Chavez-DeRemer joins in House passage of bill to keep tabs on administration’s impact on inflation

WASHINGTON (KTVZ) -- Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., supported legislation Wednesday that seeks to hold the executive branch accountable for the potential inflationary impact of executive orders. The REIN IN Inflation Act passed the House of Representatives on a bipartisan vote of 272-148.

“When our inflation rate is elevated, it increases the cost of everything from food and beverages to energy and transportation. This stealth tax particularly hurts Oregon’s low-income families, seniors, and others living on fixed incomes, along with many workers who have not seen their wages keep up with soaring prices. Instead of casting blame, it’s time to institute some commonsense, bipartisan accountability measures. That’s why I was proud to support the REIN IN Inflation Act today – the American people deserve to know how the executive branch’s actions are contributing to higher prices,” Chavez-DeRemer said in a news release.

The Reduce Exacerbated Inflation Negatively Impacting the Nation (REIN IN) Inflation Act requires the executive branch to publish the inflationary impact of executive orders before enacting them.

Specifically, this bill would require the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors and the Office of Management and Budget to prepare a report, which would include the inflationary effects of any executive order that has an estimated impact of at least $1 billion. The White House would then have to report these findings to Congress each year to increase transparency and accountability over executive actions.

Inflation once again rose more than expected in January, up 6.4 percent from a year ago, when inflation was already at 7.5 percent. Year-over-year real wage growth has been negative for 22 months, Chavez-DeRemer noted.