Joe Biden Celebrates His Biggest Legislative Accomplishment, The Inflation Reduction Act

Ted Johnson
·4 min read
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President Joe Biden celebrated the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act on Tuesday at a White House event in which he and other Democrats contrasted their agenda to that of Republicans.

The rally-like event on the South Lawn drew thousands of people, as one of the biggest gatherings that the Biden administration has hosted at the White House. In the crowd were House and Senate Democrats, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, as well as union leaders and members, cabinet secretaries and other executive branch officials. The White House sent out invitations far and wide, hoping to build buzz for the climate and health legislation, and the event opened with a performance by James Taylor, who headlined fund-raising events for Biden in 2020.

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Missing from the attendees: Republicans. None voted for the bill, as they have set their sights on hammering Democrats for high inflation. That was evident earlier in the day, as the latest Consumer Price Index number was higher than expected, sending the stock market in a nose dive.

Major cable news networks carried the speech, but eventually broke away. CNN noted the contrast of the speech with the latest news on inflation.

Walking back and forth on a makeshift stage, with the Truman Balcony in the background, Biden gave a feisty speech in which he said that the new law will lower prescription drug and health care costs, and, with an array of tax incentives, lower energy bills. Republicans, Biden noted several times, opposed it.

The president said that the legislation “is a big step froward for the country, but it won’t surprise you to hear … Republican leaders saying, ‘Undo everything we have done.’ The Republican leader in the House has already said that the number one economic priority if they win back the House is repeal the Inflation Reduction Act.”

Biden also called out certain senators, including Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), the latter of whom is up for re-election. Scott and Johnson have proposed regular votes on whether to renew Social Security and Medicare, as well as a host of other government programs and benefits, the president noted.

“It’s hard to believe. I would think I am exaggerating if I didn’t look at it myself,” Biden said.

Biden devoted much of his speech to casting the legislation as a victory over special interests, including pharmaceutical companies and major corporations. Business lobbyists opposed a provision that established a 15% minimum tax. “The days of companies paying zero in taxes are over,” Biden said.

The law, signed last month, includes $369 billion for energy and climate programs over the next decade, including tax credits for the purchase of electric vehicles and other credits for home solar energy.

The bill also includes $64 billion to extend Affordable Care Act benefits, and the new law would allow Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs. Another $300 billion in the bill would be directed to deficit reduction.

The bill would be financed by a new 15% corporate minimum tax, raising an estimated $222 billion, according to congressional estimates. The provision was intended to capture large companies with at least $1 billion in profit that, because of accounting maneuvers and write-offs, pay at a lower rate or no federal corporate tax. Another $265 billion would come from prescription drug pricing reform. An estimated $74 billion would come from a 1% fee on stock buybacks.

The law does cap the price of insulin for Medicare patients at $35, but not for others who rely on the medication. Biden blamed Republicans for blocking a wider measure, but vowed to “come back at it” to lower those costs.

Taylor sang Fire and Rain, You Can Close Your Eyes and America the Beautiful, telling the crowd, “What a beautiful day it is, and what a hopeful moment it is too.”

Also spotted in the crowd: Screenwriter Billy Ray and political consultant Mathew Littman, who leads the Entertainment Industry Working Group, a set of politically engaged actors, writers and other creatives. Also there: The Property Brothers, Jonathan and Drew Scott.

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