April CPI Shows Inflation Is Still Out of Control

Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated the Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew by 0.3 percent in April and 8.3 percent over the past year. Core CPI inflation, which excludes the most volatile components of energy and food, grew 0.6 percent in April, driven by broad-based housing and service inflation.

The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:

Inflation is out of control, and today’s numbers are of little comfort that it will return to normal quickly. At its current pace, CPI inflation will exceed 9 percent by the end of the year. Even with no additional inflation, it will approach 4 percent.

The Federal Reserve is in charge of bringing inflation back down, but fiscal policy can help by tamping down demand, boosting supply, and lowering prices within its purview.

As President Biden said yesterday, “Reducing the deficit is one of the main ways we can ease inflationary pressures.”

The President and Congress need to turn these words into action. That means paying for new laws like the competitiveness bill, ending ongoing COVID relief like the student debt payment pause, and working together to identify new revenue, spending cuts, and health care savings.

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For more information, please contact Kim McIntyre, Director of Media Relations, at mcintyre@crfb.org