Courtney Votes to Pass the Inflation Reduction Act, Delivering Lower Drug Costs, More Good Jobs, and Next-Gen Energy Production

Press Release

Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) voted to pass the Inflation Reduction Act (Senate Amendment to H.R. 5376), a long-sought legislative effort that will lower health care and prescription drug expenses, reduce energy costs, and lower carbon emissions. The bill was passed by Rep. Courtney and the U.S. House of Representatives today by a vote of 220-207, and will now head to the White House to be signed into law.

"The Inflation Reduction Act is going to benefit seniors, families, farmers, and so many of our small businesses and communities across eastern Connecticut," said Congressman Courtney. "It lowers drug costs for seniors by finally giving Medicare the authority to negotiate lower costs from drug manufacturers--a proven policy used for decades in the VA that will strengthen the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund. It invests in new incentives for farmers, homeowners, and small businesses to cut energy costs and carbon emissions. All of these reforms are paid for, and the bill cuts the federal deficit--that has been verified by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the highly respected Committee for a Responsible Budget, and by multiple former Treasury Secretaries from both Republican and Democratic Administrations."

The Inflation Reduction Act includes provisions that will lower kitchen table costs for families, advance clean energy production and manufacturing in the U.S., and help create millions of good-paying jobs while lowering carbon emissions. Below is an overview of some of the key provisions included in the bill.

LOWERING HEALTH CARE COSTS FOR SENIORS AND FAMILIES
The Inflation Reduction Act will reduce the cost of health care and prescription medication for millions of Americans. The bill locks in lower health care premiums by extending Affordable Care Act subsidies, finally allows Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices, and more. Health care highlights of the Inflation Reduction Act include:

Empowering Medicare to Negotiate Drug Prices--For the first time ever, the bill enables Medicare to begin negotiating directly for the price of prescription drugs. This provision is projected to lower the prices of approximately 100 prescription drugs over the next decade, and to save more than $100 billion.
$2,000 Out-Of-Pocket Cap on Part D Drugs--The bill caps out-of-pocket costs for Medicare Part D patients and individuals with disabilities on Medicare at $2,000 per year, with the option to break that amount into affordable monthly payments.
A Cap on Insulin Costs for Medicare Beneficiaries--For Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes, the bill caps out-of-pocket spending on insulin products at $35 per month, starting in 2023.
An Inflation Rebate for Seniors on Medicare--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.
Extending Enhanced ACA Premium Subsidies--Extends enhanced ACA premium subsidies passed under the American Rescue Plan Act for 3 years. The most significant credits for Americans with household income between 100% to 400% of the federal poverty level (FPL), as well as expanded eligibility to families above the 400% FPL, were set to expire at the end of 2022.

LOWERING ENERGY COSTS FOR CONSUMERS
The Inflation Reduction Act will lower energy costs for American consumers in the near-term with direct support to U.S. families and households, investments in home energy efficiency, and in in the long-run through investments in next-generation energy technology. The bill's energy cost reduction provisions include:

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.
Consumer Tax Credits to Make Homes Energy Efficient--Provides 10 years of consumer tax credits to make homes energy efficient and able to run on clean energy, making heat pumps, rooftop solar, electric HVAC, and water heaters more affordable.
Solar Tax Credits--Restores a 30% tax credit for residential solar systems, making it applicable to panels installed in 2022, and extends the program to Jan. 1, 2034.
Tax Credits for Home Improvements--Provides resources for Americans to receive tax credits to cover up to 30% of the costs of home improvements that reduce energy leakage, such as updated doors, windows, insulation, and other weatherization measures.
Consumer Tax Credits to Buy Used or New Clean Vehicles--Provides a $4,000 consumer tax credit for lower- and middle-income individuals to buy used clean vehicles, and up to $7,000 tax credit to buy new clean vehicles. The new EV tax credits would be limited to trucks, vans, and SUVs with a suggested retail price of no more than $80,000 and to cars priced at no more than $55,000.

NEXT-GENERATION ENERGY PRODUCTION & DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING
The Inflation Reduction Act makes investments to enhance energy reliability and cleaner domestic energy production in the U.S., as well as to advance research and development of next-generation energy sources--all of which will lead to greater American energy independence, more domestic manufacturing jobs, and lower costs at home. The bill's energy production and manufacturing provisions include:

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 total investment of approximately $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.
Supporting Offshore Wind--Makes $100 million available to support the optimized integration of energy generated from offshore wind, and lifts the offshore wind moratorium in the southeastern U.S. and Eastern Gulf.
Investing in Our National Laboratories--The bill provides $2 billion for National Labs to accelerate breakthrough energy research in nuclear, fusion, and other emerging technologies.

LOWERING CARBON EMISSIONS
The investments in the Inflation Reduction Act will reduce carbon emissions in several important sectors--electricity production, transportation, industrial manufacturing, buildings and homes, and agriculture. The Inflation Reduction Act's provisions to reduce carbon emissions include:

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.
Clean Vehicle Procurement--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.
Direct Support for American Farmers--The bill includes $20 billion to expand USDA farm conservation programs and technical assistance, and $20 billion to grow USDA rural energy and forestry programs over the next 10 years. Several of these USDA programs have already made a positive impact throughout CT-02, including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), and more.
Methane Emissions Fee--The bill establishes a Methane Emissions Reduction Program to reduce the leaks from the production and distribution of natural gas. The new fee on methane emissions from oil and gas projects would cost methane emitters nearly $6.4 billion through fiscal 2031, the CBO estimated.

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