On Wednesday, Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL07) celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act. Sewell said that the Biden Administration’s landmark legislation continues to deliver for Alabama families. Sewell claimed that over the last twelve months, the investments in the Inflation Reduction Act have lowered costs for Alabamians while creating new jobs, combating climate change, advancing environmental justice, and reducing the deficit. Sewell was the only member of Alabama’s congressional delegation to vote in favor of the bill.
“One year ago, President (Joe) Biden signed into law a historic piece of legislation that is bringing down costs for Alabama families, growing the middle class with new clean energy and manufacturing jobs, and making the largest investment to fight climate change in our nation’s history,” said Rep. Sewell. “I was proud to be the only member of the Alabama delegation to vote in favor of the Inflation Reduction Act, and I’m even prouder today as it continues to deliver for our families, our communities, and our planet. We’re already seeing the investments from the Inflation Reduction Act lay the foundation for decades of economic growth and cost savings, and soon our provisions to cap prescription drug costs will provide even more breathing room for Alabama families.”
Sewell said that many of the Inflation Reduction Act’s responsible, pro-growth policies are already at work for Alabamians right now, with even more progress on the way.
Sewell said that the legislation lowered costs for Alabama families by:
· Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, the 31,000 people who signed up for a marketplace plan in Alabama’s 7th District are saving an average of $740 on their health care premiums this year.
· Caps insulin prices for seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries at $35/month, saving about 3,800 people in Alabama’s 7th District who use insulin an average of $400 annually.
· An estimated 367,000 Alabamians will save an average of $360 on prescription drugs every year when the $2,000 cap on annual out-of-pocket pharmacy costs for Americans with Medicare goes into effect in 2025.
· Allows Medicare to finally negotiate prescription drug prices starting in 2026, slashing prices and saving taxpayers nearly $100 billion over the next eight years.
· Unleashes the power of cleaner, cheaper energy to save families hundreds of dollars on their energy bills every year and provides thousands of dollars in discounts to help families upgrade to more efficient appliances and vehicles.
Sewell said that the legislation is growing the middle class by:
· Delivers a clean energy future, with over 170,000 new jobs and $278 billion in new investments already announced in 44 states, including 400 clean energy jobs and $205 million in investments ri Alabama’s 7th District.
· Lays the foundation for the future of our economy with historic investments in clean energy and American manufacturing that are projected to create millions of jobs and reduce carbon pollution by 40 percent by 2030.
· Gives more Americans a path to the middle class by expanding workforce training and registered apprenticeship programs to create good-paying jobs that don’t require a college degree.
Sewell said that the legislation promotes tax fairness and reduces the deficit:
· Achieves hundreds of billions of dollars in deficit reduction without a penny in new taxes on families making under $400,000 annually.
· Ensures billion-dollar corporations are contributing to the communities they rely on with a 15% minimum tax for large corporations.
· Gives the IRS the resources they need to take on wealthy tax cheats while improving services for families, reducing average wait times from 27 minutes to 4 minutes.
Republicans strongly disagree with Sewell and the Democrats on the benefits of Biden’s massive increases in government spending. They argue instead that the Inflation Reduction Act, the administration’s Infrastructure Bill, and the American Rescue Plan, along with the 2022 and 2023 spending bills cumulatively, have added $4 trillion to the national debt, increased the dependency of the American people on big government, and made the energy grid less reliable going forward.
“The American people are taxed to death,” U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) said. “We have got to figure out a pathway to reduce spending.” “We cannot live with $32 trillion in debt.”
Republicans argue that government spending has increased inflation resulting in most Americans seeing their purchasing power decline and big-ticket items like new homes and new cars becoming increasingly unaffordable for more Americans. They argue that the headlong pursuit of “clean energy” has contributed to inflation and will instead lead to much more expensive energy and more Americans struggling to pay for their power bills.
“A significant factor of increased inflation is energy,” Congressman Gary Palmer (R-AL06) said in a press release. “Millions of American households are struggling to make ends meet because of President Biden’s highly inflationary energy policies.
Republicans warn that the trillions added to the national debt will, in the long run, increase the chances of an economic crisis and threaten the United States’ financial solvency moving forward.
Sewell is in her seventh term representing Alabama’s Seventh Congressional District.
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