John, the House just voted to pass the Inflation Reduction Act.

This sweeping legislation contains transformative measures to address the climate crisis, reduce prescription drug prices, and make billionaire corporations pay their fair share. Here are the details:

• Tackling climate change: Our bill will lead to a 40% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 through rapidly accelerating the adoption of renewable-energy technologies such as electric vehicles, heat pumps, and solar panels. These policies will reduce energy costs for consumers and create millions of green jobs.
• Lowering healthcare costs: This legislation expands access to affordable health insurance coverage to 13 million people and caps seniors’ drug costs. And for the first time ever, Medicare can negotiate drug prices to help lower the costs of prescription drugs.
• Making sure billionaire corporations pay their fair share of taxes: In addition to imposing a 15% minimum tax on corporations, our bill will tax corporations that inflate their share values through stock buybacks. And we’re investing in the IRS to ensure they have the resources to go after large corporations that evade taxes.

This bill doesn’t contain everything I fought to include. And I’m outraged that Senate Republicans blocked a $35 cap on insulin — when 37 million Americans living with diabetes are paying more than 10 times the price of insulin compared to other similar high-income countries due to corporate price gouging.

But this is what progress looks like.

Progressives helped shape this bill, and I’m proud to be sending such an impactful legislative package to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

Democrats are delivering relief, creating a more equitable country, and ensuring a livable future for generations to come. This was all made possible thanks to the voters who sent Joe Biden to the White House and delivered Democratic majorities for both chambers of Congress.

We were elected with a bold mandate to lead. And like I said before, our job is not finished — from student debt cancellation to cannabis legalization to defunding forever wars, there is plenty of work ahead of us.

But together, I’m confident we will continue to make progress toward advancing our shared values.

In solidarity,

Barbara Lee