LULAC Applauds Senate Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and Urges House to Move With Urgency

Posted on Aug 11, 2022

Nation's Largest and Oldest Latino Civil Rights Organization Says the Measure Helps Families Tackle Soaring Health Care Costs, Plus Economic and Climate Challenges

Washington, DC - Domingo Garcia, national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), issued the following statement late Sunday, immediately following the Senate 51-50 vote to pass the $750 billion Inflation Reduction Act, with $370 billion going into climate and energy programs. The historical measure allows Medicare to negotiate with drug makers on pricing for the first time and will extend health care subsidies for another three years. The action is being paid for with a 15% minimum tax on large corporations, 1% on stock buybacks, and increasing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) collection capabilities.

"LULAC celebrates this Senate victory for millions of Latino families and others who will benefit from seeing their health care costs reduced. Seniors will now have a $2,000 per year cap on their out-of-pocket medication expenses. Also, 13 million Americans covered under the Affordable Care Act will now save 800 dollars a year on their premiums. Both of these savings help our lower-income communities of color, which are disproportionately impacted, to fight inflation.

The other equally important benefit to the future is fighting climate change to help the world for our children and their children in years to come. This money will help boost the manufacturing of solar panels, build wind farms and accelerate our move into electric vehicles. Latino youths can now have more job opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) and help our world reduce carbon emissions that are changing our weather.

LULAC thanks President Biden, Vice-President Harris, and Senate Majority Leader Schumer for standing strong together and seeing this through. Now, we urge our representatives in the House to hurry and complete the job. Let's call our members in the House and tell them that we need them to pass this measure immediately. Also, LULAC urges Congress to continue to fight and lower the cost of insulin, which is required by millions of Latinos suffering from diabetes. Finally, and no less critical is that lawmakers hammer out an agreement on immigration reform before the session ends."

Original article: LULAC Applauds Senate Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and Urges House to Move With Urgency