Jeff Fuentes Gleghorn
The House of Representatives voted to pass the bipartisan Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act (LFFC) on June 16, sending the bill to the Senate for approval. Representative Susie Lee of Nevada voted for the bill, saying that “This legislation lowers costs for farmers, increases American fuel production, and shores up our markets, so that families will pay less from the gas pump to the grocery store.” Representatives Horsford and Titus also voted in favor of the LCCF, leaving Representative Mark Amodei as the sole Nevada representative to vote against it.
Rising food and fuel costs have become a central issue for Americans, with 70 percent of people calling inflation a “very big problem” in a recent poll by Pew Research Center. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), food prices are nearly 10 percent higher than they were last year, and motor fuel prices are up 45 percent.
The LFFC will lower gas and grocery prices in three main ways. First, it aims to lower costs for farmers by offering money to help improve farming techniques and upgrade equipment, allowing farmers to spend less on fertilizer. Second, the LFFC will increase competition among meatpacking companies by providing loans and grants to build new factories and investigating big corporations when they break the law. Lawmakers are confident that increased competition will lower grocery store prices. Finally, the LFFC will lower gasoline and fuel prices by allowing companies to sell biofuels like Unleaded 88 all year. It also provides money to add new storage and dispensing places for biofuels to make sure they are available everywhere in the country.
