In the Face of Widespread Inflation, Spanberger Presses House Leadership to Prioritize Legislation to Lower Costs for Virginia Families

Spanberger Joined Nine Other U.S. House Members in Urging to Congress to Take New Steps to Curb

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger this week helped spearhead an effort pushing for additional congressional action to combat inflation in Virginia and across the country.

In a letter sent to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Spanberger and nine of her colleagues urged Congress to take more steps to immediately address inflation. In their letter, the Members argued that — with only six legislative weeks scheduled between now and a late summer district work period — U.S. House leadership must do more to prioritize bills that can lower costs now.  

“Hardworking families in our districts and across the country are facing rising costs across the board. While the reasons for these rising costs are many and varied, the fact remains that these inflationary pressures are harming our constituents, small businesses and working families,” said Spanberger and her colleagues. “We continue to hear from folks who are wondering what Washington is doing to address these problems.”

The lawmakers continued, “With the time that remains in the 117th Congress after the important upcoming votes on gun violence prevention — and particularly in the few months that remain before the late summer district work period — we urge you to prioritize bills that would lower costs for working families, address rising inflation, and resolve supply chain challenges.”

In their letter, Spanberger and her colleagues specifically pushed House Leadership to bring to the floor legislation that would:

• Lower costs and increase supply of groceries, baby formula, and other essential goods;
• Slow rising gasoline prices and other energy purchases that individuals and small business owners rely on for transportation and commerce; and
• Reduce input costs at all levels of the supply chain, including in sectors like manufacturing and agriculture, which play an important role in many other sectors.

Click here to read the letter, and the full letter text is copied below.

—

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer,

Hardworking families in our districts and across the country are facing rising costs across the board. While the reasons for these rising costs are many and varied, the fact remains that these inflationary pressures are harming our constituents, small businesses and working families. We continue to hear from folks who are wondering what Washington is doing to address these problems.

With the time that remains in the 117th Congress after the important upcoming votes on gun violence prevention – and particularly in the few months that remain before the late summer district work period – we urge you to prioritize bills that would lower costs for working families, address rising inflation and resolve supply chain challenges. To be clear, we know that many such bills have already received affirmative votes in the House and now await Senate action. However, we believe that more must be done to ensure that this body remains laser focused on addressing the most urgent challenges that continue to impact our constituents.

Specifically, we encourage leadership to focus on bringing to the House Floor bills that would address:

• the rising costs of household goods such as groceries, baby formula and other everyday and essential supplies;
• the high price of gasoline and overall energy purchases that individuals and small business owners rely on for transportation and commerce;
• the negative economic impacts of climate change on our communities, including families dealing with increased costs due to natural disasters like droughts and wildfires;
• input costs at all levels of the supply chain, including in sectors like manufacturing and agriculture, which play an important role in many other sectors.

We acknowledge that in the past weeks, the House has already moved on key pieces of legislation within this space. And we understand that the challenges we face are the result of many factors, including Putin’s war in Ukraine, the Covid-19 pandemic and unprecedented supply chain disruptions. But regardless of why we find ourselves facing these challenges, the question is how we respond in this moment. And the fact remains that we only have six legislative weeks scheduled between now and the late summer district work period to address the complex issues leading to high prices throughout the American economy.

Therefore, over the coming weeks, we respectfully urge you to schedule votes on a series of bills that reflect a strategic and concentrated plan that responds to the unique circumstances we now face. Thank you for your leadership and for your consideration of this important request.

—

###