Oversight Dems Probe Trump Attacks on Affordability

Las Vegas, NV: — Today, Democratic Members of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, and Nevada Representatives Susie Lee, Dina Titus, and Steven Horsford held a field hearing in Las Vegas, Nevada. Members of Congress heard testimony from expert witnesses who examined how President Trump’s policies have driven up the cost of living for working families. Experts laid out the dramatic rise in gas prices, groceries, housing costs, and especially energy bills.

Witnesses included:

• Liz Pancotti – Vice President of Policy, Advocacy, and Research, Groundwork Collaborative
• Ted Pappageorge – Secretary-Treasurer, Culinary Workers Union Local 226
• Phyllis Mallory-Edmonson, Health Care Administrator – Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
• Juanny Romero – Founder & CEO, Mothership Coffee
• Donald Sherman – President and Chief Executive Officer, Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington (CREW)

“Trump and congressional Republicans have made everything more expensive for everyday people,” said Leah Donahey, LCV Senior Federal Advocacy Campaigns Director, who attended the hearing. “They have canceled clean, affordable energy projects that would have lowered energy bills and started a war that sent gas prices soaring and gave billions more in profits to oil companies. Thank you to House Oversight Democrats for holding today’s hearing exposing this corruption and offering real solutions to address the affordability crisis. With oil and gas company-aligned administration officials giving their cronies handouts daily, we need Democrats taking this action — shining the spotlight on this corruption and holding them accountable.”

“Every month, Nevada families ask themselves how much further a paycheck can stretch,” said Kristee Watson, Executive Director of Nevada Conservation League, also at the hearing. “Now we’re told to compete with data centers for the water and power our households depend on, with families footing the bill either way. Across Nevada, public lands once set aside for solar, the kind of project that would have lowered our costs, are being sneakily handed over to data centers that spike our bills and drain a water supply we cannot afford to lose. It is the same story everywhere: someone at the top profits while working families cover the tab. As the state’s leading voice for public lands and water, Nevada Conservation League will not let this scheme go unanswered. We thank House Oversight Democrats for shining a spotlight on it today, because Nevadans deserve to know exactly who benefits while we count every dollar.”

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Since the start of Trump’s second term, household electric bills are up 16% nationally, thanks in large part to Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill, which gutted clean energy tax credits and manufacturing investments.

Meanwhile, Trump’s war in Iran has spiked gas prices, reaching an average peak of more than $4.50 a gallon in May, about 50% higher than they were in February, and remains close to $4 a gallon.

Nearly 144,000 good-paying clean energy jobs have already been lost or stalled under Trump. This administration is also spending billions in taxpayer dollars to cancel offshore wind projects that would have added cheaper power to the grid.

All together, working families have paid over $2,000 more for gas, electricity, and other items impacted by tariffs since President Trump took office.