Press Release
Posted:
Washington – Today, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) voted to pass the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), an historic package designed to lower costs for families and invest in climate action. The bill passed the House by a vote of 220-207 following a 50-50 vote in the Senate with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. The bill now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
“Our nation is currently dealing with multiple issues that significantly impact the lives of our communities from rising costs, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the climate crisis,” said Thompson. “The Inflation Reduction Act is the most significant investment in climate action that our nation has seen. This bill includes my GREEN Act to cut carbon emissions to continue towards our emissions goal, lower energy costs for families, and accelerate our transition to clean energy. The climate provisions of this bill are an historic investment, and they will help our communities deal with the implications of climate-related disasters.
“The Inflation Reduction Act also includes provisions to lower the costs of health care and help Americans live healthy lives. Seniors covered by Medicare will no longer have to pay any more than $2,000 a year for their prescriptions, and the 13 million Americans covered under the Affordable Care Act will see savings of about $800 a year on their health insurance premiums.
“This bill is transformational, and it’s a strong step to securing a bright future for every American. The Inflation Reduction Act is fully paid for, does not raise taxes on individuals, and reduces the deficit. I am proud to have cast my vote for this bill today and I look forward to seeing President Biden sign it into law to help usher in a more prosperous era for our nation.”
“Congressman Mike Thompson played an integral role in crafting Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act – helping secure a cleaner, more sustainable future for families in California and across the country,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. “Thanks to his skilled legislating and persistent leadership, this bill includes historic investments to combat carbon pollution and slash energy costs – delivering the resources our nation needs to expand renewable energy sources, build energy efficient homes and get more clean vehicles on the road. Congressman Thompson and our House Democratic Majority remain laser-focused on putting People Over Politics: lowering costs, creating good-paying jobs, and building safer communities.”
“The Inflation Reduction Act is an historic win for families’ pocketbooks, for Americans’ health, and for our future climate security,” said Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal. “This signature legislation is the largest federal investment in our climate that our nation has ever seen. We simply wouldn’t be here without the tenacious leadership of Ways and Means Committee’s Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee Chairman Mike Thompson, who has never stopped fighting for green initiatives and whose GREEN Act forms the foundation for two-thirds of the climate investments in this bill. Millions of good-paying, green jobs will come out of this package, and we are responsibly paying for these critical priorities. Yet again, Democrats are meeting the moment for the American people.”
“The landmark Inflation Reduction Act will be the biggest thing Congress has ever done on climate change,” said Art Terrazas, League of Conservation Voters. “It’ll revolutionize and make more equitable the deployment of clean energy, vehicles, and manufacturing, particularly in expanding access to home solar energy and energy efficiency. We know this could not have happened without the hard work of many members. As we begin to build the clean energy future this historic bill supports, we must also keep fighting against more drilling, leasing, pipelines and other dangerous measures that perpetuate environmental racism and the climate crisis.”
“The Inflation Reduction Act is an ambitious investment in the American people. The robust package of tax credits included in the legislation will lower costs for families and businesses and create more than 9 million good jobs by ramping up American-made clean energy. It will make electric vehicles, solar panels, wind energy, and energy storage cheaper while giving renewable energy providers across the U.S. the certainty they need to build and expand clean energy projects in the long term. We are grateful for the efforts of Chairman Neal, Rep. Thompson, and the Ways & Means Committee for their tireless efforts to advance this essential package, which will bring us much closer to President Biden’s goal of cutting climate pollution in half by 2030,” said Elizabeth Gore, Senior Vice President, Political Affairs, Environmental Defense Fund.
“Congress just passed the strongest climate action in U.S. history, legislation that will create good jobs while lowering energy costs for consumers,” said Marc Boom, federal affairs director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “The path to getting here began with the House-passed GREEN Act, which laid out crucial incentives to boost clean energy production and manufacturing, and help consumers buy vehicles, appliances and efficiency upgrades that will save them money and lower emissions.”
“The Inflation Reduction Act will make an historic investment in the future of our planet, the health of our communities, and the strength of our national economy. As a public agency supplying clean power to our communities, the IRA will allow MCE to better support our communities as they grapple with the devastating impacts of climate change by building more clean power right here in California, helping our customers lower their electric bills, and improving their health and quality of life through clean energy technologies. We look forward to rolling up our sleeves and putting the resources provided by this landmark bill to work,” said Dawn Weisz, CEO of Marin Clean Energy.
“The Santa Rosa/Sonoma County chapter of Citizens' Climate Lobby is thrilled that the Senate and the House has passed the Inflation Reduction Act. While there is plenty more work to be done, with the IRA the U.S. assumes a leadership role in the effort to rescue the Earth's climate,” said Citizens' Climate Lobby, Santa Rosa/Sonoma County chapter.
The Inflation Reduction Act is historic legislation that will lower families’ kitchen table costs, create millions of good-paying jobs delivering the most significant action on climate in history, and dramatically reduce the deficit. The bill:
- Lowers the cost of health care: reduces the cost of health care for millions by extending ACA subsidies for three more years, locking in lower health care premiums that save 13 million people an average of $800 a year.
- Ends the ban on Medicare negotiating prescription drug prices: allows Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs, prevents excessive price hikes, and caps out-of-pocket costs to $2,000.
- Lowers the deficit and reduces inflation: makes a down payment on deficit reduction of approximately $300 billion to fight inflation.
Two-thirds of the climate investments in this bill — $250 billion worth — rest on the foundation of Rep. Thompson’s GREEN Act. These investments include:
- Clean Power: 10+ years of tax credits for renewable technologies like solar, wind, geothermal, and hydropower, including credits targeted to low-income communities, affordable housing, and community solar.
- Grid Resiliency: New tax credits for batteries and other energy storage technologies to enable renewable technologies and make our grids more resilient to disasters and blackouts.
- Energy Efficiency: 10 years of tax credits for energy efficiency, from helping homeowners afford electric and efficient heating and cooling equipment, to incentivizing energy efficient homes and commercial buildings.
- Clean Fuels: Credits to promote low-carbon fuels such as biodiesel and to tackle one of the hardest to decarbonize sectors, aviation, through a new credit for sustainable aviation fuel.
- Clean Vehicles: 10 years of tax credits for electric, fuel-cell, and hybrid vehicles, including credits to make used vehicles more affordable for low- and moderate-income individuals and to clean up the air by getting more clean delivery vans, trucks, and buses on the road.
- Clean Manufacturing and Industry: Over $35 billion in investments in clean manufacturing to ensure that our energy transition is built on strong domestic supply chains and investments to help industrial facilities be cleaner, including by investing in clean hydrogen.
- Good Jobs: Labor standards throughout key provisions to ensure that our clean energy future is built with good-paying jobs.
- Polluters Pay: Building on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, reinstates the Superfund tax on oil producers and importers in order to pay for environmental cleanup, rather than putting the onus on overburdened communities.
This bill will save the average American household hundreds in energy bills and other costs, will spur 9 million jobs by investing in clean energy, energy efficiency, and clean manufacturing, and will generate enormous public health benefits by preventing up to 3,900 premature deaths and 100,000 asthma attacks annually from air pollution.
According to 126 leading economists—including seven Nobel Prize winners, three former chairs of the Council of Economic Advisers, two former Treasury Secretaries—the Inflation Reduction Act “will fight inflation and lower costs for American families while setting the stage for strong, stable, and broadly-shared long-term economic growth.”
This historic legislation is fully paid for:
- Makes biggest corporations and ultra-wealthy pay their fair share: is paid for by strengthening IRS enforcement against wealthy tax cheats, closing tax loopholes exploited by the wealthiest few, and implementing a 15 percent corporate minimum tax – which applies only to the 150 corporations earning over $1 billion in profits that pay less than 15% in taxes.
- NO new taxes on families making $400,000 or less and NO new taxes on small businesses: Not one middle class person filling out their taxes will find that they are facing higher taxes or higher tax rates.