(NewsNation) — Inflation is the number one issue in Nebraska, incumbent Rep. Don Bacon, who’s running for reelection in Nebraska’s second district, said Tuesday on “Morning in America.”
Bacon blames inflation, which is the highest it’s been in America in 41 years, on what he called President Joe Biden’s “tax and spend” policy. He specifically criticized Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan, which the president outlined in March 2021. The Biden administration has said this plan will rebuild the country’s roads, bridges and rails, give people access to clean drinking water and tackle the climate crisis, among other items.
“So we have inflation at eight and a half percent. (Biden’s) solutions are to do price controls, which do not work,” Bacon said. “And he wants to spend more money, which will lead to more inflation. The right answer is to reduce spending … If you look back last two years, we have spent way too much money. “
Bacon said he’s heard from farmers for whom the price of fertilizer and other supplies have gone up by 200 to 300%.
“The costs just to get a crop have gone way up,” Bacon said.
Democrats need to stand up against reckless spending, Bacon said, but still, he expects it to take a year or two to get inflation down.
“I am of the belief that (Republicans) take back the House in November, and hopefully the Senate,” Bacon said. This could help the president “come to the middle” and work with Republicans to have a more moderate spending policy, he added.
On Tuesday, Biden will lay out a plan to fight inflation and reduce costs on everything from internet access to childcare. He’s previously said getting prices under control is his top priority, per Bloomberg.
Bacon goes against Steve Kuehl in Nebraska’s primary race tonight. The winner of that will go on to face either Alisha Shelton or Tony Vargas, depending on who wins the Democratic House race.