Dem Rep Reveals Inflation Bill Was Really Only About Unpopular Environment Policies

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OPINION: This article contains commentary which may reflect the author’s opinion

Democrats wrote the “Inflation Reduction Act” which they call a “fix” but Republicans warned it will not fix the economic challenges Americans face daily, namely inflation.

Medicare would be able to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies under the legislation, according to the Democrats. The provision does not begin for four years, though, and will cover only 10 drugs then.

Also included in the bill which Biden signed into law are initiatives to invest in “domestic energy production” and promote “clean energy solutions” such as investments in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Furthermore, this plan includes expansions of the IRS and the Affordable Care Act, pieces of Biden’s Build Back Better Plan that were left out.

According to 230 economists in a letter, the so-called Inflation Reduction Act is not likely to reduce inflation.

“The economists wrote in the letter first obtained by Fox News Digital that the U.S. economy is at a “dangerous crossroads” and the “inaptly named ‘Inflation Reduction Act of 2022’ would do nothing of the sort and instead would perpetuate the same fiscal policy errors that have helped precipitate the current troubling economic climate,”” according to Fox News.

The economic experts point to the $433 billion in proposed government spending, which they argue “would create immediate inflationary pressures by boosting demand, while the supply-side tax hikes would constrain supply by discouraging investment and draining the private sector of much-needed resources.”

Now, according to Virginia Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria, the Inflation Reduction Act is more of an environmental bill than one about handling inflation.

“The Inflation Reduction Act — that might be the name, but it’s a huge environmental bill that includes a lot of things, such as the tax credits necessary to make these kind of developments,” said Luria during an event on Aug. 24 sponsored by the BlueGreen Alliance.

“It was great being with local labor, environmental, and community leaders today in Chesapeake to highlight the investments being made in the offshore wind industry and workforce in Coastal Virginia,” Luria wrote on Twitter.

The Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law by President Biden on Aug. 16. As part of the legislation, a $7,500 tax credit is available for electric vehicles, and the EPA has more control over the energy industry.

As a result of the legislation, the Internal Revenue Service’s budget increased by $80 billion, enabling it to hire an additional 87,000 agents.

Last month it was surprising to hear the top socialist Democrat opposing the debated act.

Senator Bernie Sanders chided Democrats and Republicans for arguing about the act instead of working together on legislation that addresses the needs of all Americans and fixes America’s problems.

“The American people are tired. They are hurting and they are begging their elected officials to respond to their needs,” Sanders stated.

“The wages for the average American worker are lower today than they were 49 years ago, and clearly, the inflation of today is pushing the average person even further behind.”

In a surprise statement, Sanders injected some common sense into the discussion by addressing the elephant in the room – The bill would do almost nothing to stop inflation.

The 80-year-old senator said out loud the quiet part of the legislation the Senate had named the Inflation Reduction Act during the debate.

“Madam President, I want to take a moment to say a few words about the so-called inflation reduction that we are debating this evening,” Sanders said.

“And I say so-called, by the way, because according to the CBO, and other economic organizations that study this bill, it will, in fact, have a minimal impact on inflation.”

“If anybody thinks that as a result of this bill we’re going to see lower prices for Medicare, you are mistaken. It ain’t going to happen next year, the year after, or the year after,” he declared.

“And by the way, given the incredible power of the pharmaceutical industry, I would suspect even money that they will figure out a way to get around this provision if it takes four years to implement.

So this provision will have no impact on the prices for those Americans. Furthermore, this provision will have no impact on the prices for Americans who are not on Medicare,” he continued.

Republicans warned about the bill also. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy referred said of the bill on the floor ahead of the vote, “I believe the largest tone-deaf bill we’ve seen in this chamber in 230 years.”

Of course, Democrat Joe Manchin, a Senator from West Virginia, was originally opposed to the bill, but stabbed the country in the back by voting for it.

A statement was released by Manchin’s office regarding the deal he reached with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, with support from Nancy Pelosi and Biden.

“President Biden, Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi have committed to advancing a suite of commonsense permitting reforms this fall that will ensure all energy infrastructure, from transmission to pipelines and export facilities, can be efficiently and responsibly built to deliver energy safely around the country and to our allies,” the statement read.

A statement by Chris Hamilton, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, and leaders of several state mining associations slammed Manchin saying the bill would “severely threaten American coal” and around 381,000 jobs.

“This legislation is so egregious, it leaves those of us that call Sen. Manchin a friend, shocked and disheartened.”

“Sen. Manchin has seemingly fought against numerous climate measures advanced over the past year by the national democratic establishment,” the groups declared. “The current Schumer-Manchin draft agreement on climate and energy frankly leaves us questioning the motivation and sincerity of Manchin’s previous stance and his repeated chant: we must ‘innovate not eliminate.’”

Source: The Republic Brief