PPI Lauds Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act

Ben Ritz, Director of the Center for Funding America’s Future at the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) released the following statement:

“The Progressive Policy Institute applauds Senate Democrats for passing the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. This historic bill will help combat the climate crisis and promote American energy security with the largest investment in clean energy ever. The health care provisions will reduce costs for millions of families. New resources to help the IRS crack down on tax cheats will reverse the defunding of our tax police and ensure all Americans pay their fair share. And the bill would not only cover the cost of these policies, it would also reduce deficits by more than a quarter trillion dollars over the coming decade, which will help bring inflation under control.

“As is the case for most bills, the Inflation Reduction Act is not perfect. Its deficit reduction depends on a flawed plan to outsource tax policy to the Financial Accounting Standards Board, a private organization that solely exists to serve the information needs of investors rather than determine an economically efficient tax base. Other, better revenue-raisers were dropped, leaving the bill’s modest savings unable to offset the deficit increases created by legislation Congress passed just last month. And we’re sorry that many other progressive priorities we advocated for throughout the reconciliation process, such as closing the Medicaid coverage gap, could not be included.

“But the final bill is still far better than the mishmash of half-baked social programs and irresponsible budget gimmicks that many on the left were pushing earlier in the reconciliation process. PPI is proud of the role our Reconciling with Reality framework and analysis of various proposals played in shaping this historic legislation. We thank Senator Manchin, Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, President Biden, and all the other lawmakers whose leadership contributed to this great outcome.

“The Inflation Reduction Act, together with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the CHIPS and Science Act, represents the largest increase in public investment since the Johnson administration – it is a historic accomplishment for Democratic leaders in Washington. Now we urge them to finish the job by passing the permitting reform legislation they’ve promised to cut red tape, maximize taxpayers’ bang for their buck, and get these critical investments built in a timely manner. We also hope that additional legislation and executive orders they pursue later this year will build upon rather than squander the Inflation Reduction Act’s hard-earned deficit reduction.”

ICYMI: The Role of Natural Gas in Reducing Asia's Greenhouse Gas Emissions

A new report authored by the Progressive Policy Institute’s Paul Bledsoe and environmental economist Clayton Munnings finds that China and other Asian nations are rapidly moving toward natural gas to displace coal — but their efforts will not yield significant climate benefits if they don’t cut imports of high-methane leaking Russian gas. The report, which is the second in a series of papers on natural gas, is entitled “The Role of Natural Gas in Reducing Asia’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions.”

PPI argues Asian countries can reduce coal by substituting cleaner-burning liquefied natural gas (LNG), but must acknowledge that Russian gas piped to China emits higher emissions than Chinese coal. Thus, any pretense by China that using Russian gas reduces its overall emissions is false. This warning comes as Russian President Putin and Chinese President Xi announced a new proposal for a gas pipeline from Russia to China, called the “Power of Siberia 2.”