Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., is calling on President Joe Biden to "meet the moment" and tackle inflation with a "bolder vision" than the one he outlined earlier this week.
In an opinion piece published Thursday in The New York Times, Khanna said he supports the president's efforts, but said "we need a bolder vision and faster action," shortly after Biden presented his plan to address record-high inflation.
"To meet the moment, Mr. Biden should convene an emergency task force empowered to lower prices and address shortages," the California congressman wrote. "We need an all-out mobilization, not just a few ad hoc initiatives reacting to headlines."
"There is no patience for incrementalism or political spin about economic numbers in these times," he said. "Democrats can't just blame the Republicans for lacking a plan."
Khanna specifically mentioned the need to reduce prices on everyday essentials, such as food and fuel, and floated the idea that the Department of Agriculture could buy items when prices are low and then resell them at a low cost to Americans. The Department of Energy could do the same with petroleum, the representative suggested.
The U.S. could also "purchase surplus baby formula in large quantities from Europe and create a mutual recognition system," to address the critical shortage that has left desperate parents scrambling to find formula nationwide.
Khanna's proposals come after Biden laid out a three-part plan to tame inflation earlier in the week.
Beginning by acknowledging that the Federal Reserve "has a primary responsibility to control inflation," Biden said he would work to bring down the cost of goods by concentrating on high gas prices.
He again blamed Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine for the price hikes consumers are experiencing and emphasized the release from global oil reserves. Biden also pressed Congress to pass clean energy tax credits and pledged to reduce the deficit through "common-sense reforms to the tax code."
On Tuesday, the president met with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to consider ways to control the highest inflation since the 1980s.
Biden has come under attack from Republicans who have blamed him, his fiscal policy and the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan for creating the current inflation.
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