Dear Friend, 

What comes to mind when you think about the economy lately?

High gas prices? Ballooning home interest rates? A painful tax bill?

From the grocery store checkout to our retirement accounts, reminders of our sputtering economy are everywhere. The only people who don’t seem to think so? Members of the Biden administration.

Last week, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen appeared before the House Financial Services Committee for annually mandated testimony. While we had her attention, I asked Secretary Yellen about a troubling issue: the Biden administration’s failure to account for inflation in their criteria to determine a recession.

Watch Congressman Emmer grill Secretary Yellen during last week’s House Financial Services Committee

It may sound absurd, but it’s true; the National Bureau of Economic Research, the official “recession scorekeeper” according to the White House, does not take inflation into account when declaring a recession. Secretary Yellen admitted it herself before the committee, saying “inflation is not part of economic decline.”

Any of us who actually have to worry about paying the bills every month know that this couldn’t be further from the truth. While the Biden administration might be in need of a serious reality check, we can all see how hard this economic climate is for working families. We will remain focused on bringing down costs for Minnesotans and getting our economy back on track.

Sincerely,