U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Budget

31/07/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/08/2024 02:21

Federal Reserve Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged

July 31, 2024

Federal Reserve Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Federal Reserve's (Fed) committee that decides the future path of interest rates, announced that there will be no immediate change to interest rates, leaving rates at a 23-year high.

Chairman Arrington on Our Current Economic State:

House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) released the following statement on our current economic state:

"The Biden-Harris experiment in central planning of our economy has failed so miserably that even our central bank can't throw us a lifeline of lower interest rates.

Democrats' unbridled spending combined with their unparalleled barrage of regulations have thrown the entire sandbox in the gears of our economy, and working families are paying the price."

Economic State of Play:

In July, for the sixth consecutive month, consumers remained worried about a possible recession in the next 12 months.

Consumer confidence peaked in October 2018, at a rate of 137.9. Inflation was at a year-over-year rate of 2.5 percent. Now, the Consumer Confidence Index is at just 100.3. Inflation is sitting at a year-over-year rate of 3.0 percent.

In Q4 of 2018, when consumer confidence was at a high point, debt to GDP was 105 percent, and today, debt to GDP is 122 percent.

Since President Biden and Vice President Harris took office, prices have risen by a staggering 19.2 percent, while families have had to spend $17,000 more per yearto maintain the same standard of living they could afford prior to President Biden's leadership.

Under the Biden-Harris Administration, unbridled spending and failed economic policies have left their mark.

More on the Economy from the House Budget Committee:

ReadChairman Arrington's statement on the June inflation rateHERE.

Read more about how interest payments on our national debt have skyrocketed by 153 percent during the Biden-Harris AdministrationHERE.

Read Chairman Arrington's statement on the unemployment rate rising to the highest level since November 2021 in June HERE.