Build Back Better Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding the time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in full support of the Inflation Reduction Act. There are few days during a congressional career that feel truly historic. For me this is one of them. We have passed other historic legislation to help our economy overcome the pandemic, create jobs, repair and invest in our infrastructure, and bolster critical supply chains. Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, however, will lead to the transformative change Democrats in Congress have been working with President Biden to achieve for the past year and a half.

The Inflation Reduction Act will check inflation by reducing the deficit by $300 billion over the next decade. It achieves that by ensuring tax fairness that requires corporations to pay a minimum tax of 15 percent and protecting families making less than $400,000 a year from paying even one penny more in taxes.

In addition, the Inflation Reduction Act will assist families by extending subsidies for the purchase of health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Seniors on Medicare will benefit from the government's ability to negotiate prescription drug prices and by capping out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,000 per year.

Having experienced my late wife's 30-year battle with diabetes, I am especially pleased this bill would cap insulin costs at $35 per month for those on Medicare.

This is a giant step forward, but we will continue working to overcome the Republican opposition that blocks extending the same lifesaving measures to those on private insurance.

Finally, this bill will cut climate pollution by 40 percent by 2030. It does so by building a new, clean energy economy that invests in a healthy future for all our citizens, creating more than 9 million new jobs.

This legislation creates a nuclear production tax credit for existing reactors, ensuring that my home State of South Carolina continues to be a leader in clean energy generation while also making electricity affordable and accessible.

It also puts $60 billion toward environmental justice to help communities, especially communities of color, address the legacy of pollution in their neighborhoods.

I believe today we are demonstrating what we Democrats mean when we say we are putting people over politics, while our Republican colleagues continue to put their politics over the people's health and well-being.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to stand with the people of America and help with this bill.

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