McCollum Votes for Historic Inflation Reduction Act to Fight Climate Change and Lower Costs

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04) released the following statement after voting for the historic Inflation Reduction Act today:

"The passage of the historic Inflation Reduction Act represents one of the most impactful investment in our families, our communities, and our future," Congresswoman McCollum said. "This is a very important vote for the families of Minnesota's Fourth District today and for generations of Americans to come. The bill will lower families' everyday costs, create millions of good-paying jobs delivering the most significant action on climate in history, and dramatically reduce the deficit. It is fully paid for by ensuring corporations and the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share, with no new taxes on families earning under $400,000. As we send the Inflation Reduction Act to President Biden to sign into law, I am so excited and proud that we are making progress and putting people over politics. Democrats are delivering for Minnesota!"

Background:

Climate Change:

The investments in the Inflation Reduction Act will reduce emissions in every sector of the economy, substantially reducing emissions from electricity production, transportation, industrial manufacturing, buildings, and agriculture. It includes approximately $370 billion in investments addressing climate change – by far the single biggest climate investment in U.S. history. The Inflation Reduction Act's investments will restore American global leadership on climate change by reducing carbon emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030. It lowers costs for American consumers, invests in American-made solutions that restore American global leadership and ensures that environmental justice and rural communities reap the benefits of the clean energy economy.

The bill:

• Establishes a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
• Creates a Methane Emissions Reduction Program
• Prioritizes the needs of historically-excluded communities
• Invests in creating a 21^st-century energy grid
• Creates good-paying, clean energy jobs to increase production of renewable energy

Health Care:

The bill lowers health care costs for millions of Americans:

• Extends expanded health care premium subsidies, making health insurance affordable for millions
• Allows Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices for the first time ever, making it harder for Big Pharma to impose high costs
• Establishes a $2,000 per year out-of-pocket cap for seniors, alleviating financial stress and ensuring seniors can afford their medicine

Taxes:

The bill honors our promise to American families, making changes that create a fairer, more equitable system:

• Makes the biggest corporations and ultra-wealthy pay their fair share by strengthening IRS enforcement against wealthy tax cheats, closing tax loopholes exploited by the wealthiest few, and implementing a 15 percent corporate minimum tax
• Imposes NO new taxes on families making $400,000 or less
• Imposes NO new taxes on small businesses

A summary of the Inflation Reduction Act can be found here.

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