One Year Later, Even President Biden Admits the “Inflation Reduction Act” Failed to Lower Costs for Americans

Aug 16, 2023
Blog

One year ago, President Biden signed the Democrats’ so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” into law, promising it would reduce inflation and make life more affordable for Americans. Unfortunately today, people continue to struggle more than they did when the president first took office:

  • Inflation is up more than 15 percent.
  • The cost of groceries for Americans has risen approximately 20 percent.
  • U.S. gas prices are up nearly 62 percent.
  • Natural gas prices are up more than 40 percent.
  • His policies have led innovators to stop research into potentially new treatments, including for brain cancer and leukemia.
  • The bill is expected to increase launch prices of drugs according to a CBO analysis.

Polling shows that a majority of Americans disapprove of the state of the economy under President Biden. Even he regrets naming the bill the Inflation Reduction Act, since it ultimately “has less to do with inflation.” Republicans warned this Inflation Expansion Act was, in fact, a massive down payment on the Green New Deal that would fail to strengthen our economy and continue to make life unaffordable for people.

Here are some of the worst provisions from President Biden’s Inflation Expansion Act:

A natural gas tax. It’s a tax on every part of our lives. This burdensome tax harms communities and shuts down production. This has done nothing to ease prices for Americans from heating homes and buying goods, to manufacturing thousands of essential, everyday products, the cost of living is still higher for people than it was when he first took office. President Biden’s latest efforts to ban natural gas stoves and appliances doubles down on this war on American energy.

An EPA-run climate bank. It’s an unaccountable $27-billion-dollar, taxpayer-funded slush fund for liberal pet projects and Democratic cronies. It fails to ensure accountability or transparency in how the resources are used, heightening the risk for overspending, fraud, and abuse. Furthermore, loopholes in the bill’s electric vehicle tax provisions will lead to an increased reliance on China.

An EPA school bus and garbage truck program. The program is a $1 billion giveaway that Americans were forced to foot the bill for. Reportedly, the school busses hardly work.

DOE Loan Guarantee Program is Solyndra on steroids. $250-billion-dollars—expensed to the taxpayer—in government handouts to fund the Left’s rush-to-green pet projects. This amount of spending is unprecedented. Meanwhile, hardworking Americans are paying more across the board than when President Biden took office and cannot afford for the administration to waste hundreds of billions of dollars on a political agenda that forces an expensive energy transition, threatens energy reliability, increases costs, and makes America reliant on the Chinese Communist Party.

The Democrats’ drug pricing scheme. The scheme means less innovation and fewer cures, as well as increased reliance on Chinese medical manufacturing and supply chains. Drug developers have already suspended development of medicines to treat multiple blood cancers. It’s expected to lead to higher launch prices, meaning more expensive drugs for patients.

House Republicans are leading on solutions to combat the consequences of the Far-Left Inflation Expansion Act and make life better for the American people.

H.R. 1. Earlier this year, House Republicans passed H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, to unleash American energy production and help bring down energy costs. H.R. 1 would claw back the Democrats’ $27-billion-dollar climate bank and repeal the natural gas tax, while lifting barriers to expanding our energy supplies and build more pipelines. This is just one part of House Republicans’ all-of-the-above energy approach to secure American jobs and ensure energy is affordable and reliable for people across the country.

Protecting Gas Stoves. With strong bipartisan votes, Republicans also passed H.R. 1640, the Save Our Gas Stoves Act, and H.R. 1615, the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act, to stop President Biden’s de facto ban on natural gas cooking appliances and protect Americans’ choices, wallets, and jobs.

Access to Care: Just last month, Chair Rodgers released a discussion draft of policies designed to mitigate drug shortages and preserve access to care for patients who rely on medicines with currently fragile supply chains.

Oversight. President Biden spent an unprecedented amount of taxpayer dollars through his Inflation Expansion Act, and Americans have a right to know exactly how that money is being spent. Energy and Commerce Republicans are conducting thorough oversight efforts to ensure tax dollars aren’t being wasted, abused, or used in fraudulent ways.

  • CLICK HERE to read more about committee Republicans’ investigation into tax loopholes in the IRA’s electric vehicle tax provisions that risk increasing America’s reliance on China.
  • CLICK HERE to read more about the committee’s oversight of the drug price-setting fund.

BOTTOM LINE: Energy and Commerce Republicans are leading on solutions to boost energy production, lower costs across the board, and make life more affordable for people. That is how we build a more secure American future.

CLICK HERE to view the statement from Chair Rodgers.