Biden puts focus on drug prices as he tries to revive agenda
CULPEPER, Virginia (AP) — Unable to tame inflation that has worsened sharply under his watch, President Joe Biden plans Thursday to emphasize how his administration's policies can cut prescription drug prices.
He traveled to Culpeper, Virginia, on the heels of a dire inflation report on Thursday morning. Consumer prices jumped 7.5% over the year ending in January, as the sources of inflation have broadened on a monthly basis with increases in the costs of rent, electricity, clothes and household furnishings.
Inflation poses a triple threat for Biden. Prices at a 40-year peak have dimmed his public support and endangered his policy agenda, while efforts by the
Federal Reserve to curb inflation could meaningfully slow the strong economic growth that had been a highlight of his first year.
Biden's trip to Virginia will also be an opportunity for him to start promoting his party's candidates in November's midterm elections. He's expected to appear alongside Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., who is in danger of losing her seat representing a central Virginia district.
"He is eager to go out there and hit the road for Democrats who are fighting for an agenda for the American people," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday.
Spanberger said in an interview Thursday that she wants to put prescription drug costs "at front and center of the discussion," and that addressing the issue could help Americans at a time of rising inflation.
"If you're facing increased prices at the gas pump or the cost of chicken at the grocery store goes up, it hurts," she said.
Spanberger is one of several Democrats who have raised alarms about slipping support from voters. She suggested in a November interview with The New York Times that Biden had overreached with his plans for new government programs that recalled the Depression-era agenda of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
"Nobody elected him to be FDR; they elected him to be normal and stop the chaos," she said.