WASHINGTON – Officials from the Biden administration sought to calm Americans who feared a recession on Sunday.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told ABC’s “This Week” that the recession is not inevitable, as Energy Secretary Jennifer Granhome and Brian Deez, director of the National Economic Council, echoed in other programs.
Granhome said the biggest reason for inflation is the high price of gas. She acknowledged that gas taxes are likely to be deferred, but added that this is a complex issue.
“Part of the challenge with the gas tax, of course, is that it funds the roads, and we just billed a huge infrastructure to help fund the roads,” Granham told CNN’s “State of the Union.” So “if we remove the gas tax that would rob us of the funds passed by Congress to be able to do that.”
Yale called the gas tax holiday “an idea that’s definitely worth thinking about.”
She said President Joe Biden was “ready to work with Congress” to reduce costs.
“If Congress would work with them to implement some of the administration’s programs, we would be able to bring down other costs, such as prescription drugs, health care costs, and increased access to affordable housing,” he said.
Dec said on CBS’s “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that the administration is working with Congressional leaders on legislation that would give Americans economic relief next week, such as lowering the price of prescription drugs by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration acknowledged that it was wrong to reduce the risk of rising inflation last year because the White House was working to tackle rising consumer prices that have hampered Biden’s presidency.
Yellen, in March 2021, stated that inflation was only a “small risk”. Two months later, she said she did not expect inflation to be “a problem.” Earlier that spring, Biden signed into law his $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 rescue plan, providing an increase in spending that his critics blame for driving up inflation.
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“As I mentioned, there have been unexpected and big shocks in the economy that have pushed up energy and food prices, and supply disruptions that have affected our economy so badly that at the time, I didn’t fully understand,” Yellen said. Told CNN. “But we recognize him now.”
Contributed by: Rebecca Morin