President Joe Biden conceded he wished the Inflation Reduction Act had another name before its first anniversary next week.
“I wish I hadn’t called it that because it has less to do with reducing inflation than it does to do with dealing with providing for alternatives that generate economic growth,” Biden told donors in Park City, Utah, Thursday. “So, we’re now in a situation where if you take a look at what we’re doing in the Inflation Reduction Act, we’re literally reducing the cost of people being able to make their — meet their basic needs.”
INFLATION TICKED UP TO 3.2% IN JULY IN SETBACK FOR BIDEN AND FED
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) named the Democrats-only $430 billion healthcare and climate spending bill as part of the deal he struck with the White House and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for his support.
Biden has been promoting the Inflation Reduction Act in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah this week, though underscoring its climate provisions in an appeal to the Democratic base.
Biden’s comments come after the Labor Department reported consumer prices increased in the year ending July 30 by 3.2%, up from June’s annualized inflation rate of 3%.
“Even when there is inflation, there is a way to provide breathing room,” he said, citing how the legislation facilitates prescription drug price negotiations.
Manchin reiterated his endorsement of the Inflation Reduction Act this week after criticizing Biden’s broader climate policies, including his advocacy of electric vehicles.
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“The Inflation Reduction Act reduced our nation’s debt by $238 billion, lowered the cost of prescription drug prices for more than 400,000 West Virginians on Medicare, capped insulin at $35 for seniors, and secured permanent funding for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund,” the senator told the Washington Examiner. “This law advances our all-of-the-above energy policy and innovation to strengthen our energy security and will ensure that Americans have reliable and affordable power for years to come.”
“While I have and will continue to fight the Biden administration’s unrelenting efforts to manipulate the law to push their radical climate agenda at the expense of both our energy and fiscal security, I am also proud of the money it is saving hard-working families and the economic opportunities it is bringing to communities in West Virginia and across America,” he said.
