Manchin Raises Alarm Over 40-year High Inflation Report, Threatening Already Down-Sized BBB

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), a longtime critic of inflationary policies in Washington, blasted the White House and congressional leaders for not doing enough to stem the tide of rising inflation, potentially endangering Democrats’ hopes of passing a scaled-down version of the Build Back Better (BBB) social spending package.

On July 13, the Department of Labor released its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI), showing that consumer prices have gone up by 9.1 percent over the past year, exceeding predictions and hitting a new 40-year high.

The CPI showed that energy has been the hardest hit, with costs rising by around 41.6 percent across the board for all types of energy. Gasoline prices have risen by a staggering 98.5 percent.

Other essentials have also been hard hit: in the past 12 months, the cost of food has gone up an average of 10.4 percent.

In a July 13 statement, Manchin, who has long been vociferous in calling for his party to do more to combat inflation, said: “Today’s inflation data illustrates the pain families across the country are feeling as costs continue to rise at a historic rate. 9.1% is cause for serious concern.

“Items like chicken, eggs and lunchmeat have increased to all-time highs, while energy costs rose more than 40% in June with those that can least afford it suffering the most. It is past time we put our country first and end this inflation crisis.

“For more than a year, leaders in Washington have ignored the serious concerns raised by myself and others about the rising cost of inflation,” Manchin continued. “While Washington seems to now understand this reality, it is time for us to work together to get unnecessary spending under control, produce more energy at home and take more active and serious steps to address this record

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