Two years ago today, the Biden administration’s historic investment in climate action, environmental justice, and clean energy—known as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—was signed into law.
Democrats passed the IRA without any GOP support in 2022.
The $740 billion law allowed Medicare to negotiate prices for some drugs and bolstered health insurance subsidies, incentivized climate-friendly practices like the use of solar panels and electric vehicles and allocated billions of dollars to crack down on wealthy individuals and companies evading tax laws.
President Joe Biden praised the landmark legislation for its impact on energy costs, healthcare affordability, and job creation. In a statement reflecting on the progress made since the law’s enactment, Biden highlighted its role in advancing climate goals, reducing prescription drug prices, and boosting American manufacturing.
“Two years ago, I signed the Inflation Reduction Act—the largest climate investment in history that is lowering energy costs and creating good-paying union jobs, while taking on Big Pharma to lower prescription drug costs—with Vice President Harris casting the tie-breaking vote,” Biden said.
The President emphasized the IRA’s substantial achievements, noting that it has already led to the creation of more than 330,000 clean energy jobs, according to independent assessments. Additionally, private sector investments in clean energy and manufacturing have surged by $265 billion in the past two years, contributing to the nearly $900 billion invested in American infrastructure and industry since the Biden administration took office.
Biden stressed the fiscal responsibility of the IRA, which aims to lower the federal deficit by curbing wasteful spending on special interests and ensuring that big corporations and wealthy individuals contribute their fair share. The President also pointed to recent announcements from his administration, which include a significant reduction in prescription drug prices. Medicare’s negotiation of prices for the first ten drugs is projected to cut costs by 40% to 80%, saving taxpayers approximately $6 billion in the first year alone.
The administration’s achievements come amidst ongoing opposition from Republicans in Congress, who have sought to repeal the IRA. “While Republicans in Congress try to repeal this law—which would increase prescription drug costs and take good-paying jobs away from their constituents, all to give massive tax cuts to big corporations—Vice President Harris and I will keep fighting to move our country forward by investing in America and giving families more breathing room,” Biden asserted.
Among the far-reaching consequences of Biden’s IRA, are projects helping to transform the nation’s economic and clean energy future.
“Because of the IRA, Michigan is at the forefront of the clean energy revolution, driven by our strong manufacturing capabilities, innovative enterprises, and unprecedented federal support,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “These landmark federal resources are propelling our transition to electric fleets and clean energy; generating tens of thousands of well-paying, high-skill jobs; boosting advanced manufacturing across the state; and propelling our economy.”
“On August 16, 2022, our grassroots effort for unprecedented action to combat the climate crisis was realized with the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous. “Two years later, we see the benefits of this law each and every day.”
“Our air is more clean, our drinking water is more safe, families and businesses are taking advantage of the tax credits available to them in record numbers, and hundreds of thousands of good, well-paying clean energy jobs have been created along the way,” said Jealous. “Our fight to end the use of deadly fossil fuels and embrace the clean energy economy of the future is nowhere near complete, but today we celebrate the meaningful steps we’ve taken toward protecting public health and preserving a livable planet for generations to come.”
Disgraced former President Donald Trump and other Republicans have blasted the law and falsely argued that it contributed to rising costs of groceries, energy, and other goods.
Trump has railed against the law’s clean energy incentives in particular, suggesting he will reverse them if he takes office.
Republican lawmakers have frequently spoken about scaling back the funding the law provides for the IRS, arguing that it is a poor use of funds and could be used to offset spending elsewhere.
The law is not entirely unpopular with Republicans, though.
New Jersey Representative Tom Kean Jr. was one of more than a dozen House Republicans who wrote to Speaker Mike Johnson earlier this month asking him not to axe clean energy tax credits in the IRA if the GOP maintains or expands its House majority next year.
In addition to Kean, the letter was signed by GOP Reps.Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), David Valadao (Calif.), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (Ore.), Marc Molinaro (N.Y.), Erin Houchin (Ind.), Anthony D’Esposito (N.Y.), Mike Lawler (N.Y.), Nick LaLota (N.Y.), Young Kim (Calif.), Jen Kiggans (Va.), John Curtis (Utah), Don Bacon (Neb.), Dave Joyce (Ohio), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa), Juan Ciscomani (Ariz.), Mark Amodei (Nev.) and Buddy Carter (Ga.).
As the 18 Republicans received pushback from within their own party for their rush to defend portions of a law that got no GOP support two years ago, Democrats were also causing the lawmakers political headaches.
White House climate adviser John Podesta was still talking about the letter a week later: “These guys get it,” he said at an event hosted by the think tank Third Way to mark the IRA’s two-year anniversary.
Podesta said the law has helped support projects totaling $265 billion in investments, with an analysis from the Democratic-aligned group Climate Power showing 58 percent of the new jobs are in congressional districts represented by Republicans.
And he pointed to Republican governors — including Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma and Henry McMaster of South Carolina — welcoming the activity in their states.
Podesta read aloud from the letter, quoting the Republican lawmakers who said fully repealing the energy tax credits would undermine private investments, “stop development that’s already ongoing” and “create a worst-case scenario where we would have spent billions of taxpayer dollars and received next to nothing in return.”