WASHINGTON (WV News) — Members of West Virginia’s congressional delegation decried record-high inflation Tuesday and called on the Biden administration to do more to aid Americans faced with skyrocketing prices.
Consumer prices have risen 8.5% over the last year, the largest 12-month increase since December 1981, according to information released Tuesday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Tuesday’s report tells a “chilling story about how these taxes on Americans are completely out of control."
“Hard-earned wages and financial savings are disappearing faster every month as prices continue to climb, while the pain and frustration of spending more on everyday items lingers over us all, especially among those who can afford it the least,” he said in a statement. “Americans are seeing some of the largest increases in goods such as gas, up 48%, beef, up 16%, chicken and milk, up 13%, and staples like coffee and eggs are up 11%.”
Manchin said the Biden administration, as well as “Democrats and Republicans” in Congress should support an “all-the-above energy policy.
“The United States of America is equipped to be energy independent from Russia and other terror-sponsoring countries while also working to fight global climate change and break our dependence on the critical mineral supply change from China,” he said.
In a post on Twitter linking to a CNBC story about the BLS report, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said “the Biden economy continues to harm hardworking West Virginians."
“The White House might be numb to record inflation at this point, but American families driving to work and putting food on the table certainly are not,” Capito wrote.
Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., and Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., also commented on Twitter.
“Inflation is a tax on all Americans & has risen every month since President Biden has been in office,” McKinley wrote.
“West Virginians are paying record-high prices for gas, groceries, and everyday household items because of President Biden’s failing policies,” Miller wrote. “Democrats need to accept responsibility, drop the out-of-touch policies and get to work for American families.”
Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., did not release a public statement commenting on Tuesday’s inflation report.
According to the BLS report, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 1.2% in March on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.8 percent in February.
Increases in the indexes for gasoline, shelter, and food were the largest contributors to the seasonally adjusted all items increase.
The gasoline index rose 18.3% in March and accounted for over half of the all items monthly increase; other energy component indexes also increased.
The food index rose 1.0% and the food at home index rose 1.5%.
The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3% in March following a 0.5% increase the prior month.
The shelter index was the biggest factor in the increase, with a broad set of other indexes also contributing, including those for airline fares, household furnishings and operations, medical care and motor vehicle insurance.