Biden heralds American Rescue Plan – passed in March – for helping address inflation

President Joe Biden responded to Wednesday's skyrocketing inflation report by saying price increases have been reduced over the past month and that the American Rescue Plan, which was passed in March, created a strong economy to address inflation.

The Labor Department reported that the Consumer Price Index increased by 7% since last year, marking the steepest 12-month increase in nearly 40 years.

"Today’s report—which shows a meaningful reduction in headline inflation over last month, with gas prices and food prices falling—demonstrates that we are making progress in slowing the rate of price increases," President Biden wrote in a press release. "At the same time, this report underscores that we still have more work to do, with price increases still too high and squeezing family budgets."

He called inflation a "global challenge" in almost all "developed nations" in the post-pandemic economy.

"America is fortunate that we have one of the fastest growing economies—thanks in part to the American Rescue Plan—which enables us to address price increases and maintain strong, sustainable economic growth," Biden said, adding, "That is my goal and I am focused on reaching it every day."

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan was passed in March 2021 without a single Republican vote. 

The funding has since been used for various initiatives. In December, the New York State Education Department took funding from the plan and used it for a critical-race-theory-focused student training curriculum. Earlier this month the White House allocated $1 billion funding from the American Rescue Plan to combat rising meat prices.