H.R. 5376: The So-Called Inflation Reduction Act

People are suffering. Inflation is still at 8.5% roughly equating to an extra $6,000 for goods and services this year for an average KS-03 household. Healthcare cost frequently contributes to it, and it is hard to choose between high-cost food and medicine. Energy costs have declined some, but only because gas demand is lower due to people driving less. The Democrat’s answer is legislation that does not impact inflation, provides no near-term answers on healthcare cost, increases the cost of energy, and expands government.

No impact to overall inflation: The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the bill will have a “negligible effect” on inflation, and nonpartisan aggregator Penn Wharton calculated that the Inflation Reduction Act will actually increase inflation until 2024. In addition, it has no impact on the deficit until year five or after. Adkins supports the Republican Study Committee plan to eliminate the deficit in five years. The federal government has not had a surplus since 2001.

No near-term impact to healthcare cost: The healthcare provisions fail to address the urgent needs created by skyrocketing prescription drug prices at a time when health insurance inflation has already increased 20%. Americans deserve lower drug prices, but they are also worried about future innovation.

Adkins supports allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, but the negotiating power given to the Secretary of Health and Human Services by the legislation does not begin until 2026 and is limited to just 10 drugs. By 2029, it will extend to 20 drugs. We can’t wait until the end of the decade to tackle the cost of prescription drugs. We also can’t have a negative impact on innovation. The legislation requires drug manufacturers who do not accept federal price controls to pay 95% excise tax. Price controls in general have been a disaster for other countries such as Venezuela.

Household energy cost will only be more expensive: The legislation forces an additional $12 billion in taxes on American energy and $6.5 billion on natural gas – calculated to lead to a 17% increase in families’ natural gas bills. Inevitably, Kansas families will be spending even more on energy costs this fall and winter.

Adkins has written a plan on energy security that increases the domestic supply of American energy, focuses on the cleanest form of energy – nuclear, and pursues strategic partnerships that advance our national interests.

Too much government in your life: The legislation also gives $80 billion dollars of additional funding to the IRS to hire 87,000 more agents empowered to launch resource-consuming audits on small businesses and families, projecting a yearly increase of 1.2 million audits per year.

Joe Biden and Sharice Davids seek to inject government into every part of your life and their incompetent plans result in suffering. Amanda Adkins is committed to simpler government and smarter, more effective programs.