Originally Published: 11 AUG 21 11:47 ET

Updated: 11 AUG 21 13:59 ET

By Maegan Vazquez, CNN

(CNN) -- President Joe Biden said Wednesday that a series of economic reports released in recent days, including one on inflation released earlier in the day, show his plans for the American economy are working.

In a speech from the White House, Biden touted a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that showed the consumer price inflation slowed during July, though it remained elevated. Stripping out more volatile food and energy items, consumer prices rose 4.3% in the 12 months ended in July, slightly below the June's rise. Overall, prices rose 5.4% over the period, flat compared with June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. The report came days after a positive jobs report showed the economy added 943,000 jobs during the month of July.

While inflation has increased as the economy grows along with the roll out of Covid-19 vaccines, allowing many Americans to return to a more normal life, the President and his administration have downplayed concerns about price hikes. Biden said the numbers released on Wednesday morning show the economy in recovery.

"I would argue that our Biden economic plan is working, and historic investments are on the way as well," the President said.

Those historic investments that Biden alluded to were passed by the Senate over the last day. The President marked a major step toward getting one of his most ambitious legislative goals -- a dual track infrastructure package that includes more than $4 trillion in spending -- closer to reality. On Tuesday, the Senate passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan package and then early Wednesday morning Democrats pushed through a $3.5 trillion budget resolution. Both pieces of legislation are based on the President's infrastructure framework.

The $1.2 trillion package, called the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, includes $550 billion in new federal spending over five years. It invests $110 billion in roads, bridges and major projects; $66 billion in passenger and freight rail; $65 billion to rebuild the electric grid; $65 billion to expand broadband internet access; $39 billion to modernize and expand transit systems; and $7.5 billion to build a national network of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.

And in the sweeping $3.5 trillion resolution, Democrats point to investments in four categories: families, climate, health care, and infrastructure and jobs. Among other provisions, the measure seeks to establish universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds and make community college tuition-free for two years. It calls for the establishment of a Civilian Climate Corps, adds new dental, vision and hearing benefits to Medicare coverage and would make a "historic level" of investment in affordable housing. The resolution also aims to lower the cost of prescription drugs and provide "green cards to millions of immigrant workers and families."

Now, the legislation heads to the Democrat-controlled House, which is cutting its recess short to consider the resolution.

It'll still be some time before Biden is able to see both plans on his desk for his signature, but the passage of the resolution sets up the process for Senate Democrats to pass the sweeping budget reconciliation package in the fall.

House progressives have warned they won't vote for the bipartisan bill without the reconciliation package, and -- despite pressure from moderates to get the bipartisan package passe -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn't planning to speed up the bipartisan track.

And West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin has already raised "serious concerns" about the price tag of the $3.5 trillion package, signaling that Democrats may later pare back the proposal.

Biden's ambitious first-year legislative agenda has notched one other major win so far -- the passage of his $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill earlier this spring. But there are still other previously set legislative goals the White House has yet to accomplish.

For example, civil rights leaders and Democrats have lobbied for congressional leaders and Biden to get legislation passed and end the filibuster which has made it impossible for Democrats to move forward with voting rights legislation because their slim majority in the Senate isn't enough to overcome GOP opposition.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson also urged Biden to include voting rights in the infrastructure bill saying fair voter access is a critical function of the country's democracy.

And the prospects for policing reform, another key issue Biden wanted the Congress to address, have dimmed.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.