With inflation at 40-year high, Food and Fuel Family Savings Act would give millions of Americans $600, usable only for food and gas
Or you can buy the only grocery item that’s apparently inflation-proof: 99-cent AriZona iced tea.
Context
The annual Inflation rate currently stands at a 40-year-high of 8.5%, the highest level of inflation since December 1981. As prices surge, two categories have particularly hit Americans’ wallets.
One is fuel, which reached an all-time record national average of $4.33 per gallon in mid-March, and fuel still remains at a near-high $4.12 per gallon as of this writing. Another is food, which as of February had experienced 7.9% year-over-year inflation.
What the bill does
The Food and Fuel Family Savings Act would give millions of Americans $600, to be used only for food or gasoline. The amount of the credit would also be reduced for those making above $40,000.
Children and dependents wouldn’t receive the money directly, but those who claim them as dependents would receive an additional $600 for each dependent. Non-citizens would be ineligible for the funds.
The bill was introduced in the Senate on April 7 as S. 4060, by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI).
What supporters say
Supporters argue the legislation provides much-needed relief on two key spending areas as prices surge, shielding the most disadvantaged from much of the economic effects.
“Hard-working Americans are not at fault for these global price pressures,” Sen. Reed said on the Senate floor when introducing the bill. “Yet these households, which often put a large share of their income towards basic necessities, are being forced to bear the burden of higher costs.”
“The average American household would receive $1,500. Using estimates from [economists], this payment should cover the additional $183 the average family will spend each month on food and fuel for the rest of 2022,” Sen. Reed continued. “In other words, our legislation would ensure households can put food on the table and gas in the car this year.”
What opponents say
Republican opponents counter that this legislation is a Band-Aid that doesn’t cover the biggest source of inflation: surging government spending enacted by congressional Democrats. Indeed, this bill would add more such government spending.
Inflation “[gets] worse, in my view, if we do it the way the Democrats propose,” Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) said on the Senate floor. “Because by adding more fuel to the fire — more stimulus spending, in this case, trillions of dollars — you’re going to stimulate more demand in the economy. And inflation happens when demand outstrips supply. So you have a lot of demand for something, but you don’t have the supply for it and it raises inflation.”
“And that’s exactly what many of us predicted would have happened back in March of [2021], when Congress did the same thing, $1.9 trillion. A lot of it was stimulus spending, and people said, ‘This is going to cause inflation,’” Sen. Portman continued. “And sure enough, it did. It wasn’t just me and other Republicans. It was some Democrats as well.”
Odds of passage
The bill has attracted three cosponsors, all Democrats. It awaits a potential vote by the Senate Finance Committee.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
This article was written by GovTrack Insider staff writer Jesse Rifkin.
Want more? Follow GovTrack by email, on Twitter, and for our “A Bill a Minute” video series — on Instagram, or on YouTube.
Like our analyses? Support our work on Patreon.
