Rep. Raskin on the One-Year Anniversary of the Inflation Redction Act

One year ago, President Biden signed into law the #InflationReductionAct — a generational investment in cutting health care prices and, at the same time, the biggest climate investment in history. Our one-year report card is in and shows amazing progress:

The #IRA passed after organizing by young activists determined to put climate rescue at the center of our policy agenda. Thanks to their efforts, the IRA will cut carbon pollution by 40% by 2030 while also reducing energy costs for families.

The law empowers Americans to protect the climate and bolster their savings by providing up to $28,500 in tax credits to buy electric vehicles, install solar panels and switch to energy-efficient appliances. Check out the IRA tax savings you qualify for here! https://www.rewiringamerica.org/app/ira-calculator

In just one year, the IRA has helped stimulate more than $110 billion in clean energy investments from the private sector to boost solar, electric vehicle and battery manufacturing.

The Biden administration has been working overtime to launch the grant programs established by the IRA. So far, $70 billion has gone out the door through grants, rebates and other funding — a monumental achievement that is turbocharging our transition to a clean energy economy.

With all this activity, the IRA is creating millions of good-paying jobs in construction, manufacturing and service industries. Even Republicans who voted against the IRA are now touting — and, bizarrely, taking credit for — the hundreds of new clean energy jobs for their constituents.

The IRA has also made an historic expansion in affordable and high-quality health care. Thanks to the IRA, nearly 15 million Americans are saving an average of $800 on their annual health insurance premiums.

The IRA boldly took on Big Pharma when skeptics said it could not be done. It empowered Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices and is projected to save nearly 19 million seniors an average of $400 per year when the $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket prescription drugs goes into effect in 2025.

The IRA has already lowered insulin costs for 4 million seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes by capping insulin costs at $35 per month.

The Inflation Reduction Act is an excellent reflection of the priorities held by President Biden and Congressional Democrats. The IRA passed Congress without benefit of a single Republican vote — perhaps because the legislation also pays for all this environmental and health care progress by closing corporate tax loopholes and taking on monopolies.

In contrast, when the GOP had control of Congress and the White House in 2017, they rushed to pass the #GOPTaxScam: which passed $1.5 trillion in tax cuts to large corporations and the wealthy, incentivized businesses to outsource American jobs and hiked taxes for working families. No vision and no fairness.

The IRA focuses on improving IRS tax services for Americans. It has slashed phone wait times to 3 minutes, cleared returns backlogs and provided funds to hold wealthy tax cheats accountable and recoup $38 million from delinquent millionaires.

On the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, let’s celebrate this hard-won victory for American health and climate action and redouble our efforts to build a thriving democracy and economy for all.