August 16, 2022 ICYMI: President Biden Op-Ed: 3 things everyone should know about the Inflation Reduction Act

Yahoo News: 3 things everyone should know about the Inflation Reduction Act [President Joe Biden, 8/16/22] Today, I signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law — one of the most significant laws in recent history. With this law, the American people won and special interests lost. The Inflation Reduction Act does so many things that so many of us have fought to make happen for years and years.   There are three things everyone should know about the Inflation Reduction Act. First, we are lowering costs for working families.   We are giving Medicare the power to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices. Seniors will pay less for their prescription drugs. The law caps their prescription drug out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 a year — no matter how many prescriptions they have. The big drug companies spent nearly $100 million to beat this law. We prevailed.   The Inflation Reduction Act locks in place lower health care premiums for millions of families who get coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Thirteen million people will see average savings of $800 a year, in addition to the $2,400 in savings through the American Rescue Plan that I signed into law last year.   The law takes the most aggressive action ever in confronting the climate crisis and strengthening our energy security. It will offer working families thousands of dollars in savings by providing them rebates to buy new and efficient appliances and weatherize their homes, and tax credits for heat pumps and rooftop solar. It gives consumers a tax credit to buy an electric vehicle or fuel cell vehicle — new or used — up to $7,500 if that vehicle was made in America.   It also provides tax credits that will create thousands of good-paying clean energy manufacturing jobs on solar projects, wind projects, clean hydrogen projects and carbon-capture projects across the country.   Second, in this historic moment, Democrats sided with the American people and Republicans sided with the special interests.   Every single Republican voted against lower prescription drug prices, against lower health care costs and against a fairer tax system. Every single Republican voted against tackling the climate crisis, against lowering energy costs and against creating good-paying jobs.   Democrats voted to cut the deficit to fight inflation by having the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share. Every single Republican opposed requiring big corporations to pay a minimum tax of 15%, instead of getting away with paying zero dollars in federal income taxes.   And we did it while keeping my campaign commitment: No one earning less than $400,000 a year will pay a single penny more in federal taxes.   Third, we demonstrated that government can work for working families.   There are those who hold a dark and despairing view of this country. Too often, we hand the biggest microphone to the critics and the cynics who delight in declaring defeat. We confuse noise with substance and obstacles with the end.   The work of governing is hard. It’s frustrating and slow. It requires compromise. Making progress in a country as big and complicated as ours isn’t easy. It never has been.   But with unwavering conviction, commitment and patience, progress comes.   And when it does, people’s lives are made better, the future becomes brighter and a nation is transformed.   I took office during a dark time in America. A once-in-a-century pandemic. Devastating joblessness. Clear and present threats to democracy and the rule of law. Doubts about the American future itself. We have not wavered or given in to these challenges. Instead, we are doing the hard work of delivering on results for the American people.   The paramount duty of the presidency is to defend what is best about America and to create possibilities for all of us.   From the American Rescue Plan to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to the gun safety law, to the burn pits law for veterans, to the CHIPS and Science law, to the Inflation Reduction Act, we are delivering progress and prosperity for American families. We are proving that America and American democracy works. Not just for the privileged few, but for all of us.   That’s the America I believe in.   I believe in the future of America. I believe in the very soul of this nation. Most of all, I believe in the American people.   And as I’ve said many times before, there isn’t a single thing this country can’t do when we put our mind to it.   BY THE NUMBERS: The Inflation Reduction Act  The Inflation Reduction Act will lower costs for families, combat the climate crisis, reduce the deficit, and finally ask the largest corporations to pay their fair share. President Biden and Congressional Democrats have worked together to deliver a historic legislative achievement that defeats special interests, delivers for American families, and grows the economy from the bottom up and middle out. Here’s how the Inflation Reduction Act impacts Americans by the numbers: HEALTH CARE Cutting Prescription Drug Cost: Today, Americans pay two to three times what citizens of other countries pay for prescription drugs 5-7 million Medicare beneficiaries could see their prescription drug costs go down because of the provision allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug costs. 50 million Americans with Medicare Part D will have the peace of mind knowing their costs at the pharmacy are capped at $2,000 per year, directly benefiting about 1.4 million beneficiaries each year. 3.3 million Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes will benefit from a guarantee that their insulin costs are capped at $35 for a month’s supply. Lowering Health Care Costs 13 million Americans will continue to save an average of $800 per year on health insurance premiums 3 million more Americans will have health insurance than without the law.The uninsured rate is at an all-time low of 8%, which the historic law will build on. Defeating Special Interests $187 million: The amount the Pharmaceutical industry has spent on lobbying in 2022.1,600: number of lobbyists the pharmaceutical companies had in 2021 – three times the number of Members of Congress 33 years: the amount of time Congressional Democrats have been trying to lower prescription drug costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. 19 years: number of years Medicare has been blocked from negotiating prescription drug costs CLEAN ENERGY Lowering Energy Costs Families that take advantage of clean energy and electric vehicle tax credits will save more than $1,000 per year. $14,000 in direct consumer rebates for families to buy heat pumps or other energy efficient home appliances, saving families at least $350 per year. 7.5 million more families will be able install solar on their roofs with a 30% tax credit, saving families $9,000 over the life of the system or at least $300 per year. Up to $7,500 in tax credits for new electric vehicles and $4,000 for used electric vehicles, helping families save $950 per year. Putting America on track to meet President Biden’s climate goals, which will save every family an average of $500 per year on their energy costs. Building a Clean Energy Economy Power homes, businesses, and communities with much more clean energy by 2030, including: 950 million solar panels 120,000 wind turbines 2,300 grid-scale battery plants Advance cost-saving clean energy projects at rural electric cooperatives serving 42 million people. Strengthen climate resilience and protect nearly 2 million acres of national forests. Creating millions of good-paying jobs making clean energy in America. Reducing Harmful Pollution Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 1 gigaton in 2030, or a billion metric tons – 10 times more climate impact than any other single piece of legislation ever enacted. Deploy clean energy and reduce particle pollution from fossil fuels to avoid up to 3,900 premature deaths and up to 100,000 asthma attacks annually by 2030. TAXES Making the Tax Code Fairer $0: how much some of largest, profitable corporations pay in federal income tax. 55: the number of America’s largest, wealthiest corporations that got away without paying a cent in federal income taxes in 2020. $160 billon: how much the top 1 percent of earners is estimated to evade each year in taxes. 15%: the minimum tax on corporate profits the Inflation Reduction Act imposes on the largest, most profitable corporations. $124 billion: savings over 10 years the Inflation Reduction Act will generate from collecting taxes already owed by wealthy people and large corporations, according to the Congressional Budget Office. And no family making less than $400,000 will see their taxes go up a penny. Reducing the Deficit The Inflation Act will achieve hundreds of billions in deficit reduction. The deficit is projected to fall by more than $1.5 trillion this year after falling by more than $350 billion last year. 126 leading economists – including 7 Nobel Laureates, 2 former Treasury Secretaries, 2 former Fed Vice Chairs and 2 former CEA Chairs – have said reducing the deficit will help fight inflation and support strong, stable economic growth.