WASHINGTON, D.C. (WCMH) — A crowd of 5,000 attended the White House Tuesday, helping the Biden administration celebrate the Inflation Reduction Act.
The celebration comes on the same day that there was disappointing economic news for the White House.
NBC4’s Colleen Marshall was invited to take part in White House briefings. About a dozen reporters from across the country were invited to the event, with most of them coming from battleground states — Ohio, Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania — mostly with tight U.S. Senate races.
The event was reminiscent of a pep rally, with a packed White House lawn as both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris promised the Inflation Reduction Act will change lives.
People from around the country were invited to listen to Biden highlight changes in health care, from an extension of the ACA support to negotiated reductions in drug prices for Medicare recipients; climate control, including subsidies for solar energy panels in your home and energy-efficient HVAC systems; and renewed efforts to make sure the wealthiest Americans are paying their fair share with increased IRS audits.
“We are going to build the future, the future, in the United States of America, with American workers, with American companies, with American-made products,” Biden said. “And after years with some of the biggest corporations in the United States paying zero in federal income tax, they will now literally have to start paying their fair share. Today offers proof that the soul of America is vibrant, the future of America is bright, and the promise of America is real! It is real! It is real!”
The celebration comes just hours after the announcement that consumer prices increased again last month.
Consumer prices rose 8.3% from a year earlier and 0.1% from July. But the jump in “core” prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs, was especially worrisome. It outpaced expectations and ignited fear that the Federal Reserve will boost interest rates more aggressively and raise the risk of a recession.
Fueled by high rents, medical care, and new cars, core prices leaped 6.3% for the year ending in August and 0.6% from July to August, the government said Tuesday. Furniture and sports gear, among many other items, also got costlier, suggesting that businesses are still raising prices in response to robust consumer demand.
Republicans said this is proof the Biden plan is not working, but the president said this new effort is just beginning.
“It’s going to affect people’s daily lives today and it’s going to continue,” said Republican Ohio Rep. Troy Balderson. “It has been impacting people’s daily lives. It’s going to affect, you know, retirees’ 401Ks that are living off of that, so it’s a very somber day, in my opinion, to do a celebration of a bill that is not going to do what its title says.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
