Yellen touts ‘historic recovery’ under Biden before House panel

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen appeared before Congress on Tuesday to highlight the economy’s “historic recovery” under President Biden.

“Over the past three years, the Biden administration has driven a historic recovery,” Yellen said in her opening remarks before the House Financial Services Committee as part of the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s annual report.

“GDP growth is solid and inflation has come down significantly,” he continued. “We have also achieved a healthy labor market.”

Yellen said that while the labor force participation rate has increased, the unemployment rate remains below 4%, “the longest on record in 50 years.” Real wages and median household wealth also increased, he added.

He also emphasized that the Financial Stability Oversight Council is focused on addressing risks from the banking sector and non-bank financial institutions, climate-related events, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and digital assets.

The council, established in response to the 2008 financial crisis, is comprised of the country’s major financial regulators and is chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury.

As Mr. Biden shifts his focus to the November general election and a possible rematch with former President Trump, he and other members of his administration are emphasizing economic achievements and demonstrating that Americans are largely negative about the economy. I’ve been trying to change my perspective.

Inflation soared during the first half of Biden’s term, but has since fallen sharply, with consumer prices rising just 3.4% in December from a year earlier. The economy has also remained surprisingly resilient despite repeated interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, contrary to widespread expectations that it would slip into recession.

Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), chairman of the Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy Subcommittee, slammed Yellen’s economic presentation during Tuesday’s hearing.

“Asking Americans to feel good about Bidennomics is like asking them to smile during a root canal,” Barr said, using the Biden administration’s economic slogan. “The discomfort cannot be ignored.”

He pointed to continued high prices due to the recent spike in inflation. Grocery and gasoline prices have both increased by about 25% since February 2020, and rent has increased by 21%. During the same period his wages increased by 20%.

“While the administration may want to tout that inflation is coming down, Mr. Secretary, you are an economist, and you know that inflation, the rate of increase in prices, should not be confused with the overall level of prices.” Barr he added.

A recent CNN poll found that only 35% of Americans say the economy is doing well and just 26% say the economy is starting to recover. A further 26% said their economic situation was stable and not getting worse.

A recent NBC News national poll also showed Biden trailing Trump by more than 20 points when asked which candidate would handle the economy better.

Updated at 12:29 p.m.