President Joe Biden on Thursday promised to tackle supply problems that are contributing to inflation as he talked up his administration’s economic policies in a speech in Cleveland.
“Now as our economy recovers, there’s gonna be some bumps in the road,” Biden said, referring to the rebound from the COVID-19 crisis.
“There’s going to be supply-chain issues, price distortions on the way back to a stable and steady growth,” he added, as he delivered his address at a community college’s campus.
“In the coming weeks, my administration will take steps to combat these supply pressures, starting with the construction materials and transportation bottlenecks and building off the work we’re doing on computer chips. We’re also announcing new initiatives to combat anti-competitive practices that hurt small businesses and families.”
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And see: Construction on new homes retreats as builders grapple with supply-chain headaches
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His speech followed a release on Thursday morning that showed the U.S. economy expanded at an annualized 6.4% pace in the first quarter, unrevised from the prior estimate released last month, while a separate reading indicated that unemployment claims fell to a new pandemic low of 406,000.
“The bottom line is this: The Biden economic plan is working. We have record job creation. We’re seeing record economic growth,” the president said.
In his remarks in Ohio, the president also talked up his infrastructure proposal and social-spending plan. His administration has been negotiating this month on a possible infrastructure package with Senate Republicans.
In addition, Biden held up a list that he said had instances of some Republican lawmakers bragging about benefits of March’s $1.9 trillion stimulus law after they voted against the measure.
“Some people have no shame. But I’m happy — I’m happy they know that it’s benefited their constituents,” he said.
U.S. stocks
SPX,
DJIA,
traded higher Thursday as investors sifted through the data on weekly jobless claims and first-quarter gross domestic product.
Now read: Yellen’s high inflation forecast translates into a communication headache for the Fed
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