{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.warner.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/new-data-trump-vance-affordability-crisis-has-cost-virginia-families-3200-for-goods-and-services/", "New Data: Trump-Vance Affordability Crisis Has Cost Virginia Families $3,200+ for Goods and Services", "2026-08-27", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "Senate", "VA", "Mark R. Warner", "W000805", "www.warner.senate.gov", "warner", "https://www.warner.senate.gov/news/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) are highlighting a new congressional report showing that Virginia families have had to pay at least an extra $3,200 because of rising costs of goods and services on the Trump-Vance administration\u2019s watch.\n\n\u201cAs if it weren\u2019t bad enough that President Trump broke every promise he made to the American people to lower costs, the Trump-Vance Administration has actively made the affordability crisis worse by starting illegal wars and imposing chaotic tariffs on allies. This latest data is damning \u2013 paying $3,200 extra for goods and services may be pocket change to President Trump and his cronies, but not to everyday Americans,\u201d said the senators. \u201cEverywhere we go throughout the Commonwealth, we hear the same thing: Virginians cannot afford this Administration\u2019s disastrous policies. We\u2019ll keep fighting every day to lower the cost of putting food on the table, filling up your car at the pump, and keeping the lights on.\u201d\n\nThis new report finds that Virginians and people across the country have incurred increases in costs of everyday goods and services since President Donald Trump took office. Highlights include:\n\nVirginians have incurred nearly $700 more in housing costs, including rent and mortgage payments, since Trump took office.\n\nAverage grocery prices are more than 4 percent higher than under the previous administration, with Americans paying $310 more for groceries in 2025 than in the previous year. Beef now costs a record-high $7+ per pound, and coffee is now nearly $10 per pound.\n\nVirginians overall have paid an additional $2 billion for gas since the start of Trump\u2019s war of choice in Iran. This comes out to just over $700 extra spent on gas for the average Virginia family.\n\nVirginians are projected to have spent $211 more on electricity in the first half of 2026 than in the first half of 2024. In 2025, Virginia families spent $170 more on electricity than before Trump took office.\n\nBecause of Trump and congressional Republicans\u2019 refusal to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, monthly health care premiums through the ACA skyrocketed by more than 50 percent in 2026 compared to last year, with deductibles increasing by more than $1,000 on average.\n\nThe full national report from the Joint Economic Committee \u2013 Minority can be found here, with Virginia-specific data available here and congressional district-specific data available here.\n\nWarner and Kaine have been vigorously and vocally fighting against the Trump-Vance administration\u2019s catastrophic economic policies and the consequences for Virginia families. In February, the senators introduced the Tariff Refund Act of 2026, legislation that would require U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to quickly refund Trump\u2019s illegal tariffs and prioritize the interests of small businesses when doing so. Warner and Kaine have highlighted how the administration\u2019s war of choice in Iran \u2013 which the senators are working tirelessly to bring to an end \u2013 has been pummeling everyday Americans at the gas pump. The senators have also sounded the alarm about the destructive effects of Trump and congressional Republicans\u2019 budget megabill, including making children go hungry to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-28T17:11:49Z", "2026-08-28T17:13:14Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.warner.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/new-data-trump-vance-affordability-crisis-has-cost-virginia-families-3200-for-goods-and-services/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5666061080992222, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}