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Quigley Votes to Fight Climate Change, Reduce Inflation

August 12, 2022

Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05), Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government and Vice-Chair of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, once-in-a-generation legislation to fight inflation, make prescription drugs more affordable, bring down costs, and make the nation's largest investment in our share of the climate fight ever. Following the Inflation Reduction Act's passage by the House, Quigley released a statement:

"I have spent years calling on Congress to take action on climate change. At long last, I was thrilled today to vote for our country's most significant investment in fighting the climate crisis. This is an incredible accomplishment for our planet and for the activists who have ensured this issue stayed at the top of Congress's priority list.

"Simultaneously, Democrats are delivering on President Biden's promise to bring down prices and reduce inflation. Medicare will finally be able to negotiate prescription drug prices, making health care more affordable for seniors and decreasing prices across the market.

"All of this is being achieved by ensuring that the biggest corporations pay their fair share in taxes. As Chair of the subcommittee that oversees the IRS, I will continue working with the agency to provide all the resources they need to enforce the law."

The Inflation Reduction Act will lower families' kitchen table costs, create millions of good-paying jobs, and deliver the most significant action on climate in history, all while reducing the national deficit by more than $300 billion. Specifically, the Inflation Reduction Act will:

  • Lowers energy costs and delivers largest-ever climate action: invests in domestic energy production and manufacturing, while reducing carbon emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030 with historic investments in energy security and tackling the climate crisis.
  • Lowers the cost of health care: reduces the cost of health care for millions by extending ACA subsidies for three more years, locking in lower health care premiums that save 13 million people an average of $800 a year.
  • Ends the ban on Medicare negotiating prescription drug prices: allows Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs, prevents excessive price hikes, and caps out-of-pocket costs to $2,000.
  • Makes the biggest corporations and ultra-wealthy pay their fair share: is paid for by strengthening IRS enforcement against wealthy tax cheats, closing tax loopholes exploited by the wealthiest few, and implementing a 15 percent corporate minimum tax – which applies only to the 150 corporations earning over $1 billion in profits that pay less than 15% in taxes.