President Biden signs Inflation Reduction Act

By ROBYN H. JIMENEZ

The Dallas Examiner

President Joe Biden signed into law Tuesday the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, H.R. 5376 – which he called “one of the most significant laws in our history.”

“Today offers further proof that the soul of America is vibrant, the future of America is bright, and the promise of America is real and just beginning,” Biden declared with pride.

The new legislation will reduce the cost of health care, prescription drugs for millions of Americans and lower their energy cost. It will also invest in energy security and revise the tax code, while fighting inflation and reducing the deficit, according to the White House administration.

“Let me say from the start: With this law, the American people won, and the special interests lost,” Biden stated before signing the legislation.

“For a while, people doubted whether any of that was going to happen. But we are in a season of substance. This administration began amid a dark time in America … devastating joblessness, clear and present threats to democracy and the rule of law, doubts about America’s future itself.

And yet, we’ve not wavered.  We’ve not flinched.  And we’ve not given in. Instead, we’re delivering results for the American people. We didn’t tear down; we built up. We didn’t look back; we looked forward.”

It would also reduce federal spending on prescription drugs, which would allow Medicare to negotiate its prices. It would also lock in health care premiums, saving an estimated 13 million people an average of $800 a year.

“This means seniors are going to pay less for their prescription drugs while we’re changing circumstances for people on Medicare by putting a cap,” Biden emphasized. “A cap of a maximum of $2,000 a year on their prescription drug costs, no matter what the reason for those prescriptions are. That means if you’re on Medicare, you’ll never have to pay more than $2,000 a year no matter how many prescriptions you have, whether it’s for cancer or any other disease.  No more than $2,000 a year.”

Congressman Colin Allred, TX-32, who supported the bill, stated in statement to the press that he recognized the need for more affordable health care.

“I was raised by a single mom who was a Dallas public school teacher, and I know how hard it is when costs go up,” he revealed. “My mom is on Medicare, is a breast cancer survivor and lives on a fixed income. I understand that folks are struggling, especially seniors facing the high cost of prescription drugs.”

The bill is the largest single investment in climate and energy in American history. It will enable America to better handle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, secure America’s position as a leader in domestic clean energy manufacturing and supply chains across the world. Additionally, it will create and sustaining union jobs in construction and manufacturing, including in rural communities and lowering energy costs for Americans. Lastly, the bill would require that the largest and most profitable companies pay at least some Federal income tax, with no tax increase for anyone making under $400,000 a year.

“It’s going to offer working families thousands of dollars in savings by providing them rebates to buy new and efficient appliances, weatherize their homes, get tax credit for purchasing heat pumps and rooftop solar, electric stoves, ovens, dryers,” he elaborated. “It gives consumers a tax credit to buy electric vehicles or fuel cell vehicles, new or used. And it gives them a credit – a tax credit of up to $7,500 if those vehicles were made in America.”

He reassured Americans that billions of dollars would be invested in American-made electric vehicles, batteries and electric charging stations across cross the country.

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa applauded Biden and Texas House Democrats on delivering the act.

“Texas families will feel the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act immediately and for years to come – as millions of American families will now see their prescription drug and home energy costs plummet,” Hinojosa said in a statement to the press. “And the fact that these huge corporations will now have to pay their fair share – all while the taxes of families making under $400,000 a year and small businesses don’t go up one penny – will give some peace of mind to Texans, who’ve long cried out for a more just economic system that rewards work, not just wealth.”

Overall, the bill would reduce the deficit by more than $300 billion, including near-term deficit reduction that, according to a range of economic experts, would also reduce near-term inflation. These steps would inevitably help reduce inflation.

Biden expressed that the bill was also about protecting the future of America for the next generation.

“I want my two boys to inherit an America that invests in the middle-class and leads the world in addressing our biggest problems,” Allred stated. “Thanks to President Biden and Democrats in Congress, this historic legislation does just that and will have a big impact for generations to come.”

Biden reminded listeners that every Republican in Congress voted against the bill.

“And remember, every single Republican voted against lowering prescription drug prices, against lowering health care costs, against a fairer tax system.”

He went on to urge America to build on a future where everyone can get a fair shot, and to protect that future.

“That’s what’s happening now,” he added. “From the American Rescue Plan that helped create nearly 10 million new jobs, to a once-in-a-generation infrastructure law that will rebuild America’s roads, bridges, ports; deliver clean water, high-speed Internet to every American; to the first meaningful gun safety law in 30 years – and if I have anything to do with it, we’re still going to have an assault weapons ban, but that’s another story. And to get significant veterans’ health care law in decades, for the first time; to a groundbreaking CHIPS and Science Law that’s going to ensure that technologies and jobs of the future are made here in America.

“And all this progress is part of our vision and plan and determined effort to get the job done for the American people, so they can look their child in the eye and say, “Honey, it’s going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay.”

Biden said that he tunes out the dark and despairing rhetoric of some regarding the future of America, because he believed in the country and its people.

“I believe in the promise of America. I believe in the future of this country,” he declared. “I believe in the very soul of this nation. And most of all, I believe in you, the American people. I believe to my core there isn’t a single thing this country cannot do when we put our mind to it.  We just have to remember who we are. We are the United States of America.”

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