Press Releases

Congresswoman Gwen Moore Votes to Pass Historic Inflation Reduction Act

Today, Congresswoman Moore voted to pass the historic Inflation Reduction Act, which takes critical steps to address the climate crisis, build a fairer tax system, and lower personal costs including health care, energy bills, and the price of prescription drugs. In response, she released the following statement:

“Once again, the Biden administration and Democrats are advancing a once-in-a-generation piece of legislation and putting people over politics. Unlike Republicans who use inflation as a political tool and offer no plan to address it, Democrats are directly tackling inflation and acting to lower costs that families worry about.

Democrats’ have persistently worked to lower the cost of prescription drugs, and this measure will expand access to more affordable, life-saving prescription drugs for Medicare recipients. For years, Big Pharma has gouged seniors, setting sky high prices for essential medicine and forcing too many to ration their prescriptions or skip paying bills. I am so proud we secured a provision allowing Medicare to negotiate the prices of the most expensive medicines, cap Medicare Part D out-of-pocket drug spending at $2,000 per year and the price of insulin is capped at $35 for Medicare patients. Shamefully but unsurprisingly, Republicans stopped millions more with private insurance from accessing affordable insulin because they put Big Pharma above people.

In the American Rescue Plan, Democrats made health care more affordable than ever with tax credits that lowered premiums and now, were extending these benefits to millions of Americans.

The Inflation Reduction Act takes historic climate action, using incentives like tax credits that make it more affordable for Americans to use clean energy in our homes, including solar panels, electric water heaters, and electric HVAC. I’m so glad that the IRA includes my proposal creating a tax credit to make home energy audits more affordable by allowing taxpayers to offset up to $150 of the cost of a home energy audit. These investments will lower energy costs for Americans in the long-term and give more Americans greater opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint.

This legislation also empowers states, tribes, and municipalities to develop plans to fight pollution while expanding manufacturing in clean energy to support good-paying jobs. I’m proud that my proposal to extend the direct pay provisions to tribal governments was included, incentivizing tribal communities to pursue renewable energy projects. Direct pay offers a cash payment in lieu of tax credits such as the investment tax credit and production tax credit, enabling   tribal governments which do not have tax liability, to monetize the tax credits. I am also pleased to see equity at the center of these climate action proposals, with $3 billion dedicated to support vulnerable communities most at risk to the impact of climate change. I am looking forward to these climate justice measures benefiting communities in Milwaukee.

And we are paying for this bill in part by helping ensure the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share in taxes, including by providing the IRS with resources to enforce our tax laws. Republicans have purposefully underfunded the IRS, allowing Americans and large companies with the most funds and resources to dodge paying taxes. We’re providing monies to the IRS for tax enforcement to go after these sophisticated, wealthy individuals and big corporations – not working people.

Too many families still lack affordable childcare, housing, and paid family and medical leave, too many Black women are losing their lives because of the maternal health crisis, and more than 2 million Americans are denied affordable health care because Republicans in their state refused to expand Medicaid. Making investments in families, affordable housing, maternal health, and health care remain my key priorities, and I am still fighting to address these critical needs. While this legislation required compromises and is imperfect, I am so thrilled to support the Inflation Reduction Act, which will have a positive impact on my constituents and millions of other Americans.”

The Inflation Reduction Act will:

Health Care:

• Empowering Medicare to Negotiate Drug Prices: For the first time, empowers Medicare to negotiate prices for the highest cost single-source drugs in Medicare, a policy that Democrats have been trying to enact for years. The provisions save more than $100 billion over 10 years. It allows Medicare to negotiate lower prices for about 100 drugs over the next decade: 10 high-cost drugs beginning in 2026, 15 additional drugs in both 2027 and 2028, and 20 more in 2029 and thereafter. The Secretary must negotiate a price that is no more than the 75 percent of the non-federal Average Manufacturer Price, a price that is used by the Department of Defense and others.

• An Inflation Rebate for Seniors on Medicare: Over the past 20 years, price increases for brand-name drugs in Medicare Part D have risen at more than twice the rate of inflation. Under this bill, if drug companies raise prices in Medicare faster than the rate of inflation, they must pay rebates back to Medicare for the difference, beginning in October 2022. Senate Republicans forced the removal of aprovision that applied inflation rebates to drug sales to families with private health insurance.

• New $2,000 Out-Of-Pocket Cap for Part D Drugs for Seniors on Medicare: Caps Part D out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,000 a year for seniors and individuals with disabilities on Medicare, starting in 2025.

• Caps Insulin Costs at $35 A Month for Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities on Medicare: Caps

Medicare beneficiaries’ insulin costs at $35 a month. Republicans voted against capping insulin out-of pocket costs for Americans with private health insurance keeping this vital protection out of the bill.

• Lowers Premiums in ACA Marketplaces for 13 Million Americans: Extends enhanced ACA subsidies for three years, through 2025. Without these provisions, these enhanced ACA subsidies would expire in January, causing increases in the premiums Americans would pay who are in the ACA marketplace and leading roughly 3 million Americans to lose their health coverage.

Energy Security and Climate Change Investments:

• The Inflation Reduction Act includes approximately $370 billion in investments addressing climate change – by far the single biggest climate investment in U.S. history.

• The Inflation Reduction Act's investments will restore American global leadership on climate change by reducing carbon emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030.

• The Inflation Reduction Act lowers costs for American consumers, invests in American-made solutions that restore American global leadership and energy independence, and ensures that environmental justice and rural communities reap the benefits of the clean economy.

Lower Consumer Energy Costs:

• Consumer Home Energy Rebate Programs: Provides $9 billion in consumer home energy rebate programs, focused on low-income consumers, to electrify home appliances and for energy efficient retrofits.

• 10 Years of Consumer Tax Credits to Make Homes Energy Efficient: Provides 10 years of consumer tax credits to make homes energy efficient and run on clean energy, making heat pumps, rooftop solar, electric HVAC, and water heaters more affordable.

• Consumer Tax Credits to Buy Used or New Clean Vehicles: Provides a $4,000 consumer tax credit for lower/middle income individuals to buy used clean vehicles, and up to $7,000 tax credit to buy new clean vehicles.

• $1 Billion Grant Program to Make Housing More Energy Efficient: $1 billion grant program to make affordable housing more energy efficient.

• Methane Emissions Reduction Program: Leaked or intentionally wasted natural gas never makes its way to customers, but they are nevertheless stuck with the bill. The Methane Emission Reduction Program will ensure consumers no longer pay for wasted energy.

American Energy Security and Domestic Manufacturing

• Overview: The bill will support energy reliability and cleaner energy production coupled with historic investments in American clean energy manufacturing. It includes over $60 billion for clean energy manufacturing in the United States across the full supply chain of clean energy and transportation technologies. These manufacturing incentives will help alleviate inflation and reduce the risk of future price shocks by bringing down the cost of clean energy and clean vehicles and relieving supply chain bottlenecks.

• Production and Investment Tax Credits: The bill provides production and investment tax credits to accelerate U.S. manufacturing of electric vehicles, solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and critical minerals processing, with an estimated total investment of $40 billion.

• Defense Production Act: Provides $500 million in Defense Production Act funding to support heat pump manufacturing and critical minerals processing.

• Domestic Manufacturing: Provides $2 billion for grants to retool existing auto manufacturing facilities to manufacture clean vehicles, ensuring that auto manufacturing jobs stay in the communities that depend on them.

• Financing for Energy Infrastructure, Next Generation Technologies, and Tribal Energy Projects: Provides loans and loan guarantees for more than $300 billion in clean energy infrastructure, advanced technologies, and transmission projects in across the United States, including in historical energy producing communities and on Tribal lands.

• Investing in Our National Laboratories: The bill provides $2 billion for National Labs to accelerate breakthrough energy research.

Decarbonize the Economy

• Overview: The investments in the bill will reduce emissions in every sector of the economy, substantially reducing emissions from electricity production, transportation, industrial manufacturing, buildings, and agriculture:

• Tax Credits for Clean Sources of Electricity and Energy Storage: Provides tax credits for clean sources of electricity and energy storage and roughly $30 billion in targeted grant and loan programs for states and electric utilities to accelerate the transition to clean electricity.

• Tax Credits and Grants for Clean Fuels and Clean Commercial Vehicles: Provides tax credits and grants for clean fuels and clean commercial vehicles to reduce emissions from all parts of the transportation sector.

• Grants and Tax Credits to Reduce Emissions from Industrial Manufacturing: Provides grants and tax credits to reduce emissions from industrial and manufacturing processes, including almost $6 billion for a new Advanced Industrial Facilities Deployment Program to reduce emissions from energy intensive industrial and manufacturing facilities like chemical and cement plants.

• Over $9 Billion for Federal Procurement of American-Made Clean Technologies: Provides over $9 billion for Federal procurement of American-made clean technologies to create a stable market for clean products, including $3 billion for the U.S. Postal Service to purchase zero-emissions vehicles.

• $27 Billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Provides $27 billion for nonprofit, state, and local climate finance institutions that support the rapid deployment of low- and zero- emission technologies to help communities reduce and avoid pollution, especially in disadvantaged communities.

Invest in Communities and Environmental Justice

• Overview: Building on regular engagement with Environmental Justice leaders from across the country, this package includes over $60 billion in environmental justice priorities to drive investments into disadvantaged communities. Some of the highlight include:

• Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grants: Provides Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grants, funded at $3 billion, that invest in community-led projects in disadvantaged communities and community capacity building centers to address disproportionate environmental and public health harms caused by pollution and climate change.

• Neighborhood Access and Equity Grants: Provides Neighborhood Access and Equity Grants, funded at $3 billion, that support neighborhood equity, safety, and affordable transportation access with competitive grants to reconnect communities divided by existing infrastructure barriers, mitigate negative impacts of transportation facilities or construction projects on disadvantaged or underserved communities, and support equitable transportation planning and community engagement activities.

• Grants to Reduce Air Pollution at Ports: Provides grants to reduce air pollution at ports, funded at $3 billion, that support the purchase and installation of zero-emission equipment and technology at ports.

• $1 Billion for Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles: Provide $1 billion for clean heavy-duty vehicles, like school and transit buses and garbage trucks.

• Clean Energy Tax Credits: Many of the clean energy tax credits also include either a bonus or a set-aside structure to drive investments and economic development in disadvantaged communities.

Farmers, Forestland Owners, and Resilient Rural Communities

• Overview: The bill will make historic investments to ensure that rural communities are at the forefront of climate solutions. The investments affirm the central role of agricultural producers and forest

landowners in our climate solutions by investing in climate-smart agriculture, forest restoration and land conservation. It also makes significant investments in clean energy development in disadvantaged communities:

• Climate-Smart Agriculture Practices: Provides more than $20 billion to support climate-smart

agriculture practices.

• Grants to Support Healthy Forests: Provides $5 billion in grants to support healthy, fire resilient forests, forest conservation, and urban tree planting.

• Tax Credits and Grants to Support the Domestic Production of Biofuels: Provides tax credits and grants to support the domestic production of biofuels, and to build the infrastructure needed for sustainable aviation fuel and other biofuels.

• Grants to Conserve and Restore Coastal Habitats: Provides $2.6 billion to conserve and restore coastal habitats and protect communities that depend on those habitats.

Taxes

The historic Inflation Reduction Act honors our promise to American families – and is fully paid for:

• Makes biggest corporations and ultra-wealthy pay their fair share: is paid for by strengthening IRS enforcement against wealthy tax cheats, closing tax loopholes exploited by the wealthiest few, and implementing a 15 percent corporate minimum tax – which applies only to the 150 corporations making earning over $1 billion in profits that pay less than 15% in taxes.

• NO new taxes on families making $400,000 or less and NO new taxes on small businesses: Not one middle class person filling out their taxes will find that they are facing higher taxes or higher tax rates.