With polls showing the economy as a top concern for Americans, the White House is trying to assure voters that President Joe Biden is doing everything he can to lower the cost of living.
At the White House Wednesday, Biden announced a major initiative to cut down on "junk fees" from banks, airlines, cable companies and other industries. Surprise costs are called junk fees.
The speech was aboutmarks on new actions to give families more space.
Biden said that the American people don't know the world is in a mess. Europe and the rest of the world have been put through a lot of stress because of Putin's war. They would like to know what we are doing. There is a lot happening that we are doing. It's added up.
Democrats are under pressure to address inflation in order to win the election. In recent weeks voters have become more concerned with the economy and inflation than with the state of democracy. Voters prefer Republicans on economic issues.
Republicans talk a lot about gas prices. Biden frequently points out how the average price of gas in the United States has dropped from its peak of over $5 a gallon in June to less than $3 a gallon today.
Biden said that the prices were close to what they were before the epidemic. I will be working very hard to make sure that oil companies pass on the reduction in the price of oil.
The Biden administration has been working on reducing "junk fees" for months, he said. Banks are not allowed to charge surprise overdraft fees on debit transactions and fees on deposits that bounce, according to new guidance released by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
He said that there are tens of billions of dollars in junk fees that he has directed his administration to reduce or eliminate. Last week, the Federal Trade Commission began work on a rule to crack down on unfair and deceptive fees across all industries.
Processing fees for concert tickets, resort fees, excessive credit card late fees, airline booking fees and termination charges are some of the fees the administration is tackling, according to him.
Surprise charges the companies because they can.
Over the past decade, airlines have added a number of fees, including preferred seating fees that don't come with extra legroom. Basic economy tickets are less flexible than standard economy and have been introduced by major airlines. The Biden administration's proposal is getting some resistance.
Delta Air Lines said customers already have access to fees and prices, and that it will file a formal comment on the proposal.
Peter Carter, Delta's chief legal officer said on the Oct. 13 call that carriers are expected to give a moment of making the search every single potential fee or price without regard to who is actually searching. It might be a fee that is not relevant to the consumer, which could cause quite a bit of confusion.
Bank overdraft and bounced check fees were found to be unfair and unlawful. Biden said the move would save Americans billions of dollars in unfair fees.
He said that his administration made it clear that the fees are illegal.
CNBC reporters were involved in the story.
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