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GOP senators pass infrastructure bill, record inflation follows

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By Jenny Goldsberry

After 19 Republican Senators, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), voted to pass President Biden’s infrastructure bill Tuesday, inflation is nearing record highs. While this bill contributed it the US dollar’s rise, experts also credit the most recent jobs report.

The Senate passed the bill 69 to 30. They included Republican Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Richard Burr (R-NC) Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Susan Collins (R-ME), Kevin Cramer (R-ND) Mike Crapo (R-ID), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Hoeven (R-ND), Lisa Murkowski (R-AL), Rob Portman (R-OH), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Dan Sullivan (R-AL), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Roger Wicker (R-MS).

Head of G10 FX research at Credit Agricole Valentin Marinov spoke with Reuters about the result of the bill.

“The stronger than expected non-farm payrolls report on Friday boosted the dollar across the board as it seemingly helped the Fed move closer to QE (quantitative easing) taper and policy normalization,” Marinov told them. “In addition, the U.S. Senate has passed President Biden’s infrastructure package and thus boosted market expectations of growing U.S. Treasury issuance at a time when the Fed is expected to announce their intention to reduce their U.S. Treasury buying.”

As a result, US consumer prices also increased by 5.4%. They were expected to rise, but by 5.3% only. Prices haven’t been this high since August 2008.

Meanwhile, the Japanese yen, Chinese yuan and Korean won are moving in the opposite direction. All have been on the decrease for weeks now.

You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism.

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Economy

House inquiry opened as to whether IRS is using artificial intelligence to invade Americans’ financial privacy

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An inquiry has been opened by the House Judiciary Committee as to whether the IRS is using artificial intelligence to invade Americans’ financial privacy. The inquiry comes after an agency employee was captured in an undercover tape suggesting there was a widespread surveillance operation underway that might not be constitutional, reports Just the News.

The inquiry was opened by Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., who sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen demanding documents, and answers as to how the agency is currently employing artificial intelligence to comb through bank records to look for possible tax cheats.

The House Judiciary Committee has been investigating why the FBI was obtaining Americans’ bank records, including those who partook in the January 6 Capitol riots, without using search warrants or subpoenas.

Jordan’s and Hageman’s letter said lawmakers have evidence and reason to believe that the IRS and Department of Justice (DOJ) are actively monitoring millions of Americans’ private transactions, bank accounts, and related financial information—without any legal process—using the AI-powered system.

“This kind of pervasive financial surveillance, carried out in coordination with federal law enforcement, into Americans’ private financial records raises serious doubts about the IRS’s—and the federal government’s—respect for Americans’ fundamental civil liberties,” the letter said.

“So one of the things that I have learned since I’ve been in Congress is that there are quite a few people in government who do not recognize our constitutional protections,” Hageman told Just the News. “They’ve kind of forgotten or at least ignored our Bill of Rights.”

Just the News also reported that the Treasury Department has since acknowledged it has “implemented an enhanced process using AI to mitigate check fraud in near real-time by strengthening and expediting processes to recover potentially fraudulent payments from financial institutions’ since late 2022.”

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