On Tuesday’s “CNN Newsroom,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) stated that the omnibus spending bill does have “some big emergency numbers” but “much of” those large emergency funds are going overseas and he doesn’t expect the bill to have “any extraordinary inflationary effect.” Murphy also stated that we’re having “much-needed downward pressure on inflation.”
Co-host Jim Sciutto asked, “So, first on the topline number. This bill comes in at $1.7 trillion. As The Wall Street Journal noted, that’s getting nearly as large as the $1.9 trillion March 2020 COVID relief bill, given ongoing inflation and price hikes, is this an inflationary budget?”
Murphy responded, “What you’re seeing is much-needed downward pressure on inflation. What we’re funding in this bill are essential services. This is mostly a bill about obligations, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. There are some big emergency numbers in this bill. But much of that is going overseas. 40-plus billion dollars for Ukraine. I don’t think there’s anything in this bill that isn’t absolutely necessary for the health of the country. I don’t anticipate that it’ll have any extraordinary inflationary effect.”
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