Build Back Better Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, today, I rise in strong support of the Inflation Reduction Act--landmark legislation that will have a lasting impact on our planet and help lower costs for Americans in New York City and across our country. From lowering prescription drug prices and health care costs for working families to including the most significant climate investment in our nation's history, the Inflation Reduction Act includes policies I have long fought for.
With this legislation, our nation can finally rise to the seriousness of the moment in our fight against climate change by making the large- scale investments needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030, lower energy costs for families, and create millions of good-paying clean energy jobs across our country.
I am thrilled that with this legislation, our government will finally be able to negotiate the prices of some of our nation's costliest prescription drugs--drugs that have been on the market for years and reap billions of dollars in sales from Medicare alone. I am proud that the Inflation Reduction Act will bring down health care costs for over 3.7 million New Yorkers and will result in enormous savings for taxpayers.
With the passage of this bill, Democrats are showing American families that our federal government can deliver for the people, not just special corporate interests.
I look forward to voting to pass this historic legislation.
Mr. DAVID Scott of Georgia. Madam Speaker, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 before us today makes historic investments in climate change mitigation, our critical forestry and conservation programs, rural communities, and energy and biofuels infrastructure.
This package makes important investments in our oversubscribed farm bill conservation programs. By expanding participation in these programs and providing increased technical assistance funding, farmers will more readily be able to employ proven conservation practices on their land, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and sequester carbon. I have always believed that agriculture should be the tip of the spear in addressing the harmful effects of climate change. This legislation helps make that a reality.
My colleagues may complain about the steps we had to take to ensure this additional funding for our farm bill conservation programs, I would note that our colleagues on the other side have similarly extended the authorization of farm bill authorizations, but in those cases, it was to cut funding from them. In this exercise, we are including additional funding, which will be beneficial as we look to writing the 2023 Farm Bill.
Major investments in forestry will also help to combat climate change, reduce risk of catastrophic wildfire, and ensure that our public and private lands have the tools they need to continue to serve as our largest carbon sinks. In addition to the carbon benefits, this bill helps restore forest ecosystems, improve watershed health, and enhance wildlife habitat by providing much needed funding. Additionally, the forestry provisions of the bill will help bring rural prosperity to many parts of our Nation by ensuring that we are developing new, innovative, wood products, and by making sure that underserved communities can benefit from emerging climate mitigation markets. This bill makes sure that urban communities have access to forestry programs by providing needed funding for Urban and Community Forestry. Expanding the tree canopy in urban areas is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to address temperature impacts and air quality issues, and I'm sorry some of my colleagues don't recognize that.
The Inflation Reduction Act's investments in rural communities, energy, and biofuels will help lower energy bills, increase the efficiency of energy systems, and provide opportunities for farmers and small business owners to employ emission reducing technology in their operations. Increasing energy efficiency is good for their bottom lines and good for the climate. This legislation also provides significant support for rural electric cooperatives as they transition to renewable and zero emission energy systems, and it also increases access to clean biofuels across the nation.
This bill provides expedited relief to direct and guaranteed farm loan borrowers at risk of losing their farming operations. It also allows USDA to help farmers and ranchers who have suffered discrimination in Farm Service Agency farm loan programs. It requires USDA to use one or more nongovernmental entities to help provide this assistance.
Lastly, it builds upon the American Rescue Plan efforts to increase access to capital and land for our beginning and underserved producers by expanding access to technical assistance, financial training, cooperative development, and assistance to address heirs' property issues. And part of this effort includes bolstering the capacity at our 1890 and 1994 Land Grant, Insular Area, and other Minority-Serving Institutions in the areas of research, education and extension.
I want to thank the Members of the Agriculture Committee for their hard work on this legislation. And I also want to thank the Agriculture Committee staff who have dedicated many hours over the last year to helping see this legislation through to its passage today.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I want to highlight the long-overdue reforms contained in this legislation to make lifesaving medicine affordable for the millions of Medicare beneficiaries in this country.
First, it will cap copayments for insulin products at $35 per month. My Committee's investigation found that, since the 1990s, insulin manufacturers have been raising the price of this life-saving medicine, despite no improvements to the drug, while making record profits. This price gouging has harmed Americans, and capping out-of-pocket costs is an important step to reducing insulin costs for seniors and people with disabilities.
The Inflation Reduction Act is also an incredible step forward in our efforts to protect Americans from being overburdened with high out-of- pocket costs and healthcare-related expenses. For the first time, it would limit a beneficiary's out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs covered by Medicare Part D to $2,000 a year. My Committee's investigation found that drug companies' price increases have imposed thousands of dollars in annual out-of-pocket costs on patients, especially for drugs that treat cancer or chronic conditions. This annual cap will provide much-needed financial protection, especially for the millions of beneficiaries who take high price drugs for cancer, rare diseases, or chronic conditions.
Additionally, the Inflation Reduction Act will make health insurance coverage more affordable for millions of Americans by extending key Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits through 2025, building on the important progress made by the American Rescue Plan signed into law last March. By providing tax credits for millions of consumers purchasing coverage through an ACA marketplace, the American Rescue Plan expanded access to health insurance and made it significantly more affordable.
Since passage of the American Rescue Plan, four out of five consumers were able to find an ACA marketplace plan for $10 or less per month. These savings allowed nearly 6 million new consumers to sign up for marketplace coverage during the first year of the Biden-Harris Administration. This year, a record 14.5 million consumers have signed up for marketplace coverage, and the national uninsured rate recently reached a record low of 8.0 percent. The Inflation Reduction Act extends these critical benefits for millions of Americans, and continues our work to ensure that all people in this country have access to health insurance coverage.
As Chairwoman, I was also proud to include $50 million dollars in the Inflation Reduction Act to ensure that the economic and environmental benefits of funding across the Inflation Reduction Act are spread equitably. For decades, low-income communities and communities of color have suffered from chronic underinvestment while being forced to suffer the most severe health and economic impacts of pollution and climate change.
We won't stand for that any longer. The Inflation Reduction Act will lower costs, create better-paying jobs, and build healthier, more sustainable communities. With my Committee's oversight funding included, we can make sure these benefits are being spread fairly and that clean energy investments support environmental justice communities that need them the most.
Finally, my Committee worked to include almost a billion dollars to support for the deployment of emerging sustainable technologies to reduce emissions while also saving taxpayer dollars. This good government provision will support innovation to drive down the cost of clean energy solutions, which is better for consumers and better for our children's future.
This is all accomplished alongside inflation-fighting measures that will cut the nation's deficit by a historic $300 billion without raising taxes on small businesses or on a single person or family in the middle class. The Inflation Reduction Act closes loopholes that have allowed billionaire corporations to avoid paying their minimum fair share of income tax. Thanks to this transformative legislation and today's historic vote, those days are behind us, and better days of a more fair and prosperous nation are ahead. It is an honor to send this legislation to the President's desk.
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