The law is making prescription drugs and health care more affordable for millions of American families. Seniors are paying less for lifesaving insulin as the law caps the cost at $35 per month. Now, pharmaceutical companies have followed suit and are lowering the cost of insulin for more Americans. Drug companies are also paying penalties when they raise prices above the rate of inflation, which has resulted in seniors receiving discounts on 43 drugs so far this year. Next month, the Department of Health and Human Services will announce the first 10 drugs it plans to negotiate lower prices on so seniors are no longer paying outrageously high prices.
The Inflation Reduction Act is the single-largest investment in climate action in American history, already growing our economy with more than 170,000 new, good-paying clean energy jobs right here at home. This action has already resulted in more than $270 billion additional investments from the private sector. I fought hard to include provisions that will grow our middle class by bolstering American manufacturing, clean technology, and clean energy.
Extreme weather events like record heat, wildfires, drought, and hurricanes are devastating our communities and costing our nation well over $100 billion every year. In just one year, it’s become clear that the Inflation Reduction Act is an essential part of our fight to combat the worsening climate crisis.
I will continue to strongly defend the Inflation Reduction Act against Republican efforts to repeal it so that we can continue to deliver for American families, create jobs, and invest in a clean energy future.
What I’m Doing to Protect Young People from Dangerous Tobacco Products
I held a roundtable this week at the Institute for Nicotine & Tobacco Studies at Rutgers University with health officials and local advocates on progress to protect young people from dangerous tobacco products. The Institute’s Center of Excellence for Rapid Surveillance of Tobacco recently received funding from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) to help identity and document new trends in the use of tobacco products. It is one of five centers at the Institute dedicated to reducing and ultimately eliminating tobacco-related morbidity and mortality in New Jersey and around the country.
