Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Dem congressman says monthly inflation is zero, claims US not in a recession

Dem congressman says monthly inflation is zero, claims US not in a recession

Rep. Don Beyer said in the House Rules Committee that the United States is not experiencing a recession, despite two negative growth quarters

Rep. Don Beyer said Wednesday that there was no month-over-month inflation and that the U.S. economy is not in a recession during a House Rules Committee markup on Democrats' social spending and taxation bill.

"This morning we just found out that inflation last month was 0.00%. That was the inflation from June to July," Beyer, D-Va., said.

"We've come a long way adapting to the supply chain disruptions of COVID and the Russia-Ukraine war, adapting as quickly as possible. And I was thrilled to see that GasBuddy yesterday said the average price of gasoline in America was under $4 — $3.99," the congressman continued.

Beyer's comments came after the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the latest consumer price index numbers Wednesday morning. The agency found that due to a decline in gas prices, the monthly consumer price index change between June and July 1 was 0.0%, despite prices increasing for electricity, food, housing and more.

However, the year-over-year inflation number, according to the BLS, was 8.5%, still hovering around 40-year highs.

Like Beyer, President Biden touted the 0.0% monthly inflation number in remarks earlier Wednesday, drawing criticism from conservatives.

"It's a bogus math trick. This is the overall one-month index change," Brownstone Institute President Jeffrey Tucker tweeted. "Using the same tactic, you could also observe a one-month 19.2% increase in electricity! But of course we would not do that because that's dumb."

Beyer also during his testimony in the Rules Committee markup said that the United States in not in a recession, despite the U. S. seeing two quarters of negative growth — a generally accepted definition of a recession.


"We also note we are not in a recession, we delivered 528,000 new jobs in the month of July, 9 and a half million new jobs in the first year and a half of the Biden administration," Beyer said.

"The National Bureau of Economic Research, which is the entity formally dedicated to declare … a recession, clearly said that we are not in a recession right now," he added. "Yes, there was a small, small second-quarter dip of GDP, almost completely due to the sell-off of inventory across other businesses."

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) has not yet declared the U.S. economy to be in a recession. But the group usually takes quite some time to make such a decision — for example, it declared a recession from the 2007 crash in December 2008.

It's unclear what Beyer was referring to when he said NBER said the U.S. is not in recession. It has no recent publications saying such a thing, and reports say it is still making its evaluation.

The decline in U.S. economic growth in the second quarter of the year meets the technical, but unofficial, criteria for a recession, which requires a "significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and that lasts more than a few months."

The Rules Committee meeting Wednesday afternoon featured debate between Republicans and Democrats about the effect of Democrats' social spending and tax bill, including if it would help reduce inflation.

Members also feuded over tax provisions of the bill and how they will affect Americans at the onset of a recession. Republicans cited numbers from the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) showing that a significant burden from the taxes in the bill will fall on the middle class, including $17 billion on Americans making less than $200,000, according to House Budget Committee Ranking Member Jason Smith, R-Mo.

Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., pushed back on that, saying the JCT numbers reflect costs that would be passed to consumers and workers from taxes on corporations. He said middle-class Americans won't actually see that reflected on their tax bills, and that he disagrees with the analysis that the burden for taxes on corporations would fall on them.

"This is not a tax increase," McGovern said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
×