This legislation... has some good features, but also some very bad features.
The following are the prepared remarks delivered by Sen. Bernie Sanders on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022 regarding the Inflation Reduction Act calling for an amendment process ahead of an expected.M. President: I want to say a few words about the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” which I believe may be coming to the floor this week.
Further, according to a recent University of Chicago poll, a strong majority of Americans believe that the government is “corrupt and rigged against me.” We don’t talk about it much here in the Senate or in the corporate media, but at this moment in American history we have more wealth and income inequality than at any time in the last 100 years with 3 people owning more wealth the bottom half of American society and CEOs of large corporations making 350 times more than their average workers.Now, I have heard from some of my colleagues that the Build Back Better legislation passed by the U.S.
At a time when the United States has the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major nation on earth, this bill does not extend the $300 a month per child tax credit that you had last year. If you are an elderly American, one of the millions who are unable to afford to go to a dentist or buy the hearing aids or eyeglasses that you need, this bill does nothing to expand Medicare to cover these basic healthcare needs. Millions of seniors will continue to have rotten teeth and lack the dentures, hearing aids or eyeglasses that they deserve.
M. President, one of the criticisms against the original Build Back Better plan is that it would be inflationary because it would increase federal spending. That criticism is untrue. Every nickel spent in this bill would be fully paid for by increased taxes on the wealthy and large corporations.
Under this legislation, Medicare, for the first time in history, would be able to negotiate with the pharmaceutical industry to lower drug prices. For over 30 years, the VA has been negotiating with the pharmaceutical industry to lower the price of prescription drugs. Moreover, for decades, virtually every major country on earth has done exactly the same thing for all of their people.
Should we be making sure that pharmaceutical companies cannot increase their prices above inflation? Yes. But let’s be clear. This provision would lock in all of the outrageous price increases the pharmaceutical industry has made in recent years and would do nothing to lower those outrageous prices. Finally, M. President, in terms of prescription drugs, it looks like the reconciliation bill will cap co-pays for insulin at $35 a month – which is a good step forward for people with health insurance, but would do nothing to lower the cost of insulin for the 1.6 million diabetics who are uninsured and who need our help the most.Moreover, M.
But this legislation does provide serious funding for wind, solar, batteries, heat pumps, electric vehicles, energy efficient appliances and low-income communities that have born the brunt of climate change. The ugly news that very few people in the media or Congress wants to talk about is that it includes a huge giveaway to the fossil fuel industry – both in the reconciliation bill itself and in a side deal that was just made public
Barrons recently reported that Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and Occidental Petroleum are just a few of the fossil fuel companies that could benefit the most under this bill. And, M. President, that’s not all. The fossil fuel industry will not just benefit from the provisions in the reconciliation bill. A deal has also been reached to make it easier for the fossil fuel industry to receive permits for their oil and gas projects.
Here is what the Center for Biological Diversity had to say on this bill: “This is a climate suicide pact. It’s self-defeating to handcuff renewable energy development to massive new oil and gas extraction. The new leasing required in this bill will fan the flames of the climate disasters torching our country, and it’s a slap in the face to the communities fighting to protect themselves from filthy fossil fuels.
Now is the time for every member of the Senate to study this bill thoroughly and to come up with amendments and suggestions as to how we can improve it.
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