Boyle Statement on Fed Interest Rate Cut

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Pennsylvania Congressman Brendan F. Boyle, Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, released the following statement after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced it would be lowering the current interest rate target range:

“For over a year now, I have been warning that the Fed was keeping rates too high for too long,” said Ranking Member Boyle. “Today’s decision is a win for middle-class families, a win for American businesses, and a win for the health of our economy. With inflation firmly in decline, the data supporting a rate cut has long been clear – and I’m glad the Federal Reserve has finally taken action to preserve our hard-fought economic recovery.”

“We’ve made significant progress on inflation, but House Democrats know there is more to be done to bring down the cost of everyday goods and take on corporate price-gouging. While House Republicans continue trying to inflict higher costs and higher taxes on the middle class with Trump’s Project 2025 agenda, House Democrats will never stop fighting to deliver an economy that works for working families.”

Background:

June 2024: In a letter with Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse, Ranking Member Boyle reiterates his call for the Fed to begin lowering rates. “We believe that the Federal Reserve must begin to cut rates as soon as the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Doing so is warranted by the data, will preserve the economic progress that was so hard fought, and will allow workers and families to enjoy the benefits of a strong economy,” Boyle and Whitehouse wrote.

January 2024: Boyle firmly calls for the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates in 2024. “A soft landing is firmly in sight, and in 2024 the Fed must avoid needlessly risking our economic progress and start cutting interest rates,” said Ranking Member Boyle.

July 2023: Boyle pens an op-ed with Rep. Val Hoyle, calling for the Fed to pause interest rate hikes and allow for the previous rate increases to take effect. “People in Pennsylvania and Oregon, and throughout this country, are finally seeing an economy with higher wages and opportunity for all. Bidenomics is working, and our economy is in a far better place today than it was one, two, or even three years ago. It's time to pause the hikes and give the economy a chance to fully recognize the impact of previous rate increases,” wrote Reps. Boyle and Hoyle.

May 2023: Boyle leads colleagues in both chambers of Congress in a letter to Chair Powell, warning that prolonged interest rate increases could throw millions of Americans out of work and crush small businesses. “Continuing to raise interest rates would be an abandonment of the Fed’s dual mandate to achieve both maximum employment and price stability and shows little regard for the small businesses and working families that will get caught in the wreckage,” wrote the lawmakers.

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