Record-breaking travel expected for July 4
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- A record number of Americans are expected to hit the road to celebrate the 4th of July. The Biden administration says that is a positive sign for the U.S. economy.
AAA spokesman Andrew Gross says they are projecting a very busy travel period for the holiday.
"We are expecting about 71 million people are going to be traveling," Gross said. "The vast majority of those people are going to go by car, and that's pretty typical for a holiday. So about 60 million are going to go by car."
The White House says the record travel numbers show that the economy is getting stronger, because Americans can afford to go on vacation. Amos Hochstein is a White House Advisor for Energy and Investment. He says the Biden administration is excited to see so many people traveling.
"We do have a much stronger economy. Unemployment is as low as it has been in many, many, many years. So people have the ability to take a breather and go out," Hochstein said.
He also says they're taking steps to make travel even cheaper. The Biden administration recently announced it is releasing one million barrels of gas from reserves in an attempt to keep prices at the pump stable.
"It's one of the tools. It's because the president keeps telling us we got to do whatever we can to help American people at where they meet the bills. Where really the rubber meets the road, literally in this case," Hochstein said.
However, Republicans continue to hammer President Biden on inflation. Congressman John Rose (R-Tenn.) points out that the American Farm Bureau says the average price of an Independence Day cookout is up 5% from last year, a record high.
"Undermining our ability to celebrate our freedoms by making almost everything more and more unaffordable," Rose said.
Though the White House argues the economy is improving and says it's a work in progress.
"The President is constantly on us to bring down those prices to address those concerns," Hochstein said.