[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 6, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S2221]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Clean Energy

  Finally, Mr. President, on clean energy investment, when President 
Biden comes before the Congress to deliver his State of the Union this 
week, Americans will hear a clear theme: America's economy is 
accelerating, inflation is decelerating, and the investments Democrats 
made in the past few years--I was proud to be majority leader during 
probably the most successful, productive Congress in 30 years, and 
these investments are really paying off.
  Today, for example, many Americans are paying less for insulin than 
they did a few years ago, thanks to reforms we made on the IRA. Seniors 
on Medicare have a cap on prescription drug spending. No longer does a 
serious illness mean seniors on Medicare spend $10,000 or more on 
prescription drug expenses. Consumer sentiment is way up, compared to 2 
years ago. And despite so many naysayers who were sure there would be a 
recession, inflation has slowed to more normal levels without--
without--causing a recession.
  In fact, manufacturing construction is at an alltime high, triple its 
highest point during the last administration, the Trump administration. 
And these are just the accomplishments of the past year. The IRA, the 
Inflation Reduction Act, is projected to create another 1.5 million 
jobs over the next decade.
  But today, I want to point out another part of our agenda delivering 
beyond anyone's wildest expectations: the surge in America's clean 
energy and the jobs it creates. The New York Times put it best in a 
recent article when they noted that ``clean energy manufacturing is 
booming.''
  Thanks to investments Democrats made in the Inflation Reduction Act, 
in the Chips and Science Act and other bills, clean investments, just 
last year, reached over $230 billion. For context, that is triple the 
investment levels of 2019, just 5 years ago.
  Many companies who invested towards clean energy have said 
legislation like IRA and Chips and Science made their decisions easier. 
And while $230 billion can seem hard to visualize, the practical 
impacts of these investments are plain as day.
  Americans see these investments at work through new EV battery 
plants, new construction sites, new good-paying jobs that will stick 
around for years. Our economy has added nearly 30,000 jobs in power 
generation and supply, a stark turnaround from years of decline during 
the previous administration.
  New Yorkers see these investments through the surge of onshore wind 
and solar energy production and through all of the factory openings we 
have seen across the State, particularly in Upstate New York, in an 
area that in the past had lost jobs--manufacturing jobs--is now growing 
again. That is great news. It makes us all very happy.
  Consumers will see these investments at work through cheaper EVs; and 
in time, Americans everywhere will see these investments pay off 
through less pollution, cleaner air, and fewer kids getting sick from 
asthma and other illnesses. That is something we are very proud of.
  Sometimes it can take a while for the effects of an ambitious agenda 
to take root. We saw this happen with ACA. But today, the evidence is 
pouring in that the work that President Biden and Democrats put in over 
the past few years, the investments, are paying off in a big way for 
our country, and Americans are beginning to take notice.
  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. THUNE. 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.
  The Republican whip.