[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.