Inflation Reduction Act

The bill fights climate change and lowers some prescription drug prices, and it's estimated to raise over $300 billion over ten years in new tax revenue.

by Matthew Rusling. WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. House Democrats on Friday passed the so-called Inflation Reduction Act just a few days after the ...

The bill would empower Medicare to negotiate the prices on 100 drugs, among other reforms that Democrats said will bring in 265 billion dollars. The Penn Wharton Budget Model of the University of Pennsylvania estimated that "the Inflation Reduction Act will produce a very small increase in inflation for the first few years, up to 0.05 percent points in 2024." "For Democrats who had been disheartened, this is a reason to get back in the game," said Galdieri. ■ "With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in the House, families will see lower prescription drug prices, lower health care costs, and lower energy costs," U.S. President Joe Biden tweeted on Friday. "To call it the Inflation Reduction Act is a lie," Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis said Friday. Democrats argued that the massive spending will be offset by 737 billion dollars in new revenue that the bill will allegedly create.

WASHINGTON — The House on Friday passed the Inflation Reduction Act along party lines, rounding out a series of recent wins for President Joe Biden.

It’s not as big as they wanted it to be, but it’s what is passable in a 50-50 Senate headed into a midterm.” “Big Pharma has had a stranglehold on Congress, and we couldn’t get it done until now.” It also would reinstate a tax on the oil industry to help pay for the cleanup of hazardous Superfund sites. Some voters, and progressive lawmakers like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., have said the Inflation Reduction Act doesn’t do enough to immediately alleviate strains on working families. “I believe the largest tone-deaf bill we’ve seen in this chamber in 230 years. We are all making life better for the American people.”

Updated August 13, 2022 at 8:49 AM ET. The massive climate, health care and tax bill making its way toward President Biden's desk is called the Inflation ...

Chye-Ching Huang, the executive director of the Tax Law Center at New York University, doesn't expect a significant impact on wages. - The bill offers a number of tax credits for people switching to cleaner energy sources, including electric vehicles and rooftop solar panels. Instead, the tax increases will largely fall on corporations. "On one hand, it does not add to inflation, which was what the previous concern that people had about passing legislation like this right now," Smetters said. Still, some of the biggest drivers of inflation, including food and energy costs, are not immediately addressed. When there's less money floating in the economy, there tends to be less demand and fewer price hikes, Akabas said.

"By reducing long-run economic growth, this bill may actually worsen inflation by constraining the productive capacity of the economy," the Tax Foundation, ...

The bill would empower Medicare to negotiate the prices on 100 drugs, among other reforms that Democrats said will bring in 265 billion dollars. "By reducing long-run economic growth, this bill may actually worsen inflation by constraining the productive capacity of the economy," the Tax Foundation, a nonprofit think tank, wrote on its website. The Penn Wharton Budget Model of the University of Pennsylvania estimated that "the Inflation Reduction Act will produce a very small increase in inflation for the first few years, up to 0.05 percent points in 2024." "By reducing long-run economic growth, this bill may actually worsen inflation by constraining the productive capacity of the economy," the Tax Foundation, a nonprofit think tank, writes on its website. A customer shops at a supermarket in Millbrae, California, the United States, Aug. 10, 2022. "With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in the House, families will see lower prescription drug prices, lower health care costs, and lower energy costs," U.S. President Joe Biden tweeted on Friday.

The Inflation Reduction Act offers financial incentives in the form of consumer rebates and tax credits to help the U.S. reduce its greenhouse gas ...

Households that fall between 80% and 150% of the area median income are eligible for rebates of 50% of their cost, up to $14,000. They'd be eligible for 50% of the cost of those projects, up to a dollar cap. The rebates are double — up to $4,000 and $8,000, respectively — for lower-income households. "The most generous rebates are — as they should be — for those who need them the most," said Saul-Rinaldi, who helped design the proposed rebates. Costs incurred from the beginning of 2022 to the end of 2032 would qualify for a 30% tax credit. There are annual caps that apply to specific items — for example, $500 for doors and $600 for windows and skylights. One such incentive is a tax credit toward the installation cost of solar panels or other equipment to harness renewable energy like wind, geothermal and biomass fuel. - Vehicle qualifications: There are also limits that apply to where the car was manufactured and the sourcing of battery and other vehicle components. This lets homeowners more easily pair solar installations, for example, with battery systems that store excess renewable energy for later use, according to Jantarasami at the Bipartisan Policy Center. For households, the incentives help make things like rooftop solar panels, electric vehicles and energy-efficient appliances more affordable, in a bid to more quickly transition the U.S. toward cleaner sources of energy. The limit is $150,000 for single tax filers. - Vehicle price requirements: Individuals don't qualify for the tax break if their van, sport utility vehicle or pickup truck costs more than $80,000.

The US Senate (and subsequently the House of Representatives) passed the Inflation Reduction Act that seeks to tackle issues of inflation, climate change ...

The bill's central goals are clear: trimming healthcare costs, combating climate change and paying for it all with higher taxes on corporations and a ...

Not every EV buyer will qualify, though, because the bill sets limits both on the price of vehicles that qualify for the subsidy and the income of vehicle buyers who can get it. Democrats fought off that amendment, but didn't have Manchin's support to fully repeal the cap. Congress last year expanded the Affordable Care Act by eliminating the income cap for qualifying for federal healthcare subsidies, instead setting a goal that no family should pay more than 8.5% of its income for health insurance. Starting in 2025, the bill will cap the annual amount that seniors on Medicare can pay for prescription drugs at $2,000. The move will cost the federal government about $64 billion. On top of that, it is the federal government's largest-ever effort to make the nation go green. Here's a closer look at those three facets of the bill: But it will, over the long term, help control the cost of prescription drugs for seniors and basic healthcare for many others. That change was set to expire at the end of the year, meaning that millions of middle-income families would suddenly see their health care costs rise dramatically. Republicans uniformly opposed the bill, calling the legislation another big-spending boondoggle that won't achieve its goals. Sen. Charles Schumer says the Buffalo has a "darn good chance" of being chosen for one of up to 20 "tech hubs" that would be established around the country. Meantime, the monthly price for insulin would be capped at $35 a month for diabetics on Medicare. And starting that year, Medicare would – for the first time – be authorized to negotiate the price of several commonly prescribed drugs, thereby adding more downward pressure on the price of prescriptions.

Still, the law could save money for some Americans by lessening the cost of prescription drugs for the elderly, extending health insurance subsidies and ...

Vincent Barnes, senior vice president for policy at the Alliance to Save Energy, said this would allow homeowners to make new energy-efficient investments over several years. The legislation authorizes Medicare to negotiate prices of 10 expensive pharmaceuticals, starting next year, though the results won’t take effect until 2026. Prescription drugs account for only 1% of the spending in the U.S. consumer price index; spending on electricity and natural gas makes up just 3.6%. But for all Americans, including those who aren’t homeowners, the impact will likely be limited. A study by Kaiser found that in 2019, 1.2 million Medicare recipients spent an average of $3,216 on drug prescriptions. This week, the president said the bill would “bring down the cost of prescription drugs, health insurance premiums and energy costs.” It would also modestly cut the government’s budget deficit, which might slightly lower inflation by the end of this decade. In addition, Kent Smetters, director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model, said the law’s health care subsidies could send inflation up. It would also modestly cut the government’s budget deficit, which might slightly lower inflation by the end of this decade. Starting in 2025, the act will cap the amount Medicare recipients would pay for their prescription drugs at $2,000 a year. It would also limit Medicare recipients’ out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35 a month. In theory, lower deficits can reduce inflation.

The bill includes several provisions to lower the prices of prescription drugs — a priority of AARP Florida.

“Today is a momentous day for older Americans. By passing the Inflation Reduction Act, Congress has made good on decades of promises to lower the price of prescription drugs. “Many people said this couldn’t be done, but AARP isn’t afraid of a hard fight. The Democrats’ flagship climate and health care bill passed in a party-line House vote.

Still, the law could save money for some Americans by lessening the cost of prescription drugs for the elderly, extending health insurance subsidies and ...

Vincent Barnes, senior vice president for policy at the Alliance to Save Energy, said this would allow homeowners to make new energy-efficient investments over several years. The legislation authorizes Medicare to negotiate prices of 10 expensive pharmaceuticals, starting next year, though the results won't take effect until 2026. This week, the president said the bill would “bring down the cost of prescription drugs, health insurance premiums and energy costs.” In addition, Kent Smetters, director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model, said the law's health care subsidies could send inflation up. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded last week that the changes would have a “negligible” impact on inflation this year and next. A study by Kaiser found that in 2019, 1.2 million Medicare recipients spent an average of $3,216 on drug prescriptions.

Electric vehicles, solar panels: these are some of the items that could be eligible for a tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Still, the law could save money for some Americans by lessening the cost of prescription drugs for the elderly, extending health insurance subsidies and ...

Vincent Barnes, senior vice president for policy at the Alliance to Save Energy, said this would allow homeowners to make new energy-efficient investments over several years. The legislation authorizes Medicare to negotiate prices of 10 expensive pharmaceuticals, starting next year, though the results won’t take effect until 2026. This week, the president said the bill would “bring down the cost of prescription drugs, health insurance premiums and energy costs.” In addition, Kent Smetters, director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model, said the law’s health care subsidies could send inflation up. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded last week that the changes would have a “negligible” impact on inflation this year and next. A study by Kaiser found that in 2019, 1.2 million Medicare recipients spent an average of $3,216 on drug prescriptions.

What exactly will the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act be on regular Americans? The answer depends on who you listen to. Our Casey Bortnick is joined ...

Bill includes $40 billion for climate-smart agriculture investments and significant biofuels support.

The energy and biofuels provisions will help continue the transition to renewable and reliable energy in our rural areas and continue a role for biofuels in that transition,” Scott says. “As I’ve said, this bill only complicates the pathway to a farm bill and creates even greater uncertainty for farmers, ranchers, and rural communities.” Scott says the agriculture provisions in the legislation deliver on many of the promises of the committee to increase investments in forestry, conservation, rural development and energy programs. The bill includes approximately $1 billion for conservation technical assistance, which allows the Natural Resource Conservation Service and conservation districts across the country to get boots on the ground to support producers implement conservation. The legislation will extend existing industry tax incentives and create a sustainable aviation fuel tax incentive through 2024. The new bill allows USDA to provide $3.1 billion to distressed USDA borrowers whose agricultural operations are at risk. NFU is proud to see investment in biofuels infrastructure that will help farmers' bottom line and help consumers save at the pump. Through this section USDA can provide loan modifications and payments to distressed borrowers with the goal of keeping farmers farming. “With historic investments in a clean energy economy, the Inflation Reduction Act will create good-paying jobs and more economic opportunity in rural communities across the country. “The Inflation Reduction Act will also lower costs for seniors, who make up a higher percentage of rural populations than more urban areas, by capping their annual out of pocket costs at the pharmacy and giving Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices.” The Inflation Reduction Act advanced out of the House Friday by a vote of 219-208. The bill passed in the Senate by a party-line vote with Vice President Kalama Harris making the tie-breaking vote.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was mocked on social media over a comment comparing support of the Inflation Reduction Act to the support of the planet and ...

How could they vote against helping families with their health care costs? Pelosi continued, "How could they vote against lowering prescription drug costs? President Biden is expected to sign the Inflation Reduction Act next week

WASHINGTON, DC – House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) joined the Reverend Al Sharpton on MSNBC's PoliticsNation this afternoon to discuss House ...

And then Reverend, as you know, we passed the CHIPS bill, which is going to energize our manufacturing site, it is going to put CHIPS back in cars and every electronic device that we use, and we are going to Make It In America. We are going to make [chips] in America. We are not going to rely on the unreliable. “[The Inflation Reduction Act] means that we are going to bring [Americans’] health care costs down, prescription costs down, we're going to make the Affordable Care Act continue to be affordable for those who are struggling, and we are going to also make sure that people pay their fair share of taxes, so those at the lower end, under $400,000 don't pay more because the people at the top are not paying their fair share. And then Reverend, as you know, we passed the CHIPS bill, which is going to energize our manufacturing site, it is going to put CHIPS back in cars and every electronic device that we use, and we are going to Make It In America. We are going to make [chips] in America. We are not going to rely on the unreliable. In addition to that, we are going to make sure that insulin costs for those on Medicare are capped at $35 [a month], and, as I said, we are going to negotiate on drug pricing through the year. “[The Inflation Reduction Act] means that we are going to bring [Americans’] health care costs down, prescription costs down, we're going to make the Affordable Care Act continue to be affordable for those who are struggling, and we are going to also make sure that people pay their fair share of taxes, so those at the lower end, under $400,000 don't pay more because the people at the top are not paying their fair share. In addition to that, we are going to make sure that insulin costs for those on Medicare are capped at $35 [a month], and, as I said, we are going to negotiate on drug pricing through the year.

Without the support of a single Republican, Democrats in the U.S. House on Friday gave final passage to a $740 billion piece of legislation that includes ...

Much more is needed, specifically to restrict any and all new fossil fuel projects,” said Hauter. “Unfortunately the bill aims to actually promote additional drilling and fracking, an unconscionable trade-off that will increase pollution in frontline and environmental justice communities.” “That is why Congress must finish the job of reining in corporate greed, lowering costs, and ensuring wealthy companies finally pay their fair share.” “Our focus now must shift to stopping Senator Manchin’s awful ‘side deal’ to fast track fossil fuel permitting,” Hauter added. “Multibillion-dollar corporate special interests including Big Pharma claim the sky will fall if they finally pay their fair share in taxes or negotiate fairer prices,” Liz Zelnick, spokesperson for Accountable.US, said shortly before Friday’s vote. But the bill in many ways reflects the power that corporate America continues to exert over the legislative process. “But today, let’s celebrate this massive investment for the people.” Republicans, given an opening by the unelected Senate parliamentarian, also axed a provision that would have imposed a $35-per-month insulin copay cap for patients with private insurance. “Like their Senate colleagues, not a single House Republican voted for this legislation, despite its popularity with the majority of Americans across the political spectrum.” Our work continues to deliver affordable, quality housing, child care, and education, a $15 minimum wage, immigration justice, and more. “People deserve lower insulin prices and lower drug prices in general, including if you have private health insurance,” Bowman continued. “We need to protect frontline communities from fossil fuel pollution, and finally end our dependence on oil, gas, and coal. “We finally have a Congress that’s heeding the science on the severity of human-caused climate change and incentivizing the clean energy solutions that are supported by the vast majority of people in the United States,” said Kreilick. “It’s extremely disappointing and alarming that despite the urgency to act, Republican lawmakers have largely refused to support critical climate policy.”

A divided Congress gave final approval Friday to Democrats' flagship climate and health care bill. The House used a party-line 220-207 vote to pass the ...

“This bill is nothing more than a hyper-partisan rush-to-green wish list and socialist spending package at the expense of the American taxpayer.” “I oppose this legislation that will make our nation’s energy and economic crises worse and will continue to fight back against it because of the damage this will do.” Wilson called the bill the “Inflation Expansion Act” in comments made on Twitter Friday evening. It also calls for a 15% corporate minimum tax, prescription drug pricing reform, more tax enforcement from the Internal Revenue Service and elimination of the carried interest loophole. He said the bill was passed much to the dismay and detriment of American families. U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., was one of 207 Republicans to vote against the bill Friday evening.

Put simply, this landmark legislation will drastically reduce health care costs for families, particularly working families that are living one hospital ...

This is what it looks like when Congress puts people over politics — casting aside the demands of special interests and actually working for the people who need help most. And for individuals and families with lower incomes, the Inflation Reduction Act lowers premium costs so they can afford health coverage. But the Inflation Reduction Act doesn’t stop there. The decisions you’re forced to make in those moments feel impossible. That fear became reality when my dad was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis while I was in school, and shortly after graduation, I moved back home to be closer to my family and help out around the house. Growing up, my parents worked hard to provide a better life for my three sisters and me.

The historic climate legislation is a missed opportunity to cut food emissions, but it can show us how to navigate the messy politics of meat.

Waterman said it’s “the first federal bill to make it through a committee that has referred to plant-based food.” The Good Food Institute (GFI), an organization that advocates for plant-based and cell-cultured meat, has a plan to take us through the vortex. At least for now, we can find hope in the local policymakers, from San Diego to New York to Washington, DC, who’ve committed to cutting their cities’ food emissions by serving up more plant-based meals. When schools do want to serve more plant-based food, there are a host of technical, financial, and regulatory barriers in their way. When the choice is between cheap coal and expensive renewable energy, the better choice for the climate looks like a financial sacrifice. And there’s no shortage of research to conduct around cell-cultured meat: meat made by growing animal cells in bioreactors, which is still in its infancy. But for most people, there’s still a large gap in taste and cost between a factory-farmed chicken cutlet and the best plant-based meat alternative or a tasty plant-based meal made from scratch. Similar food fights have occurred in Spain, Italy, and France. Germany is a rare exception, where government ministers have called for a reduction in meat consumption with little pushback. Americans have come to expect cheap meat and lots of it. But according to NYU environmental studies professor Matthew Hayek and Harvard Law policy fellow Jan Dutkiewicz, those supported practices may not be all that climate-smart, as they’re unlikely to make much of a dent in emissions. Agriculture emissions aren’t a sideshow: Climate researchers say that even if we stopped using fossil fuels tomorrow, we won’t be able to meet the Paris climate agreement’s targets without shrinking food’s carbon footprint too. If and when it’s passed, it will be the most ambitious climate legislation ever enacted in the US.

Witchcraft & Pagan News - TWH weekend editor Eric O. Scott considers the good and the disappointing aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) ...

If this is the first bill of many to tackle the climate emergency and push us toward a saner, more sustainable way of life, then it’s great. I’m a Pagan; the natural world is the foundation of my religious beliefs, and as a result, environmental issues are one of the most important political questions on my mind. But there is a very good chance that this is the only climate bill that will get passed in the foreseeable future. I’m also a new father of a child who is going to have to deal with all the mistakes we have on the climate getting to this point. “Although the current version of this new climate deal, if passed, would provide large investments into renewable energy and open up funding streams for low income and vulnerable communities, it is missing many critical solutions that Indigenous organizers have been uplifting for years,” said the NDN Collective, an Indigenous advocacy organization. Even the name change from “Build Back Better” – which at least gives a sense of positive change and improvement after the horrors of the pandemic – to the “Inflation Reduction Act” feels deeply cynical to me. The chances that the Democrats maintain their trifecta in the House, Senate, and presidency are slim, even with the passage of this bill and the potential backlash toward the GOP over Dobbs vs. This shows in the bill as passed: while much of the climate change provisions are similar to what the House passed last year in BBB, Manchin’s cooperation required a number of giveaways to fossil fuels, including speeding up permitting for some fossil fuel projects, an expansion of off-shore drilling, and tying the expansion of renewable energy on public lands to more oil and gas extraction leases. This led to eight months in which it appeared the Democrats were not going to be able to pass anything of substance on climate change before inevitably handing Congress over to the Republicans in November. That the legislation maintains the carried-interest tax loophole, the sort of policy that nobody can spin as anything other than a gift to private equity at the expense of the average voter. Sure. And if I had much confidence that this was, as the Senate Democrats say, just a down payment toward greater action on climate change, I would be more accepting of that. Another price of Manchin’s acquiescence: a piece of legislation designed to create a 300-mile-long pipeline for fracked natural gas in his home state of West Virginia, precisely the kind of infrastructure we should be avoiding if we want to keep greenhouse gas emissions down.

The Inflation Reduction Act will pour billions into clean tech, in a bid to lower US greenhouse gas emissions.

The takeover is about more than vacuum cleaners, according to Whole Foods CEO John Mackey. In a piece for Nasdaq, he explains why this move is likely part of Amazon’s larger strategy to automate its business, especially in warehouses, and in many ways mirrors its acquisition of Whole Foods in 2017. The bulk of EVs sold in the US today–which comprise two Tesla models and the Chevy Bolt–would qualify for a tax credit next year. His song, “Meat is for Man,” has racked up over 100 million views on TikTok and Instagram and won the hearts of Gen Z. After the “Inflation Reduction Act” was introduced in Congress, there was a race to calculate the legislation’s climate impact. But at the least, Biden has succeeded in lifting the psychic burden of constant policy anxiety that has weighed down US climate companies for a decade. To qualify for a tax credit under the IRA, vehicles must be under a certain price ($80,000 for trucks and SUVs and $55,000 for all other categories) and buyers must earn less than $150,000 if single or $300,000 as a household if married. Which is to say: The law is likely to result in lower prices for consumers over the years, but its intent is unmistakably to get the US moving on clean energy and climate change. The vast majority of battery metal mining and assembly happens in China (and other countries with which the US does not have a free trade agreement). Setting up new supply chains for batteries could take years, so most EV tax credits are at risk of lapsing in 2024, unless this rule is defanged or delayed. Through $370 billion in tax rebates, grants, and loans, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is poised to break the logjam that has left US climate tech companies struggling to compete on the global stage. Climate tech in the US—companies that deal in renewable energy, electric vehicles, and the like—has long faced two major challenges. The IRA legislation—coming on top of climate provisions in a new microchip bill Biden signed on Aug. 10 and the $1 trillion infrastructure package from last November—remedies both concerns. Tax incentives are now bigger and cover more subsectors; they’re designed to beef up domestic manufacturing, and they will be locked in for a decade.