Republicans from the Sunshine State continue to slam President Joe Biden’s handling of inflation.
On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., weighed in on “the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which showed inflation continued to rise in March increasing 11.2 percent over the year, the largest annual increase since BLS started collecting PPI data.”
“Yesterday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report showed another month of skyrocketing inflation under Joe Biden’s failed presidency. Instead of owning the crisis it created, the Biden administration wildly claimed that anyone blaming the president is ‘in lockstep with Putin.’ It’s an embarrassing example of how out of touch Biden’s administration is with reality. When food banks in Florida are trying to serve more families and struggling to keep up with rising prices, they demand action. When a working mom, like mine growing up, is forced to make the impossible choice of putting another gallon in the tank or buying what she needs to feed her family, she wants leadership, not finger-pointing,” Scott said.
“I hear it every week from families in my state. Floridians are sick and tired of watching Blame-Game-Biden duck responsibility for the crisis he has created. This week’s CPI and PPI reports prove that Biden’s reckless tax-and-spend agenda has been a disastrous failure. The president can cast blame all he wants, but he can’t hide from the truth and Florida families don’t believe his lies,” Scott added.
Also this week, state CFO Jimmy Patronis weighed in on the CPI report.
“March inflation numbers announced this morning are alarming – setting a new 40-year record high at 8.5 percent and driving up the cost of goods and services for every American. Unfortunately, with food costs up nearly 9 percent and energy costs up over 30 percent, there is no end in sight and still no plan from Washington and the Biden administration. With gas tax cuts and our home hardening initiative, Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature have done more to fight increasing costs on households than anything Washington has done,” Patronis said.
“As the Fed is expected to increase interest rates, major banks are also beginning to think that a recession is a real possibility. I have always believed in hoping for the best while preparing for the worst, and if our country is about to enter a recession, Florida needs to be prepared to weather this storm. As the budget has yet to be sent to the governor, his veto pen will be an important tool in protecting critical services for hard times – and I hope he uses it,” Patronis added.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki defended the administration on Tuesday.
“I would say that the projections con- –from the Federal Reserve and other outside economists continue to be that inflation will moderate by year-end. But we are not going to wait for that. And that is one of the reasons that the president is going to continue to take steps,” Psaki told the media. “One step he’s taking, of course, today, which is to lower the cost of gasoline by — by announcing the EPA waivers that E15 can be available at 2,300 gas stations across the country.
“But beyond that, he’s obviously taken steps to release a historic amount from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And we’ve continued to advocate for actions Congress can take to lower costs for Americans,” she continued. “And if you look at how all of those costs impact Americans, we know that big, big costs — our childcare, healthcare, eldercare — these are all areas where the president has proposed a plan to reduce costs, and certainly it’s a reminder of the importance of moving forward with that.”
