Congressman Dusty Johnson’s Weekly Column: Rising Inflationary Pressure

June’s inflation report showed a 9.1% increase from a year ago. At this point, most of us are seeing the higher prices for almost everything we purchase. These prices are making it harder for individuals and families to make ends meet, and have created dilemmas for construction projects, police departments, and school districts.

Record high fuel prices have imposed unexpected costs on police departments who have to fill up the gas tanks of their patrol cars. To combat these expenses, some police chiefs have asked their department to conduct stationary patrols of neighborhoods instead of driving around to conserve gas. Highway patrols, police departments, and Sheriff’s offices have all seen their fuel costs increase by as much as 50% or more since early 2021. They have adjusted how many patrol cars are out, what types of vehicles are on the road, and how far their routes are.

Meanwhile school districts are juggling increased food costs, energy, tech, school supplies, and transportation costs for bus routes. Adjusting bus routes and rates for contractors are a couple ways these increased expenses have been mitigated but finding ways to escape the burden that inflation has proven to be difficult.

I participated in a roundtable on Thursday with my colleagues from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to discuss inflation’s impact on infrastructure and transportation costs. A hot topic of the conversation was President Biden’s infrastructure bill. Because of massive spending on other Administration priorities, this bill will not create the level of impact on our nation’s infrastructure as Biden had hoped due to the rising cost of supplies and the eroding value of the dollar. But the answer is not spending more money.

Inflationary pressure from poor decisions in Washington weighs on almost every aspect of America’s economy.

We need practical solutions that abide by the laws of supply and demand. Solutions like my bill, theOcean Shipping Reform Act, year-round E15, and increasing domestic energy production will ease the burden of inflation over time—for police departments, schools, infrastructure projects, and American citizens.

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