MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR
President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 on Monday! We are thrilled to see this important policy become law. There are many ways that this bill will positively impact the economy for working families and the fight against climate change. See our statement below for details. See also the statement from the ReImagine Appalachia campaign that KRC co-directs, which quotes the presidents of the state federations of labor in the four ReImagine states (PA, OH, WV, KY), including the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO’s new leader, Angela Ferritto.
Thank you for supporting our work,
Stephen Herzenberg
Executive Director
House Dems Pass Inflation Reduction Act To Lower Drug Prices, Make Health Care Energy Costs More Affordable
Statement | 8/12/22
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 takes a huge step forward in addressing the threat of climate change by investing $370 billion in a series of incentives to encourage the replacement of fossil fuels with clean, renewable energy. This legislation will put the United States on a path to meeting its commitment under the Paris Accord to reduce greenhouse gases by 40% by 2030 while creating an estimated nine million jobs over the next decade—disproportionately trades and manufacturing jobs—including hundreds of thousands in Pennsylvania.
It lowers drug costs for seniors, limiting Big Pharma’s monopoly power to overcharge for medicine. The legislation will enable Medicare to negotiate prices for the first time and will create the first-ever cap on out-of-pocket costs for seniors in Part D of Medicare. It will also limit the costs of insulin for diabetics on Medicare. These are long-overdue improvements that will make medicines affordable for seniors and their families and that will save taxpayers billions of dollars over the next decade.
It makes health care premiums for insurance under the Affordable Care Act more affordable, including for the roughly 100,000 Pennsylvanians that took advantage of higher tax credits to secure health insurance in the last year. This legislation will keep health care premiums for a 60-year-old couple making $75,000 in Pennsylvania from seeing an increase in premiums of roughly $13,500 on Pennie, the state’s health care exchange.
These investments are fully paid for by enabling the IRS to finally track down wealthy tax cheats who have avoided paying what they owe for years. The legislation also requires the US to join a worldwide compact to require price-gouging corporations to pay a minimum 15% corporate tax on the profits they report to their shareholders. The bill’s tax provisions do not increase taxes on anyone making under $400,000 and raise more than $300 billion for deficit reduction.
Inflation Reduction Act Is a Win for Appalachia
ReImagine Appalachia | Press Statement | 8/12/22
“For decades, corporations and special interests have tried to divide communities and exploit our resources, attacking workers’ rights on the job and dismantling environmental protections in our communities. They’ve tried to pit us against each other with a false choice: you can have good jobs or fight climate change, but you can’t have both. But that’s never been true, and today’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act is proof. Over the last year, working people and their unions, community activists, and environmental and racial justice organizations have come together to reimagine an Appalachia where we create new opportunities for industry workers and build career ladders for young people from all races and backgrounds. The Inflation Reduction Act is the result of our collective voices demanding that federal climate infrastructure investments provide a fair share of economic investment for our region and while lifting up the importance of labor and community requirements. Now let’s get it to President Biden’s desk.” Read more.
- Josh Sword, President, West Virginia AFL-CIO
- Tim Burga, President, Ohio AFL-CIO
- Bill Londrigan – Kentucky State AFL-CIO
- Angela Ferritto – Pennsylvania AFL- CIO
Rally to End Corporate Greed in Philadelphia, Saturday, Aug. 20
Rally with Senator Bernie Sanders in Philadelphia! Join Senator Bernie Sanders along with Teamsters president Sean O’Brien, AFA-CWA president Sara Nelson, and workers in Philadelphia for a rally against corporate greed on Saturday, August 20, at 4 p.m. outside the Independence Visitor Center (599 Market Street). Vaccinations and masks are encouraged for all attendees. Please RSVP here: https://brnsndrs.com/philly-rally.