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Rep. Panetta Votes for Landmark Legislation to Reduce Prices for Prescription Drugs, Cut Carbon Output, and Decrease the Federal Deficit

August 17, 2022

SALINAS, CA – Today, Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) voted for historic legislation to reduce prescription drug prices, cap out-of-pocket medical expenses for seniors, and substantially invest in clean energy to slash carbon output, and cut the federal deficit. As summarized below, the bill, once signed by President Joe Biden, will make significant investments in clean energy and transportation programs, empower Medicare to negotiate drug prices with drug companies, lower Affordable Care Act premiums, and increase funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) operations to make it work more efficiently and assist with investigations of those who are purposefully cheating on or failing to pay their taxes. The bill contains several tax credits that were authored by Rep. Panetta that are related to electric buses, microgrid controllers, and linear generators and contains a significant amount of increased funding for National Marine Sanctuaries construction advocated for by Rep. Panetta.

"For far too long, the United States Government has fallen short when it comes to living up to its claims on climate change, reducing our deficit, and lowering prescription drug prices. With this consequential and bold legislation, we are doing more than just talking or yelling about things, we are actually acting, working, and legislating to incentivize investment in clean energy to reduce our carbon output by 44% come 2030, put a cap on insulin prices and cut drug prices for seniors, and shrink our federal deficit by $300 billion over the next decade," said Rep. Panetta. "As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, I'm proud to have authored several parts of this legislation on tax credits for clean energy buses, microgrids, and linear generators. In my limited time in Congress, what I've come to realize is that no matter how much some people yell and scream on television or post on social media, this job is about legislating for our future. This major legislation and our leadership today will provide the foundation to help fight inflation by reducing the price of health care for our seniors, set a path forward to lowering our federal deficit, and foster a healthier, more sustainable planet for tomorrow."

The new law will include the following summarized provisions:

Health care

  • Allows Medicare to negotiate directly over the prices of specific high-cost drugs.
  • Extends financial aid established during the pandemic for Affordable Care Act beneficiaries until 2025.
  • Limits the amount of money that Medicare recipients pay out of pocket for prescription medications to $2,000 per year.
  • Caps the cost of insulin at $35 per month for Medicare beneficiaries.

Climate Change

  • Incentivizes consumers to participate in clean energy by offering tax credits and rebates to those who reduce their carbon emissions: $9 billion in consumer home energy rebate programs for low-income households; a net $11,500 in consumer tax credit for low- and middle-income families to buy clean energy vehicles; $1 billion in grants programs to make energy efficient affordable housing.
  • Builds infrastructure designed to reduce carbon emissions: $30 billion investment in solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries.
  • Includes new tax credits for microgrid controllers and linear generators to increase local resiliency, based on Congressman Panetta's MICROGRID Act and Clean Energy Production Parity Act.
  • Includes new clean commercial vehicle credits, including green buses, based on Congressman Panetta's Green Bus Tax Credit Act.
  • Reduces carbon emissions in industrial manufacturing by enforcing a methane emissions reduction program that will reduce methane leaks during the production of gas.
  • Offers $5 billion in grants to support forest fire resiliency and urban tree planning.

Deficit Reduction

  • Creates a 15% minimum tax rate for corporations with over $1 billion in profits.
  • Provides $80 billion for the IRS to advance auditing capabilities, investigate wealthy tax evaders, improve taxpayer services, modernize technology, and hire more employees with specialized skill sets.

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