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Statement: Inflation Reduction Act a Major Step Forward

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act. Among its key achievements, the legislation will:

  • Empower Medicare to negotiate some drug prices for the first time.
  • Cap out-of-pocket costs for many people who need insulin.
  • Extend health care subsidies for millions of Americans.
  • Support massive investments in renewable energy, the most far-reaching measures the U.S. has ever taken to address climate chaos.
  • Force corporations to pay at least a 15% tax rate.
  • Create a 1% tax on stock buybacks

Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, issued the following statement:

“The Inflation Reduction Act is a very, very good legislative package. When enacted, it will make America a better place.

“Each of its key components is a major step forward and doing any one of them would be a major accomplishment.

“While there are serious flaws and gaps in this legislation and it is heartbreaking that some of the vital measures from the original reconciliation negotiations a year ago were dropped from this deal, on balance this bill is a huge step forward for the American people. This is a very important, very good and very progressive bill.”

“Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer deserves special appreciation for having shepherded this to final passage in the Senate.

“And Senate Republicans deserve special condemnation. It would be nice if they started legislating as if they cared about the American people, rather than their Big Money donors or naked partisan self-interest. Do they favor Medicare paying any extortionate price that drug corporations demand? Do they think people with insulin should go bankrupt or go without a lifesaving medicine? Do they favor health care bankruptcies? How can they justify total inaction in the face of climate catastrophe? What story do they tell about why large corporations should be permitted to evade taxes?”