White House cheers Inflation Reduction Act anniversary despite recession fears and high prices

The White House is celebrating two years since the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act and Inflation Reduction Act, two major pieces of President Joe Biden‘s economic legacy, despite economic uncertainty across the globe.

White House officials, including deputy chief of staff Natalie Quillian, Domestic Policy Council Director Neera Tanden, and senior climate adviser John Podesta, briefed reporters on updates regarding the two bills on Wednesday, calling them “a critical part of” Biden’s “investing in America agenda.”

“We’re very proud of our 2-year-old that has accomplished more than any 2-year-old ever has,” a senior administration official said of the bills.

According to the White House, CHIPS, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the rest of Biden’s agenda have spurred $900 billion in private sector clean energy and manufacturing investments, including $395 billion going toward semiconductors and other electronics and $418 billion in private sector clean energy projects.

The White House additionally touted healthcare pricing proponents included in the Inflation Reduction Act, which it estimates are lowering health insurance costs for people by $800 per year on average.

Still, both of the aforementioned bills have caused controversy since their passage. Grants included in the CHIPS Act, some of those industry companies, such as Intel, have struggled to meet their timelines for associated domestic commitments.

And the Inflation Reduction Act has been a frequent target of Republican lawmakers, with the GOP claiming the bill does little to lower prices directly for households and instead mostly serves as a vehicle to push Biden’s clean energy and healthcare pricing agenda.

The rate of inflation has steadily decreased since Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law in August 2022, but prices for many goods, especially energy and food, remain elevated, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In June 2022, electricity cost consumers 16 cents per kWh, compared to 18 cents in June 2024. A dozen eggs ran consumers $2.71 two years ago, compared to $2.72 in June 2024

The White House has faced numerous questions of rising economic uncertainty, with Republicans looking to spin recent developments as a negative for Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 general election.

The Biden administration has pointed to the strength of the domestic labor market as evidence of the efficacy of the president’s agenda, but the unemployment rate rose to one of its highest points under Biden’s watch in July.

That trend, coupled with inflation, led to a stock meltdown on Monday, which saw global markets shrink roughly 10%, though markets appeared to stabilize on Tuesday.

Economists appear split on the overall health of global markets, with some saying a recession could be on the horizon while others claim those fears are overblown.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday that the president’s economic team monitors these trends but does not believe the country is at risk of falling into a recession.

“While we’ve seen some volatility — we admit that, we have seen that — our broader economy remains resilient, and we see that because of the data, obviously, that’s been coming out over the past, not just couple of months, but the past couple of years,” she stated. “The economic team is going to continue to monitor the situation, but we believe that the economy remains resilient, and that’s what’s going to be our focus.”

“We remain confident in the CHIPS and Science Act and the work it’s already doing to revitalize our manufacturing of semiconductors,” Quillian added on Wednesday. “We are the only country in the world to have all five of the world’s leading chip makers promising new investments and operations here in the U.S., and so we see this as a part of the success of the CHIPS and Science Act and, you know, we’ve got more implementation to do.”

Podesta similarly discounted polling suggesting most people are not aware of the specific components of Biden’s legislation and any cost-saving provisions included within them.

“I think that people don’t follow the ins and outs of Washington very much. I think they want to know what’s going on in their own communities, in their own lives, and from our perspective, I think the benefits of the act are now really being felt by people at the household level and the community level,” he claimed. “As neighbors talk to neighbors, I think that the benefits that are included in this bill will spread.”