Accomplishments of the 117th Congress

Floor Speech

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Ms. CRAIG. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the work of the Regional Leadership Council. My colleagues and I just got back to D.C. after an extended work period in our districts. It was a busy, busy time in the south metro of Minnesota but also across the Midwest.

To me, being busy is a really good thing. Busy means things are happening, small businesses are opening roundtable discussions, ribbon cuttings, shovels in dirt, townhalls, and, yes, a whole lot of harvesting is about to be happening across the Midwest, including corn and soybeans across my congressional district.

However, this work period was busy for a very particular reason. We passed the 1-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, and we were able to celebrate the benefits that this legislation has already brought home, and, in particular, to rural communities.

I am going to take a minute and put this legislation into perspective about what it has already done and what it will continue to do for Midwest communities. Let me start with the Inflation Reduction Act's historic investment in homegrown biofuels infrastructure, the largest this Nation has ever made. E-15 and biofuel production are key for our ag communities and environments. They expand markets for family farmers and support economic growth in rural communities. They are a solution that we have available today to help us address climate change.

Across Region 3, these credits are providing family farmers and producers with the support and resources that they need to sustain and grow their operations, enabling them to continue feeding and fueling our country.

Earlier this summer, the Department of Agriculture awarded their first awardees for the IRA's Higher Blend Fuels Infrastructure Program. Half of the awards went to States in Region 3 alone.

The signing of the Inflation Reduction Act also signaled a historic investment in our Nation's infrastructure. Infrastructure investments are a win-win for America's workers, businesses, and communities. They just make sense.

Here in Minnesota, we have received $3.8 billion in infrastructure and clean energy investments, including Federal dollars to make our roads, our bridges, public transits, and airports safer, deploy clean water projects, and provide broadband funding to make sure our rural communities can access the high-speed internet they deserve. These are investments we are building on right here in Region 3.

We have about $1 billion heading to Wisconsin. If you know anything about Minnesota, we are very competitive with Wisconsin, but as a Region 3 representative, I am so proud to say that those dollars are going to the Midwest through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program to provide high-speed internet to 253,000 homes and small businesses; $73 million heading to Michigan through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's Bridge Investment Program to replace the 85-year- old Lafayette Avenue Bridge, which serves as a critical passage point in the State's economy, and the list, of course, goes on.

Each of these infrastructure projects will play a critical role in building a safer, stronger America. I personally cannot wait to see every single one of them come to life.

Mr. Speaker, I will end with a personal privilege.

I spent about 20 years working in the medtech industry, and since entering Congress, working to lower healthcare costs have been one of my highest priorities.

Given that, I thought I would just end my remarks by sharing a story of a constituent of mine, a man named Bob Miller.

Bob relies on Medicare, and for years, about a decade, he has relied on a prescription drug to treat his debilitating MS flare-ups. For over a decade, Bob has seen the price of his drug skyrocket and was ultimately forced to stop taking the drug that he relies on because even with insurance, the price of that drug was just too expensive.

Bob's story is heartbreaking but unsurprising. We all know people across America who have to make those same critical decisions each and every day. Because here in the richest country in the world, people like Bob have been forced to make the decision to forego life- sustaining medications because it is just too expensive.

When we passed the Inflation Reduction Act, we allowed Medicare the power to start negotiating drug prices across our country; good old- fashioned competition to help lower drug costs for our seniors.

I don't understand for the life of me how my colleagues cannot be in favor of good old-fashioned competition.

Many American seniors are now and will be able to live happier, healthier lives as a result of this legislation.

That, Mr. Speaker, deserves to be celebrated. I look forward to continuing to see the benefits of all of these important pieces of legislation, and I thank the gentleman from Maryland for convening us.

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