WASHINGTON, D.C. - Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for September 2026:

"Every family that has stood at the gas pump or in the grocery line knows prices are still too high. That pain traces back to Joe Biden and Congressional Democrats, whose $10 trillion spending spree when they had full control of the White House, House, and Senate sent our country into a cost-of-living crisis - the impact of which Americans are still feeling today. Core inflation was at 2.6 percent in September, less than half its peak under Democrat control. Republicans are fighting so that families feel more relief in their monthly budgets - through higher wages and lower taxes. That is why we passed the Working Families Tax Cuts.

"Thanks to No Tax on Tips, the waitress working a double keeps her hard-earned tips. Thanks to No Tax on Overtime, the lineman restoring power after a storm is not taxed on his extra hours. Thanks to No Tax on Car Loan Interest, the new family buying their first American-made minivan can deduct the interest. Not a single Democrat voted for any of this much needed relief. With costs still too high for many Americans, Democrats want to rollback this tax relief, send working families a bigger bill from the IRS, and jumpstart another inflation-fueling spending spree. Democrats would rather hand out tax breaks and favors to special interests, corporate giants, and Communist China while their anti-energy agenda drives up the cost of filling a tank at home. Republicans are focused on bringing down the cost of living so every family can build a better life."