Despite her recent expressions of concern over inflation’s impact on everyday Americans, Vice President Kamala Harris played a pivotal role in passing legislation that contributed to the current inflation crisis.
During his late-night speech at the Democratic National Convention, President Joe Biden praised Harris for her decisive role in enacting the Inflation Reduction Act. “Guess who cast the tie-breaking vote? Vice President, soon-to-be President Kamala Harris, and now it’s the law of the land,” Biden said, referencing the $739 billion spending package that passed the Senate by a narrow 51-50 margin in August 2022, thanks to Harris’ vote.
However, the perception of Harris’ contribution to this legislation has shifted as the effects of inflation have become more apparent, affecting everything from housing prices to grocery costs.
Inflation levels have reached heights not seen since the 1970s during President Jimmy Carter’s administration, as noted by Fox News. Rent has surged by 13 percent, and new mortgage costs have jumped by 36 percent.
Prices for essentials like baby food have risen by 13 percent, and frozen vegetables by 14 percent, according to Americans for Tax Reform (ATR). The costs of staples such as butter, bread, flour, and breakfast cereals have all significantly increased since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which Harris helped push through.
Although inflation has eased on some goods and services in the past two years, the overall legacy of the Biden-Harris administration over the last four years has been marked by significant inflationary pressures.
Fox News highlighted that new mortgage rates have soared by 156 percent under Biden and Harris. ATR further documented substantial price increases across various sectors: gas is up by 35 percent, energy by 33 percent, transportation by 28 percent, eggs by 53 percent, baby food by 30 percent, frozen vegetables by 28 percent, bread by 24 percent, and milk by 17 percent.
Harris’ critical votes weren’t limited to the Inflation Reduction Act. In March 2021, she was also instrumental in passing the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, another significant piece of legislation that has been linked to rising inflation.
“Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote on the two biggest legislative drivers of inflation: the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act. She also supported the Biden-Harris regulatory regime, which imposed additional costs on households,” said Grover Norquist, president of ATR, in an interview with Fox News.
Norquist added, “And now she vows to make matters worse by proposing a long list of tax increases. She has endorsed a carbon tax, a 44.6 percent capital gains tax, and a 28 percent federal corporate tax rate, higher than China’s 25 percent and the EU [European Union] average of 21 percent. Americans will have even less take-home pay.”
In response to the Fox News story, Democratic National Committee spokesman Alex Floyd defended the administration, arguing that former President Donald Trump left behind “the worst jobs record since Herbert Hoover” and warned that Trump’s policies, if re-elected, would be “an inflation bomb.”