Congresswoman Bush Statement on Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act

Today, Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01) released the following statement after her vote in support of Senate amendment to H.R. 5376 - Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which passed the House of Representatives.

"Today I was proud to vote in support of the Inflation Reduction Act, which will take historic and much-needed actions to address the climate crisis and make health care more affordable. While the final version of this bill does not contain everything we pushed for in a reconciliation package, the climate and health care investments within this legislation will bring us closer to a more livable and equitable future for all.

"With today's vote, Congress has finally delivered the first federal climate policy in our nation's history, all while taking on prescription drug pricing, closing corporate tax loopholes to ensure billionaire corporations pay their fair share, and lowering energy and health care costs for people all across our country. This progress is the product of years of organizing and continued pressure from the movement and advocacy organizations who have demanded urgent action to save lives and our planet. I am grateful for the pressure from House progressives, including my colleagues and I, for holding the line with our votes in order to make a bill with substantial investments in people and communities a reality.

"The Inflation Reduction Act includes investments that tackle the climate crisis like $500 million in funding for the Defense Production Act which I've been pushing for to ramp up domestic production of clean energy technologies; $32.5 million towards our environmental justice screening tool to help map and mitigate environmental harms in marginalized communities; substantial funding for green infrastructure projects; and millions of clean energy jobs. Additionally, it will build on the progress from over the last decade, at the federal level, to advance health equity by allowing Medicare to leverage its power to make prescription medications more affordable, limiting out of pocket expenses for prescription drugs among seniors, and lowering the cost of health care for millions of people by extending Affordable Care Act subsidies for three more years.

"To be crystal clear, there are provisions in this bill that I do not support, such as the dangerous expansion of fossil fuels, insufficient protections of environmental review, and inadequate investments in environmental justice communities. Despite these flaws, I believe that ultimately the good that this bill delivers, will have a profound effect on our ability to address the climate crisis with the urgency it demands. I will continue to work with my colleagues in the House, as well as with movement leaders and advocates, to mitigate harm from any provisions that expand fossil fuels, and to ensure that the good provisions are equitably distributed.

"I will also keep up the pressure for measures that were excluded, including further climate funding, universal preschool and affordable childcare, national paid leave, investments in housing and transportation, immigration and disability justice, maternal health, Medicare expansion, and a permanent expanded Child Tax Credit, all while pushing for meaningful executive action to address the climate emergency. As a nurse, I believe it is morally reprehensible that Senate Republicans opposed the $35 monthly cap on insulin for every person who relies on this medication to live. I would have preferred to see a stronger provision that also expanded insulin price caps to our uninsured community, but I will not stop fighting until every person is guaranteed access to comprehensive health care, including lifesaving prescription medications.

"Today I celebrate the overall progress we have made toward building a livable and equitable future, but our work is far from over. We must continue to act vigorously and creatively, taking every opportunity and using every avenue to push for the transformative policies that will save lives. I will continue doing what I was sent to Congress to do: pushing for more for the people of St. Louis."