President Joe Biden may be suffering from the effects of a developing investigation of classified documents found at his home, but that’s not stopping the important work of claiming credit for things his administration has pushed.
The president noted two such victories in a White House statement Tuesday, Jan. 24.
One had to do with the economy, while the other had to do with healthcare costs.
Biden Touts Latest Unemployment Data
In the statement, Biden touted the latest state unemployment data. “Today’s state unemployment rates give even more reasons for optimism all over the country,” Biden said in the statement. “We see record lows from Pennsylvania to South Dakota to Alaska. 38 states are now at or below 4 percent unemployment, including 15 States at or below 3 percent,” he added.
Low unemployment figures are key to the administration’s claims that the economy hasn’t fallen into a recession, even though gross domestic product figures have declined in recent quarters, meeting the traditional definition.
The Federal Reserve has tried to contain inflation with a series of aggressive rate hikes over the past year, crimping growth in the economy. The Fed’s rate-setting open markets committee meets later this month to decide whether to hike interest rates again. Many are expecting the Fed to increase rates by only 25 basis points, as opposed to the 50-basis-point hikes it has imposed in a series of meetings over the past year.
Higher interest rates are crushing the housing market, with sales figures and construction starts plummeting after years of ultra-low interest rates which helped fuel price gains because people could afford to borrow more money at lower rates.
Biden Says Insulin Price Cap is Working
In the second victory claimed by the White House, Biden lauded the effects of a cap on insulin costs for seniors of $35 a month which was included in the so-called inflation reduction act passed last year. “We’re delivering on my promise to lower health care costs for Americans by capping seniors’ insulin costs at $35 for a month’s supply,” Biden said in the statement. “New data released today shows that if this provision had been in effect in 2020, over 1.5 million seniors across the country could have saved an average of $500 per year on insulin.”
He added that “Americans are seeing a strong economy where they live. They are seeing their neighbors back to work, with higher wages even accounting for inflation…And they are seeing groundbreakings for new factories, roads, and bridges in their states at an historic scale. I am more confident than ever that America’s best days are ahead.”
