Congressman Cohen Votes for Historic Inflation Reduction Act

MEMPHIS - Today, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, landmark legislation to lower costs for American families, combat the climate crisis, reduce the deficit and finally ask the largest corporations to pay their fair share. The bill has already passed the Senate and President Biden is expected to soon sign it into law.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

"Following nearly a year of hard-fought negotiations, I was proud to vote for legislation to lower costs for American families and build a cleaner, fairer and more prosperous tomorrow. This bill is the product of decades of working to overcome special interests to rein in soaring prescription drug prices, lower the cost of health insurance, deliver the most significant action on climate in history, and make billionaire corporations start to pay their fair share.

For the first time, the United States will be on track to meet its ambitious climate goals and lead the world's clean energy economy, which will spur American innovation, create good paying jobs, lower energy costs, strengthen our security, and combat the climate crisis. I believe this Congress could go down in history as one of the most consequential for American families since Roosevelt's New Deal."

The Inflation Reduction Act will:

1. Lower prescription drug costs: Reins in the soaring cost of prescription drugs by finally allowing Medicare to negotiate prices with pharmaceuticals, preventing rebates for excessive price hikes, and capping seniors' out-of-pocket costs at $2000 per year.
2. Lower health care costs: Extends the American Rescue Plan's enhanced ACA subsidies for three more years, locking in lower premiums that save 13 million people an average of $800 a year.
3. Historic climate action and lower energy costs: Makes the largest-ever American investment in climate, clean energy, environmental justice and domestic energy production and manufacturing. It will reduce our carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030 to put us on track to meet our climate goals, while also creating new clean jobs, enhancing our energy security and lowering energy costs for American families.
4. Lower the deficit by ensuring large corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share: Fully funds and reduces the deficit by $300 billion by instituting a 15 percent minimum tax rate on the largest corporations, enacting a 1 percent tax on tax-evading stock buybacks used to enrich wealthy shareholders, funding the IRS to go after wealthy tax evaders and corporations, and cracking down on Big Pharma price gouging.

Find a one-page summary of the bill here.

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