Dear Friend,
We hope you’ve seen the news and are applauding the tremendous victory yesterday! The Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a plan that invests hundreds of billions of dollars in climate change, reins in some of the power and worst practices of Big PhRMA, and will require more corporations to pay their fair share of taxes. Sulma Arias, Executive Director of People’s Action (our national affiliate) issued this statement “These investments are another step forward won by the organizers and grassroots leaders who demanded political leadership that answers to people, not corporations. Lowering carbon emissions and drug prices will give our people more breathing room in a tough economy, and making sure corporations actually pay taxes is a huge step toward a more just, people-oriented economy.”
The legislation puts the U.S. on track for the first time to meet its crucial climate commitment. It targets reducing greenhouse emissions by an estimated 40% by 2030 by making big investments in clean energy. This legislation authorizes Medicare to negotiate prices with big drug companies (at long last!) and will cap annual out of pocket costs. We prevailed on these reforms despite the millions of dollars in advertising and lobbying that Big PhRMA spent in the last two weeks.
Larry Stafford, Jr., Executive Director of Progressive Maryland said “As corporate and CEO greed drives people’s costs higher and higher, we need the relief provided by this agreement. Almost 100 million people in this country have in recent months cut their food intake, skipped treatments, or missed a payment for basic necessities like utilities so they could afford to cover a health care expense. This bill will help get health care costs and energy costs down.”
The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the Senate bill this Friday, August 12. We expect it to pass there, too, and be sent to President Biden for signing!
Our thanks to Sen. Van Hollen who has been a steadfast champion for environmental protection and a strong critic of Big PhRMA and the Trump tax breaks that benefitted corporate America. The requirement for a 15-percent corporate minimum tax will bring in billions of dollars in revenue from profitable corporations that have not been paying their fair share.
We still need Congress to restore the child tax credit and to make significant investments in our front line workforce and our care economy. Our chances for doing that and much more will be boosted if some Senate Republicans (every single Republican voted against the bill) get defeated in November and some newly elected progressive Senators take their places in Washington next year.
We are grateful to all of you who have worked on these issues for years and who organized with us in the 2021-2022 campaign for the Build Back Better agenda. Thank you.
In Solidarity,
The PM Team
