Build Back Better Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BEYER. Madam Speaker, today we protect the world for future generations.

Madam Speaker, the Inflation Reduction Act will do untold good for the Nation and for the American people. This is our generation's signature contribution to American history, our Social Security Act, or Civil Rights Act, or even the Bill of Rights.

The act will lower healthcare costs, reduce prescription drug prices, and create jobs. We have emphatically put people over politics.

Much like a proposal I introduced with Senators Elizabeth Warren and Angus King, it will actually reduce the deficit by preventing tax avoidance for the biggest corporations in this country, requiring them to shoulder their fair burden of the tax responsibility.

Most importantly, Congress is finally taking the sweeping, ambitious action we desperately need to prevent the worst effects of the climate crisis. We are passing the most important environmental bill in history.

I am privileged to serve on Chairman Neal's brilliant and enlightened Ways and Means Committee. I am proud of the diverse tax credit provisions I partnered with my distinguished Members and friends.

These are the parts of the act which will have enormous climate consequences:

They will accelerate the adoption of zero emission mid-size trucks, vans, and other commercial vehicles.

They will scale up direct air capture technology to remove carbon pollution directly from the atmosphere.

They will incentivize the reduction of emissions from commercial buildings.

These provisions and the bill as a whole will create huge numbers of good-paying jobs.

Then there is the big picture. This bill will put us on a path to reduce our target emissions and actually help save the planet.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their support.

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