[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 133 (Saturday, August 6, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4051-S4052]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Senate Accomplishments
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, we approach the culmination of one of
the most productive stretches in recent Senate memory. It began almost
2 months ago when, in the wake of unimaginable bloodshed in Buffalo and
Uvalde, the Senate came together and passed the first gun safety law in
nearly 30 years.
A few weeks later, in the face of the damaging semiconductor
shortage, the Senate approved the largest investment in American
manufacturing and scientific research in decades.
This week, we finally told American veterans with cancer, lung
disease, and other terrible ailments that their wait for their benefits
was over by passing the PACT Act.
And a few days ago, as Russian aggression toward Ukraine continues,
we swiftly approved the accession of Sweden and Finland to the NATO
alliance, greatly strengthening that alliance in the face of Russian
aggression.
Gun safety, chips, veterans, NATO--all of this we got done in under 6
weeks. And, now, we have one more groundbreaking item left, the most
important of them all: the Inflation Reduction Act. Passing any one of
these bills in a summer would be significant. Yet we are on the verge
of getting all
[[Page S4052]]
of them done before the August State work period.
In a few hours, we will formally begin the process of passing the
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 by voting on the motion to proceed. Our
meetings with the Parliamentarian have now largely concluded, and we
thank her and her staff for their hard work and diligence on such a
large bill in such a short period of time. And now that our meetings
with the Parliamentarian have largely concluded, we have a bill before
us that can win the support of all 50 Democrats.
I am happy to report to my colleagues that the bill we presented to
the Parliamentarian remains largely intact. The bill, when passed, will
meet all of our goals: fighting climate change, lowering healthcare
costs, closing tax loopholes abused by the wealthy, and reducing the
deficit.
This is a major win for the American people and a sad commentary on
the Republican Party as they actively fight provisions that lower costs
for the American family.
As the Inflation Reduction Act works its way through the floor, the
American people are going to learn an unmistakable truth about this
proposal: It was written, first and foremost, with the American people
in mind. It reduces inflation, it lowers their costs, and it fights
climate change. For seniors who have faced the indignity of rationing
medications or skipping them altogether, the Inflation Reduction Act
will lower prescription drug costs and finally cap out-of-pocket
expenses.
For families that have fallen behind on the electric bill while
trying to stay cool through a heat wave, this bill will lower energy
costs and provide the largest investment in clean energy ever in
American history. For every child deprived of clean air and a
neighborhood where they can play safely outside, away from smog and
exhaust fumes, this bill will help reverse air pollution and help clean
up communities that have endured the shadow of congested highways and
industrial sites. And, as the most significant action of climate change
ever, it will help deliver our children and grandchildren the planet
they deserve.
The Inflation Reduction Act was written with the American people in
mind: families struggling to pay the bills, kids who struggle with
asthma and pollution, seniors who can't afford lifesaving medications.
This bill is for them.
For many years, many in Washington promised to address some of the
biggest challenges facing our Nation, only to fall short. Many have
talked about the need to act on climate change, the need to hold drug
companies accountable, the need to make the Tax Code fairer. But where
previous efforts have fallen short, this Senate majority is on the
verge of succeeding.
After years of trying, we will finally empower Medicare to negotiate
the price of prescription drug costs. After years of trying, we will
finally cap out-of-pocket expenses and make vaccines free for our
seniors.
After years of trying, after years of Americans calling for action--
particularly our young people--Congress will pass the largest clean
energy package ever. We will cut emissions by 40 percent by 2030,
helping us avert the worst consequences of a warming planet. That is a
huge goal, and we are going to meet it. We will prevent nearly 4,000
deaths and 100,000 asthma attacks each year by reducing air pollution.
We will save Americans money on their utility bill by making it easier
for them to tap into clean energy and expand incentives for utility
companies to explore cleaner ways to generate power. We will make it
easier to finally usher in the era of greater solar and wind power,
battery storage, and EVs and bring manufacturing of this technology
back to America. We will restore coastlines, regenerate our forests,
shield communities everywhere from the danger of droughts and
sweltering heat waves.
Through it all, we will create more than 9 million jobs over the next
decade--good-paying union jobs--an average of nearly a million a year.
So many of those jobs, as I said, will be good-paying union jobs.
From the moment Democrats announced the Inflation Reduction Act,
Senate Republicans have fruitlessly tried every approach under the sun
to lay a glove on our bill.
First, they said our bill will make inflation worse, only to give up
on that once everyone from Larry Summers to Hank Paulson, to seven
Nobel laureates said it would do the opposite. Then they tried calling
our bill a bill of tax hikes on the middle class before changing their
minds and actually admitting that the bill contains no tax rate
increases at all for the middle class.
At every turn, they have resorted to the decades-old talking point of
calling our bill nothing but wasteful spending, conveniently ignoring
that our bill, in fact, lowers the deficit and is completely paid for.
I will grant my Republican colleagues that their task is not easy. By
one measure, over 65 percent of Americans support the policies in the
Inflation Reduction Act, and other polls reflect the same. Republicans
haven't been able to get around the fact that Americans like that we
are letting Medicare negotiate the price of prescription drugs. They
like that we will close tax loopholes that allow billion-dollar
companies to pay zero in taxes. Voices across the country, from Nobel-
winning economists to former Treasury Secretaries, to even Republican
movie star ex-Governors, have all praised the Inflation Reduction Act
as an inflation-fighting, climate-saving, job-creating piece of
legislation.
At a time of seemingly impenetrable gridlock, the Inflation Reduction
Act will show the American people that when the moment demands it,
Congress is still capable of taking big steps to solve big challenges.
We will show the American people that, yes, we are capable of passing a
historic climate package and rein in drug companies and make our Tax
Code fairer. We are able to make big promises and work hard at keeping
them as well.
We know that Republicans will continue their mightiest to try to
smear our work before the bill is passed. This isn't our first time
going through the reconciliation process, and no one is going to be
surprised when the other side comes up with wild, misleading, and
wholly partisan amendments that have nothing--nothing--to do with our
bill. These efforts will not deter us. No matter how long it takes, the
Senate is going to stay in session to finish this bill.
In short, this is one of the most comprehensive and far-reaching
pieces of legislation that has come before the Congress in decades. It
will help just about every citizen in this country and make America a
much better place.
We are not leaving until the job is done. The American people deserve
nothing less. So let's get to work today.