Grandmothers in Congress are ‘trying to bring common sense’ to an ‘uncommon’ sense government

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FOXMore grandmothers needed 'to stand up': Rep. Harshbarger

Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Calif., and Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., who are both grandmothers, weigh in on a recent poll that revealed the vast majority of Americans believe life in in the United States will be worse for the next generation.

Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Calif., and Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., who are both grandmothers, weighed in on a new Fox News poll that revealed that the vast majority of Americans believe life in the United States will be worse for the next generation. 

"We need more grandmas to stand up and say, ‘We’re taking our country back’ and so that’s why I did what I did," Harshbarger told "Fox & Friends Weekend" on Sunday, explaining what prompted her to run for Congress to begin with. 

Against the backdrop of mass shootings, foreign policy showdowns, inflation woes and a pandemic, the latest Fox News survey finds a record-high number of registered voters think life for the next generation of Americans will be worse than it is today.

A majority, 70%, says life will be worse for the next generation than it is today — up 29 percentage points from July 2020. The last time voters were close to being this negative about the future was in September 2014, when 61% said it would be worse.

FOX NEWS POLL: RECORD 70% SAY LIFE WILL BE WORSE FOR NEXT GENERATION 

All of this comes as voters continue to offer pessimistic views of both the national economy and their personal finances. Eight in 10 rate national economic conditions as only fair or poor, while about six in 10 rate their personal finances negatively. On top of this, three-quarters are dissatisfied with the direction of the country — the highest negative rating in a decade.

Harshbarger said she doesn’t doubt the results of the poll, noting "that is why I raised my hand and said, ‘Pick me in 2020.’" 

She explained that the "greatest privilege of my life is being a wife, a mother and a grandmother," especially because, as she noted, it has taught her patience and priority.

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"I’ve been a pharmacist for 36 years and a business owner, and I’ve taken care of people at a local level, and I’ve seen what overregulation of the government can do to small businesses and just American families," Harshbarger went on to note. 

Rep. Steel, an immigrant, also weighed in, noting that she came to the U.S. when she was 19 and was able to achieve the American dream. She told ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ she run for public office, in part, so that her children and grandchildren could achieve the American dream as well.

Steel slammed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a negotiated version of the Build Back Better Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives Friday.

"We really have to stop raising taxes, doing the inflation. This is not really [the] time and this is not really good," Steel said. 

The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) recently reported that middle-class earners would see an increase in their taxes as a result of the bill. Reporting from the committee revealed that Americans making less than $200,000 per year would have their taxes increased cumulatively by $16.7 billion. For taxpayers earning between $200,000 and $500,000, the bill would increase taxes by $14.1 billion.

  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Democratic representatives have claimed that the tax hike is misinformation and that the bill will not increase taxes on individuals making under $400,000 per year.

The bill came just weeks after inflation hit a 40-year-high and the gross domestic product (GDP) dropped for the second consecutive quarter, entering the economy into a technical recession.

Last week it was revealed that the rapid pace of inflation slowed in July for the first time in months, but prices remained near the highest level in 40 years.

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The Labor Department said Wednesday that the consumer price index, a broad measure of the price for everyday goods including gasoline, groceries and rents, rose 8.5% in July from a year ago, below the 9.1% year-over-year surge recorded in June. Prices were unchanged in the one-month period from June.

Those figures were both lower than the 8.7% headline figure and 0.2% monthly gain forecast by Refinitiv economists, likely a welcoming sign for the Federal Reserve as it seeks to cool price gains and tame consumer demand. 

Scorching-hot inflation has created severe financial pressures for most U.S. households, which are forced to pay more everyday necessities like food and rent. The burden is disproportionately borne by low-income Americans, whose already-stretched paychecks are heavily impacted by price fluctuations. 

INFLATION PUSHES RETIREE BACK INTO WORKFORCE AFTER 20 YEARS: 'I NEED COMPENSATION'

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The price hikes have had consequences for Americans, including Tina Caston, who told ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ earlier this summer that inflation forced her out of retirement. 

"I'm going back to get a resume put together, so it can be current and attractive and hirable. I need to go back to work," Caston, who has been retired for 20 years said in June, adding that she can no longer afford to volunteer at food kitchens and her local Goodwill anymore. 

Harshbarger argued on Sunday that "this is the sentiment all across the country, people are having to go back to work." 

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"This is a generation who says, ‘I’m going to get up, I’m going to work, I’m going to pay my bills and I’m not going to depend on the government to take care of me.’" 

"This is unbelievable, that someone who is a grandmother has to go back to work, can’t do what they want to do," she added. "I could be sitting on my front porch at the farm playing with my grandsons, but what did I do? I’m here in Congress trying to bring common sense to an uncommon [sense] government."

Fox News’ Victoria Balara and Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.