EXCLUSIVE: GOP Rep. Ted Budd pushes bill for White House staff to take a course on inflation

Rep. Ted Budd on Tuesday introduced legislation that would require every member of President Biden’s staff to take a financial literacy course on inflation before the White House could receive further funding.

Mr. Budd, a North Carolina Republican running for the Senate, hopes to have the requirement incorporated in the upcoming appropriations bill for the Executive Office of the President (EOP).

The EOP consists of the White House offices and agencies that execute the president’s agenda, including the National Economic Council and the Office of Management and Budget.

Mr. Budd told The Washington Times that he was compelled to offer the legislation because inflation has “grown into a full-blown crisis” since Mr. Biden took office.

“Consumer costs have risen by the highest rate in 13 years, and it’s eating away at the buying power of every single North Carolinian,” Mr. Budd said. “In the end, inflation is a tax that is directly caused by reckless spending under Biden.”

Earlier this month, the Labor Department reported that consumer prices jumped nearly 1 percentage point between May and June of this year alone.

More troubling, prices have skyrocketed roughly 5.4% over the past year — the biggest one-year jump in inflation since August 2008.

A recent survey by the Morning Consult found that more than one-third of adults believe they are now spending more on groceries than they did at the start of the year.

Complicating matters is that the federal government has undertaken a massive spending spree in recent months. While most of the money has been used on coronavirus relief efforts, Mr. Biden has not skimped when it comes to the cost of government.

Mr. Biden also has pushed for a broad expansion of the federal bureaucracy. For instance, the EOP has swelled to include more than 560 employees, with salaries totaling roughly $50 million.

Mr. Biden and congressional Democrats also have made two big-spending proposals, totaling more than $4.7 trillion, part of this year’s legislative agenda.

The majority of the money is earmarked for a $3.5 trillion “human infrastructure” package made up of liberal priorities, like amnesty for undocumented immigrants and free community college. Democrats have pitched paying for part of the spending by repealing the Trump-era tax cuts.

Mr. Budd on Tuesday pointed to such policies as proof that top-level administration officials need more education about the causes of inflation.

“To address this administration’s clear lack of knowledge on this subject, every member of the White House staff should complete a course on the financial effects of inflation,” Mr. Budd said. “Maybe then they will reconsider the dangerous fiscal course they are leading our country and its citizens.”