities, housing, and more.”

President Biden is laser focused on bringing prices down for American families by fixing supply chain bottlenecks, making more goods here in America, and increasing economic competition: 

• The President is working to strengthen our supply chains and create more jobs here in the United States, including by passing his Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
• Just in the last month, private companies have announced thousands of new manufacturing jobs to be created in America:
  • Detroit News: GM announces $7 billion in Michigan EV, battery investment
  • Fox 8 News: ‘Silicon heartland:’ Intel invests $20 billion to build chip production facilities in Ohio
  • WVLT 8 News: Electric vehicle charging plant promising for job growth in Tennessee and Biden’s electric vehicle goal
• And, the President is working to make our economy more competitive so that American consumers have more choices and lower prices, including signing an executive order to do so:
  • CNN: Biden highlights efforts to fight inflation: ‘Competition results in lower prices’
  • ABC: Biden signs executive order aimed at increasing competition in US economy
  • Des Moines Register: Biden unveils $1 billion plan to increase meatpacking competition, lower consumer prices

President Biden is continuing to push for his Build Back Better plan in order to lower the cost of living for working and middle class families and legislation to further increase economic competitiveness: 

• According to analysis by the non-partisan think tank Third Way: Just four key provisions of the plan — expanding the Child Tax Credit, capping the cost of child care, expanding the Affordable Care Act, and closing the Medicaid coverage gap — will save the average family of four up to $7,400 a year in tax cuts and lower costs.
  • WRIC 8 News: Biden and Spanberger visiting Culpeper to talk about lowering prescription drug prices
• The President is also advocating for legislation that will reduce prices by further increasing competitiveness, strengthen supply chains, and manufacture goods – such as semiconductor chips – in America such as the Make it in America and COMPETES Act.
  • As a semiconductor chip shortage drives higher prices for cars, this legislation invests $52 billion to expand domestic manufacturing of chips, easing prices and creating American jobs.

• Voice of America: Biden Pushes Expansion of Domestic Semiconductor Manufacturing

The President’s efforts to lower prices come on top of his work to take on the pandemic and jumpstart the economy in order to boost working and middle class families: 
 

• The Biden-Harris has implemented an unprecedented vaccination campaign, including making boosters widely available, that has led to nearly 75% of adults getting fully vaccinated and allowed Americans to safely get back to work and school.
• Since the President took office, more than 7 million jobs have been created – with 2021 being the strongest year for job growth on record.
• In fact, the American economy grew at 5.7 percent in the President’s first year – the fastest economic growth in nearly four decades.

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