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H.R. 1358: Combating Rural Inflation Act

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The text of the bill below is as of Mar 3, 2023 (Introduced).

Summary of this bill

This is the worst inflation in rural areas since exploding cows.

Context

The government’s official inflation number is calculated using prices in 75 urban areas nationwide. Rural areas are entirely omitted.

Yet rural inflation is often higher than urban inflation, which likely lowballs the “official” inflation number. That was the determination of the CBO (Congressional Budget Office), after Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO8) — at the time the top Republican on the House Budget Committee — asked them to run the numbers for both urban and rural areas in January 2022.

A few months after that, in June 2022, inflation peaked at 9.1%, its highest level since 1981. Although …

I

118th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 1358

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 3, 2023

(for himself, Mr. Neguse, and Mr. Vasquez) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

A BILL

To direct the Bureau of Labor Statistics to prepare and publish a Consumer Price Index for Rural Consumers, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Combating Rural Inflation Act.

2.

Consumer Price Index for Rural Consumers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor shall prepare and publish an index for each calendar month beginning with January 2024 to be known as the Consumer Price Index for Rural Consumers that indicates changes over time in expenditures for consumption which are typical for individuals in the United States who reside in rural communities.