AFSCME Family:
On Sunday, Senate Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – a massive and historic win for working families and the country. This law is also the capstone of two years of progress, from investments in states, cities, towns and schools to the lowest unemployment rate in fifty years to lowering prescription drug costs.
We expect the House to pass, and President Biden to sign, the Inflation Reduction Act in the coming days. Once it is law, we will provide an update with factsheets addressing the specifics of the new law.
In the meantime, here are a few toplines from the Senate-passed bill:
Lowering Health Care Costs – The Inflation Reduction Act will make prescription drugs cheaper for seniors by allowing the federal government to negotiate lower Medicare drug prices and penalizing prescription drug corporations for hiking drug prices in Medicare by more than the overall inflation rate. It also will cap out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors under Medicare Part D at $2,000 per year and limit their out-of-pocket insulin costs to $35 per month. For people who buy individual health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act, it will lower health insurance premiums by an average of $800 a year.
Tackling Climate Change and Improving Energy Security – The law makes historic investments in fighting climate change, improves our energy security and tackles the climate crisis by providing tax credits for and investments in energy projects, thereby creating thousands of new good union jobs and helping lower energy costs.
Requiring Corporations and the Wealthy to Begin to Pay Their Fair Share – The Inflation Reduction Act requires large corporations to pay a minimum 15% income tax and makes it harder for multinational corporations to avoid paying their fair share of US taxes. It also puts a 1% tax on corporate stock buy backs, which are often used by corporations and their wealthy shareholders to avoid taxes. The law also boosts efforts to ensure corporations and the wealthiest in our society pay the taxes they owe, with no tax increases for families making under $400,000 a year.
While we have made massive progress on the issues that matter most to AFSCME members, our opponents are hellbent on denying Americans of their rights and freedoms. As we head into the fall, it’s up to us to make the contrast clear and make sure AFSCME members know what’s at stake.
Lee Saunders
President
AFSCME