[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 126 (Thursday, July 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3772-S3773]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Inflation Reduction Act

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, it has been a momentous 24 hours here 
in the Congress.
  A legislative one-two punch that the American people rarely see. A 
little while ago, the House voted to approve the largest investment in 
decades to lower costs, increase manufacturing, invest in science, and 
help fix the semiconductor crisis. The CHIPS and Science bill now goes 
to the President's desk after 3 long years.
  And, last night, Senator Manchin and I announced an agreement on the 
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a bill that will take historic steps 
to lower costs, fight climate change, and make healthcare more 
affordable in this country.
  Again, the past 24 hours have been a legislative one-two punch that 
Americans rarely ever see and which will benefit them immensely: first, 
a bill that will supercharge the American industry and now a bill that 
will fight inflation and mark a turning point in our fight against 
climate change.
  This morning, I met with my Democratic colleagues to review the big 
wins contained in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and we discussed 
our plan for passing it through reconciliation next week.
  With the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, this Senate majority will 
finally take on Big Pharma and lower prescription drug prices.
  This Senate Democratic majority will tackle the climate crisis with 
the largest package on the climate ever. This Senate majority will 
ensure we close tax loopholes and make the wealthy corporations and 
individuals pay their fair share, and this Senate Democratic majority 
will fight inflation and reduce the deficit.
  The Inflation Reduction Act is common sense; it is bold; and it is 
very much needed. For decades, many in Washington have promised to 
address these challenges. But where previous efforts have fallen short, 
Senate Democrats in this majority will move swiftly to deliver to the 
American people.
  Now, there is so much to like in the Inflation Reduction Act. By a 
wide margin, this legislation will be the largest action on climate 
change ever passed by the Congress.
  Like the creation of the EPA and the passage of the Clean Air Act 
half a century ago, this legislation will mark a turning point in our 
Nation's commitment to protect our planet for our children and our 
grandchildren.
  Through this bill, we will at last put the United States on a path to 
roughly 40 percent emission reductions by 2030. And it will help us 
achieve climate justice for communities long left behind, especially 
communities of color. But that is not all, for many years, people in 
Washington--including President Trump, including the Republican 
Senate--promised to lower the cost of prescription drugs, but they 
failed to follow through.
  Under this Senate Democratic majority, that is changing. Our proposal 
will finally lower the cost of prescription drugs by empowering 
Medicare--for the first time ever--to negotiate the prices of certain 
drugs in Part B and Part D.
  We will prevent healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for millions of 
Americans in the coming months. And through it all, we will ensure that 
no small business or family making under $400,000 a year will see their 
taxes go up.
  Republicans go on and on and on about how this is a tax on the 
American people. No, Republicans, you try to hide the truth. The truth 
is this bill will close tax loopholes exploited by the wealthiest 
Americans and largest corporations and will not touch Americans who 
make below $400,000 a year. Why don't you say that? Because you know 
your tax policies are so unpopular with the American people, which we 
proved in 2017. You tried the same shibboleth then. Oh, we are cutting 
taxes for the American people. We Democrats make clear to the American 
people, no, no, no, they were cutting taxes on the very wealthy. And by 
the time the 2018 campaigns rolled around, they didn't even mention it. 
We are going to do the same thing now. We are going to tell the truth.

  Yes, we are raising taxes on very wealthy people and big corporations 
that pay no money, not on average Americans, and you are afraid to do 
that.
  The American people want these tax reforms. They support making sure 
the ultrarich and big corporations play by the rules and pay their fair 
share. It is common sense. The American people know that.
  So when Republicans fret and panic about taxes, the truth is what 
they really hate is the idea of increasing taxes on Big Business and 
those at the very top.
  And they are afraid to admit to the American people that they know 
they are on the wrong side of the issue. As I said, Republicans should 
have learned their lesson in 2018 when the American people rejected 
their tax cuts for rich Americans.
  We all saw what the results are, what happens when Republicans cut 
taxes for the ultrarich and corporations: It

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fuels hundreds of billions in corporate stock buybacks, and since then, 
stock buybacks have only increased.
  According to S&P, buybacks are forecast to reach a trillion dollars 
this year. The American people don't want a tax code that is skewed to 
the top 1 percent, which is what happened under Republicans, under 
President Trump when they had the majority.
  Republicans really know that, so they, in fear--they distract and 
distort and ignore the fact that under our plan, small business and 
middle-class families making under 400,000 won't see their taxes go up 
at all.
  It is the same thing for the deficit. For years, Republicans have 
howled at the Moon about lowering the Federal deficit, but when they 
were in the majority, they blew a $2 trillion hole in our deficit in 
order to pay for their gargantuan tax cuts to big corporations and the 
ultrarich.
  The Democrats' proposal will actually lower the deficit 
significantly, which will go a long way to easing inflation.
  If Republicans really care about fighting inflation, if they really 
care about lowering the deficit as they claimed, they should support 
our proposal, which would lower the deficit by hundreds of billions of 
dollars.
  Now, at the end of the day, the American people want us to do a few 
commonsense things: Lower the cost of their daily expenses like 
healthcare, protect our planet for future generations, make sure 
everyone plays by the same rules and has a fair shot at achieving the 
American dream, and that is what the Inflation Reduction Act will do.
  These are not easy matters, but we didn't come here to do easy 
things. To be sure, the work is not done. There is a lot we have to do 
in the coming days, but I am proud that right now we have a strong, 
bold package to move on, one that will lower inflation, fight the 
climate crisis, and help preserve America's place as a nation of 
immense opportunity into the 21st century.
  Let us get to work and pass the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

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