Rep. Mike Levin to Pass Historic Inflation Reduction Act to Lower Costs and Fight Climate Change
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Mike Levin (D-CA) will help pass the Inflation Reduction Act, sweeping legislation to lower the costs of prescription drugs and health care, fight climate change, lower energy costs, and reduce the deficit without raising taxes on families making less than $400,000. The bill also ensures the largest corporations and the very wealthy pay their fair share by closing tax loopholes and implementing a 15 percent corporate minimum tax on just 150 companies making more than $1 billion in profits. A fact sheet on the Inflation Reduction Act is available here.
“The Inflation Reduction Act is a historic bill that is going to improve the lives of countless families in North County San Diego and South Orange County,” said Rep. Levin. “Today, we are taking action to lower costs that families have been struggling with by delivering cheaper prescriptions, health care premiums, and energy costs. We are also taking the most significant climate action in our nation’s history, including provisions I helped secure to protect public lands, foster clean energy development, and address the unprecedented drought threatening our water supply in Southern California.
“While Republicans spread disinformation about this bill, independent fact checkers have proven repeatedly that the Inflation Reduction Act does not raise taxes on any families making less than $400,000 and will not send IRS agents after middle-class people. We are simply asking the largest corporations and the very wealthy to pay their fair share – a policy supported by the vast majority of the American people – in order to dramatically reduce the deficit and save Americans money.
“I have always said that my top priority is delivering results on our local priorities for North County San Diego and South Orange County. That is exactly what this bill does by bringing down costs, protecting our air and water, and strengthening our economy.”
Key Facts:
- For the first time, Medicare will negotiate down prices for the highest cost drugs in Medicare, saving more than $100 billion over 10 years.
- The Inflation Reduction Act locks in lower health care premiums for 13 million Americans who will save an average of $800 a year.
- Under the American Rescue Plan, 29,468 residents of California’s 49th District received Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies.
- According to Covered California, if the ACA subsidies expired without the Inflation Reduction Act, constituents in the 49th District would have lost an average of $91 in subsidies and would have seen a premium increase of 62%. Nearly 16,000 CA-49 residents whose income is under 250% of the federal poverty line would have seen premiums go up by 94%.
- The bill makes the single largest investment in climate action in U.S. history, with $370 billion in investments to reduce carbon emissions 40 percent by 2030.
- The bill will lower energy costs for consumers with $9 billion in consumer home energy rebate programs, energy efficiency tax credits, clean vehicle tax credits for middle- and low-income families, and more.
- The Inflation Reduction Act will reduce budget deficits by over $300 billion in the first nine years and by $1.9 trillion over two decades, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
- Associated Press fact check: “Nothing in the bill raises taxes on people earning less than $400,000” and it will “not create a mob of armed auditors looking to harass middle-class taxpayers, as some Republicans are claiming.” Treasury Secretary Yellen directed the IRS Commissioner not to increase audits for households making less than $400,000 per year.
- 126 top economists - including 7 Nobel Laureates, 2 former Treasury Secretaries, and 2 former Fed Vice Chairs - wrote a letter stating that the Inflation Reduction Act “will fight inflation and lower costs for American families while setting the stage for strong, stable, and broadly-shared long-term economic growth.”
Rep. Levin helped shape the Inflation Reduction Act by securing provisions similar to legislation he previously introduced:
Rep. Levin secured significant provisions of his Restoring Community Input and Public Protections in Oil and Gas Leasing Act, which will help end giveaways of our public lands to fossil fuel companies and ensure that taxpayers receive a fair return on any private profit off of our public lands. Specifically, Rep. Levin’s provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act will eliminate noncompetitive leasing for oil and gas sales, raise annual rental rates, and increase the minimum bid for public lands.
He also fought to secure direct pay provisions for many of the robust clean energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act. Rep. Levin has been a leading advocate for direct pay provisions, which help unlock financing for clean energy projects, including by introducing legislation such as the Solar Jobs Preservation Act last Congress and leading the Renewable Energy Investment Act with Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) this Congress. The Inflation Reduction Act allows certain entities, including tax-exempt organizations and state and local governments, to elect direct pay for certain clean energy tax credits.
Rep. Levin also worked to include $4 billion in funding for water conservation and ecosystem restoration efforts across the Western United States in order to address the region’s unprecedented drought conditions. This funding builds on the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act, which Rep. Levin helped shape as a member of the House Natural Resources Committee and helped the House pass last month.
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