Missouri Republican Representative Eric Burlison has criticised lawmakers from both parties for excessive government spending, arguing that Washington’s borrowing is worsening inflation, interest rates and the national debt. He said Republicans had struggled to communicate effectively on affordability before the midterm elections, particularly because healthcare costs are placing severe pressure on families.

Burlison said he had fought members of his own party to secure spending reductions in the “Big, Beautiful Bill”, but warned that further cuts would eventually become unavoidable. He claimed average annual health-insurance premiums for a family of four had risen from $6,000 in 2000 to $27,000 today; had they merely tracked inflation, he said, they would be about $11,000, leaving families with roughly $16,000 in additional annual costs.