Ag Sec’y Vilsack on Inflationary Pressure from ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ Spending: The Law’s ‘Paced’

On Friday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack responded to a question on if spending in the Inflation Reduction Act will create inflationary pressure by stating that “One of the things that I think is missed about the IRA is the fact that it’s paced. It’s not as if all this money is all of a sudden showing up in the economy.”

Co-host Becky Quick said, “[I]n the meantime, the investments from the IRA could very well push inflation higher, because it’s money that’s pouring into the economy to create jobs for some of these things along the way. But that does create some inflationary pressures.”

Vilsack responded, “One of the things that I think is missed about the IRA is the fact that it’s paced. It’s not as if all this money is all of a sudden showing up in the economy. It takes time to get a contract for road construction. It takes time to fix the [rail] system. It takes time to improve ports. So, this resource is going to be stretched out over a period of time. The money we have at USDA from the IRA and the infrastructure law [is] stretched over a period of years. So, I think you’re going to see more of a measured impact in investment in the economy. Overall, what we’re going to see is a much stronger and a much more competitive American economy.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett