Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., on Tuesday bragged about buying an expensive electric vehicle amid a global semiconductor chip shortage and being able to bypass historically high gas prices on her road trip to Washington, D.C.
Stabenow briefly weighed in on gas prices, which hit a national average of $4.94 per gallon Tuesday, during Treasury Secretary Janet Yellenâs testimony before the Senate Finance Committee on President Bidenâs 2023 budget.
“I do have to say, just on the issue of gas prices, after waiting for a long time to have enough chips in this country to finally get my electric vehicle,” the senator said. “I got it and drove it from Michigan to here this last weekend and went by every single gas station, and it didnât matter how high it was.
GAS PRICES COULD HIT $5 THIS WEEK, EXPERT SAYS
“And so Iâm looking forward to the opportunity for us to move to vehicles that arenât going to be dependent on the whims of the oil companies and the international markets,” she added.
Stabenow went on to hail Bidenâs handling of the economy and blamed the “global supply chain” for the reason “weâre not getting enough of those chips for automobiles.”
In her prepared testimony, Yellen said the U.S. is facing “unacceptable levels of inflation” and that elements of Bidenâs proposed budget, “including the clean energy initiatives and plans to reform the prescription drug market,” can “help lower the costs paid by American consumers.”
The hearing comes one week after Yellen admitted she was “wrong” about the path of inflation after downplaying its threat to American consumers for months.
“I think I was wrong then about the path that inflation would take,” she said during a CNN interview. “As I mentioned, there have been unanticipated and large shocks to the economy that have boosted energy and food prices and supply bottlenecks that have affected our economy badly that I didnât at the time fully understand.”
Source: Fox News
