[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 130 (Wednesday, August 3, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S3874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        INFLATION REDUCTION ACT

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now, on the Inflation Reduction Act, this 
is the second place where the numbers that we read this morning show 
that the Democrats are on the move and that Republicans are in retreat.
  Today's news provides another bevy of reminders of why the Inflation 
Reduction Act is not only bold and commonsense but is extremely popular 
with the American people.
  This morning, five former Treasury Secretaries--including former 
Secretary Hank Paulson, who served under President George W. Bush--
released a statement praising the Inflation Reduction Act and urging 
Congress to move quickly to secure its passage. The bipartisan group 
wrote that the Inflation Reduction Act ``will help increase American 
competitiveness, address our climate crisis, lower costs for families, 
and fight inflation--and should be passed immediately by Congress.''
  The bipartisan group of Treasury Secretaries also affirmed what 
Democrats have been saying for days: The Inflation Reduction Act will 
not--no matter how much our Republican colleagues argue to the 
contrary--increase taxes for any family making less than $400,000 a 
year.
  Again, our proposals call for closing loopholes that have long 
enabled the biggest companies in America to avoid paying their fair 
share. And even former Republican Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson is 
now calling on Congress to pass the Democratic agenda. He is in very 
good company. This morning, a poll by Navigator also showed the 
Inflation Reduction Act as overwhelmingly popular--overwhelmingly 
popular--in the minds of the American people.
  According to this poll, 65 percent of Americans support the proposals 
in the bill, compared to only 24 percent who oppose. More than double 
the people support the act than oppose it. It includes 60 percent of 
Independent voters and even 40 percent of Republican voters. So America 
is on our side. They want us to pass this bill.
  Now, contrast the Democrats' agenda to what we have been hearing from 
the other side. While Democrats want to make healthcare more 
affordable, just yesterday the junior Senator from Wisconsin argued 
that instead of strengthening Medicare and Social Security, we should 
put them on the chopping block.
  Hear that, citizens of Wisconsin, citizens of America? The junior 
Senator from Wisconsin wants to put Medicare and Social Security on the 
chopping block. He has argued that the benefits, which millions of 
Americans rely on every day, shouldn't be guaranteed but should be 
subject to partisan infighting here in Washington.
  He would like to revoke the guarantee of Medicare and Social Security 
and make them discretionary. Well, you know what happens when we make 
things discretionary around here? All too often they get cut or even 
eliminated. We don't want to do that. But the Senator from Wisconsin 
said we should. So senior citizens of America, listen loud and clear: 
Senator Johnson called for making these programs discretionary.
  For decades, they have not been. They have been programs that when 
you become 65, you get it. It is not up to the whims of one Congress or 
another.
  So we will fight as hard as we can to prevent the Republicans, led by 
the Wisconsin junior Senator, from pulling out the rug from under 
seniors. We will fight the MAGA Republican politicians who want to gut 
these critical programs.
  It is comments like these that show how out of touch the other side 
has become. While Republicans were perfectly willing to blow a $2 
trillion hole in our deficit in order to give tax cuts to the ultrarich 
and to the big corporations, now some of them are saying Medicare and 
Social Security should no longer be guaranteed.
  Of course, our Democratic proposal, the Inflation Reduction Act, is 
vastly different. We will protect healthcare. We will lower the price 
of prescription drugs and make energy cheaper while making the largest 
investment in clean energy ever.
  These are things that Americans support. These are things that our 
country needs. And these are things that we are going to get done when 
we pass the Inflation Reduction Act in the coming days.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________