Press Releases

WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman Larry Bucshon, M.D. (R-Ind.) issued the following statement on the Inflation Reduction Act, H.R. 5376, which passed out of the House of Representatives on a party line vote.

“Today’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, or rather the Inflation Expansion Act, will lead to more taxes, a higher cost of living, and fewer treatments and cures for the American people. President Biden and Democrats in Congress continue to jam through bloated spending bills that do nothing to address the real issues affecting Hoosier families and small business on Main Street like fixing the economy, making our communities safer, or addressing our supply chain shortages. Instead, Democrats in Congress are once again spending billions of dollars to fund their liberal Green New Deal agenda and are enacting price controls that will deny Americans access to critical lifesaving treatments and cures. With the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats in Congress are just doubling down on the same failed economic policies they have already put in place over the past two years that have resulted in the cost of living skyrocketing to the highest levels seen in 40 years – a level that is leaving far too many American families having to decide between filling up their vehicle to get to work or buying groceries to feed their families,” said Dr. Bucshon.

Background on H.R. 5376:

• The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that families making less than $200,000 annually will see over $10.6 Billion in tax increases from this legislation.
• Would provide the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) an additional $80 billion leading to more than 700,000 audits on Americans earning $75,000 or less.
• Includes a 15% minimum tax rate on corporations, or a “book tax”. This will increase taxes on American businesses by an estimated $222 billion, falling especially hard on U.S. manufacturers and U.S. energy producers.  
• Allow the government to impose innovation-killing price controls on drugs currently available in the Medicare program. Experts predict this will result in significantly fewer drugs developed in the future, which could mean delaying or sacrificing cures for things like cancer, Alzheimer’s, or HIV.
• Increase drug prices for products not yet on the market. Tying future increases in drug prices to inflation gives manufacturers incentive to price their products higher in the first place; the policy is indeed projected to “increase the launch prices for drugs that are not yet on the market relative to what such prices would be otherwise.”
• Is projected to add at least $146 billion to the national debt.
• Implement an effective tax on natural gas that would make it more expensive to heat homes, buy food and basic goods, cook, and manufacture thousands of products used daily by American citizens.
• Funnels billions of federal taxpayer dollars toward pet projects of the Rush-to-Green movement while stifling American oil and gas production.

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