WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. Representative John Rose spoke on the House Floor Tuesday, ahead of the expected release of economic output data for the second quarter of 2022. Rep. Rose also highlighted the policies contributing to the ongoing inflation facing American families.

The full speech, as prepared for delivery, is below:

Madam Speaker, on Thursday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis will release its second-quarter gross domestic product numbers, an overall measure of our country’s economic output from April through June. For decades, a recession has been defined as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth. Therefore, if Thursday’s second-quarter GDP number is in the negative, then by definition, the United States’ economy will be in a recession.

However, that won’t stop the White House from doing everything it can to deny the obvious. In fact, the White House Council of Economic Advisors is actively trying to change the definition of the word “recession.” In a blog post published on July 21st titled “How Do Economists Determine Whether the Economy Is in a Recession?” the White House argues that “it is unlikely that the decline in GDP in the first quarter of this year—even if followed by another GDP decline in the second quarter—indicates a recession.”

I hope those students who will be taking Economics 101 in the fall are taking notes—because the Biden Administration is attempting to change the decades-old answers to the test questions for purely political purposes. Instead of President Biden and his administration attempting to bait and switch the public on the definition of a recession, they should change course on their policies that are crushing our economy and creating significant pain for millions of Americans.

President Biden’s disastrous economic policies are having a ripple effect on the housing market, gas and food prices, real wages, and of course overall inflation. Now, we’ll find out on Thursday whether—by definition—we’re in a recession.

Madam Speaker, it didn’t have to be this way. We didn’t have to borrow and spend ourselves into this mess. The President didn’t need to cancel the Keystone Pipeline. He didn’t need to restrict new oil and gas leases on public lands. He didn’t need to create new regulations on every sector of the economy through the Securities and Exchange Commission and other bureaucratic government agencies.

Thankfully, the days of complete Democratic party rule in Washington are likely coming to an end. The American people are fed up with their left-wing economic policies and will reject them soundly at the voting booth in November. Until then, Republicans like me who stand for fiscal conservatism will continue to call them out and hope for more accountability.

You can watch the full speech here.

Original source can be found here.