I'm a CPA: These 5 Economic Issues Should Get Priority After the Midterms To Improve Your Finances

No matter what happens during the upcoming midterm elections, a new Congress will get sworn in early next year.

Democrats are heavily favored to retake control of the U.S. House, according to the Associated Press. Regardless of who’s in charge, Americans will expect Congress to address a number of economic issues.

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Here are five such issues the new Congress should prioritize to improve your finances, according to Chad Cummings, an attorney and certified public accountant (CPA) at Cummings & Cummings Law.

Inflation and Monetary Policy

Stubbornly high inflation, as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, has become a central theme of the 2026 midterms, with Democrats putting the blame on President Donald Trump and his decisions to impose tariffs and get involved in a war with Iran.

When the midterms are over and the new Congress begins its term, inflation must be their “first order of business,” Cummings said.

“The executive branch is utterly asleep at the switch, and this, more so than any other single policy decision, is driving Americans into poverty,” he told MoneyLion.

One way to slow inflation is for the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates. The Fed did so in September, raising the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point – a move that didn’t exactly please Trump, per Reuters.

“Trump has urged the Fed to lower rates to stimulate the economy – but if the economy is doing so well, as he says, why do we need to stimulate it? Whereas the Fed properly wants to raise rates to curtail inflation,” Cummings said. The problem, he added, is that the Fed is “hindered in their efforts by an overbearing executive branch.”

Presumably, the new Congress would do more to back the Fed in its efforts to tame inflation, especially if Democrats control the House and possibly the Senate.

Tariffs and Agriculture

High food prices have had a particularly negative impact on the budgets of many American consumers, and tariffs play a big part in making food less affordable, according to Cummings.

“Congress needs to look very closely at the tariff regime and decide whether the incremental revenue being produced by the federal government is sufficient to offset the trade imbalances in agriculture, which is sending many small farmers into bankruptcy, therefore creating additional cost-push inflation in the food supply,” he said.

Housing

U.S. house hunters continue to face severe financial hurdles to homeownership, mainly in the form of historically high home prices and rising mortgage rates. One thing Cummings recommends Congress do is support legislation that would limit institutional ownership of single-family homes.

“This was a fringe position a few years ago but is now gaining rapid, mainstream support, even among some Republicans,” he said.

Iran War and Fuel Prices

Another thing Cummings would like to see Congress do is pass a resolution prohibiting further military involvement in Iran. This would “put downward pressure” on crude oil prices and result in “medium-term relief” at the pump. In addition, he supports a temporary policy that would allow limited construction of new refineries or expansion of existing energy infrastructure.

AI

Along with inflation, the “other elephant in the room” is massive capital spending on artificial intelligence.

“AI-related cap spending contributed about 1.3 points to first-quarter 2026 GDP growth,” Cumming said. “AI investment has become the single major support for corporate earnings and equity markets. Without it, earnings, and by extension, the markets (both debt and equity), plunge.”

Should that happen, he added, “I am forecasting what could be a double-digit drop in GDP in a single year. I do not wish to sound alarmist, but we are looking at a prolonged period of stagflation ahead.”

A possible remedy is for Congress to pursue greater oversight and regulation of AI expansion, which is something the Trump administration has pushed back against.

Editor’s note on political coverage: MoneyLion is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories.

This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.

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