VIDEO RELEASE: Schneider Votes for Inflation Reduction Act to Lower Costs, Fight Climate Change

WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Brad Schneider (IL-10) issued the following statement after the House passed the Inflation Reduction Act:

"Americans have been hard-hit by a once-in-a-century pandemic and then the consequent effects of the global inflation and supply chain crises. Every year, the impacts of climate change become more severe. Americans need relief.

"The Inflation Reduction Act will lower the cost of energy and health care for millions of Americans. Just as important, it makes the largest ever investment in tackling the climate crisis, helping us cut carbon emissions 40% by 2030. These historic investments will improve the lives of hardworking Americans, while reducing our deficit by $300 billion.

"On climate change, I am particularly proud that this bill includes my legislation, the Sustainable Skies Act that will help dramatically reduce greenhouse gases emissions from aviation, which today accounts for 2% of the world's annual emissions."

Video of Schneider's floor remarks can be found here.

The Inflation Reduction Act:

• Lowers prescription drug prices: finally enables Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs, prevents excessive price hikes, and caps out-of-pocket costs to $2,000.
• 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. The bill will help expand the Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy (also known as the "Extra Help Program") to help more seniors qualify for help affording prescription drug premiums and out-of-pocket drug cost, per Schneider's Lowering Medicare Premiums and Prescription Drugs Act.
• Lowers energy costs and delivers largest-ever climate action: invests in domestic energy production and manufacturing, while reducing carbon emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030 with historic investments in energy security and tackling the climate crisis. Including investments made by Schneider's Sustainable Skies Act.
• Lowers the deficit and helps fight inflation: makes a historic down payment on deficit reduction of approximately $300 billion to fight inflation.

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."

The bill is fully paid for:

• The Inflation Reduction Act 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.
• The bill contains 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.

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