U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and U.S. Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA) on Friday cheered the new jobs, energy investment, and reduced healthcare and prescription drug costs resulting from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and highlighted how the law specifically benefits Pennsylvanians.
On the second anniversary of the landmark federal legislation to lower healthcare and energy costs for families and boost clean energy production, it has provided significant investments across America and in Pennsylvania, the lawmakers said in separate statements released Aug. 16.
“This game-changing law invests in the commonwealth, lowering costs for Pennsylvania families. From health care to electricity bills, Pennsylvanians are spending less on their everyday needs,” said Casey. “I fought for this law to keep hard-earned dollars in Pennsylvanians’ pocket, and I will keep fighting to bring costs down.”
During the 117th Congress, both Casey and Wild joined every Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the IRA to help boost the nation’s economy in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, lower costs for Americans, take on corporate price gouging, and support struggling small businesses.
Casey-led provisions included in the IRA are driving clean energy and manufacturing, incentivizing projects that use American materials, as well as investments in energy communities.
For example, Casey’s Lowering Medicare Premiums and Prescription Drug Costs Act, S. 1844, included in the IRA, expanded cost-sharing assistance for low-income people with Medicare, capped annual out-of-pocket costs, and lowered the price of insulin to $35 a month.
Additionally, Casey advocated for and secured language in the IRA that permits senior citizens to qualify to receive critical vaccines for free.
Likewise, Rep. Wild highlighted the impact the law has already had for her constituents across the Greater Lehigh Valley, like saving on their monthly energy bills.
Additionally, IRA provisions have allowed Pennsylvania homeowners to make home upgrades to save hundreds on their annual energy costs and increase their home value by up to nearly $23,000.
Wild also worked to secure a $200 million grant through the IRA’s Domestic Manufacturing Conversation Grant program to allow Mack Trucks plants across the country, including the facility in Macungie, Pa., to revitalize their operations and create hundreds of new jobs.
“The Inflation Reduction Act is a landmark law that is helping lower costs for hardworking Americans and build an economy that works for everyone,” Wild said. “From capping the price of life-saving prescription drugs to creating good-paying, union jobs in our district, the IRA is making a real difference in our community, commonwealth, and country.”
Wild also recently announced that Direct File will be expanded to allow Pennsylvanians to file their taxes directly with the IRS for free in 2025.
“I’ll keep fighting to pass common-sense legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act and secure critical investments to bolster our local economy and lower costs for Lehigh Valley families,” said the congresswoman.