Democratic administrations have proven that the most sustainable, robust economic growth builds from the bottom up and the middle outward, by putting people back to work, raising their wages, and using our taxes to improve the lives of the vast majority instead of the elite donor class. Joe Biden’s campaign, rooted in those democratic values, inspired millions to give him a decisive victory in 2020 and the slim majority he now has in the Senate.
The two newest bills passed by our Congress, the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act, will continue improving our lives, building upon the success of the American Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Bill. And they do this by finally making the biggest corporations and the ultra-wealthy pay the taxes that they owe.
The slim Democratic Senate majority is left to do these things on their own, as the Republicans across the aisle have chosen to defend sedition and the possible espionage committed by the corrupt former president and his team rather than work with Democrats to build a better America. Republicans’ dogmatic “trickle-down economics” has proven to be a complete failure, so all they have left to sustain their power is obstructing progress and fomenting hate.
The Inflation Reduction Act, the major reconciliation bill passed by Democrats last week and signed by President Biden yesterday, delivers a raft of things Americans need, including the following:
- creating millions of new jobs in addressing the climate emergency
- extending subsidies that lower health insurance premiums under the Affordable Care Act
- capping medication costs at $2,000 per year for seniors on Medicare
- allowing Medicare to negotiate drug pricing, as the VA does, to use its buying power to cut members’ costs
- instituting a 15 percent minimum tax on the largest corporations
- increasing the budget for the IRS to ensure that those earning $400K+ are paying what they owe.
The CHIPS and Science Act, passed by Democrats last month and signed by President Biden last week, funds scientific research and provides $56 billion to incentivize domestic production of semiconductor chips, in pursuit of the long-standing Democratic goal of bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US.
Both CHIPS and IRA bolster a progressive future with more jobs and more money in our pockets, stimulating the economy by enabling us to participate in it.
Contact your Members of Congress and thank them for passing the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act.
Proving the value of having Democrats in charge
Yesterday’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act is the latest in a string of good bills from President Biden and the Democratic majorities of the 117th Congress. It follows on the heels of the CHIPS and Science Act and the PACT Act, passed last month. Then there’s the Postal Service Reform Act, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (the gun-safety bill), the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the Bipartisan—or Biden—Infrastructure Law), the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act, the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, and the American Rescue Plan Act.
And that’s just the legislative side.
The FDA just yesterday finalized a rule creating an over-the-counter category of hearing aids, which will bring that assistive device into the reach of many more Americans who need it. The FDA has also been working to restore supplies of baby formula in the US by importing formula from countries with similar standards to ours—you might have noticed the difference on your local store’s shelves. The Department of Education has a rule in process to restore Title IX’s protections of LGBTQ+ students—you can still comment in support of that. HHS has been working to protect access to abortion, including medication abortion and abortion at hospitals in emergencies. Much of this follows Executive Orders issued by the president himself.
The hits just keep on coming, and we’re only a year and a half into Biden’s presidency. President Biden and the Democratic members of this Congress have been showing their commitment to working for the American people. None of these bills are perfect, but they bring much-needed improvements and investments.
We need to keep making progress. These successes prove both the importance of maintaining Democratic majorities in both houses and the potential benefits if we increase them. A stronger Democratic majority with enough progressive votes to break conservative obstruction could deliver better, stronger legislation.
You can help by joining get-out-the-vote efforts to help Democratic incumbents and challengers win House and Senate seats. See our list of events below or the Events page on our website.
Working America Letter Writing Campaign
Volunteer to write letters for Working America, the largest non-union workers' group in the United States, with a self-reported membership of 3.2 million individuals.
Working America advocates for progressive policy on a variety of issues. One way they do this is by writing letters to voters, not about candidates but about the issues themselves. These personalized letters help frame how folks think about their civic engagement and lay the groundwork for building in-depth relationships with working people on the issues that matter most in their lives and in their communities.
Working America has a goal of sending one million letters to people in key swing states, focusing on health care, worker pay, and affordable housing. To write letters on your own schedule, sign up here.
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If you’re interested in participating in activities like drafting letters to our Members of Congress and developing our strategy for influencing them, the Indivisible SF Federal Working Group is where it happens. Our next meeting is on Thursday, Aug. 25. Details on how to register below.
ISF Federal Working Group meeting: Thursday, Aug. 25, 7:30–9 PM. Register here to join our regular Zoom meeting, where we work together to develop strategies for influencing our Members of Congress and the Biden administration to support a progressive agenda. All are welcome to participate and contribute, even if you’ve never attended an ISF meeting before.
Bay Area Coalition Phone Banks: Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Help our friends at Swing Left talk to voters about the upcoming primaries and midterms. Join Swing Left and the Bay Area Coalition on Wednesday evenings, Saturday mornings, and Sunday afternoons to make calls to voters in California and around the nation. Sign up for a shift:
- TODAY, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 5–7 PM
- Saturday, Aug. 20, 10 AM–12 PM
- Sunday, Aug. 21, 1–3 PM
Voter registration drive in the California Central Valley with Swing Left: Saturdays. Swing Left needs your help registering voters in Central Valley CD-13 and CD-22, from Modesto to Bakersfield. They will conduct door-to-door and COVID-safe canvassing to register voters every weekend until Tuesday, November 8. Sign up here:
- Saturday, Aug. 20, 9 AM–3:30 PM
- Saturday, Aug. 27, 9 AM–3:30 PM
- Saturday, Sep. 3, 9 AM–3:30 PM
About this week’s photo
If you’ve seen our newsletter posts on Twitter and Facebook, you might have noticed that we include a photo or graphic with each issue.
Today's image is an original illustration of a prescription medicine take-home sheet with a much lower price than many of us are accustomed to paying.
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Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team
If you'd like to support our all-volunteer team:
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