Pelosi blames inflation on low unemployment, says Manchin ‘not right’ on BBB criticism

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Sunday that skyrocketing inflation is due to more people entering the workforce, and that Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is wrong to claim that President Biden’s $1.75 trillion Build Back Better Act would worsen inflation.

During an appearance on ABC’s "This Week," Pelosi was asked by anchor George Stephanopoulos to explain what Democrats in Congress are doing to address rising inflation, which is up 7.5% in the past year, marking the steepest increase in 40 years.

"The fact that people have jobs always contributes to an increase in inflation, and that’s a good thing," Pelosi said. "But inflation is not a good, you know, we have to contain it."

"Wages are not keeping up with prices," Stephanopoulos interjected.

"That’s right, and let me just say what Congress has been doing," the congresswoman replied. Pelosi touted the COMPETES Act, which passed the House earlier this month by a 222-210 largely partisan vote and addressed supply chain disruptions exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. The bill includes a $52 billion "chips" fund to bring semiconductor fabrication back to the U.S. and a $45 billion investment to ensure critical goods are made in the U.S. rather than relying on China. 

"What contributes to inflation? More people having jobs, scarcity of product, which makes prices go up, and the rest," Pelosi said. "So we passed the Competes Act last Friday – this was a giant step for it."