Richmond Leader

Washington, D.C. – On August 16, 2023, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) issued the following statement on the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA):

“One year ago, President Biden signed House Democrats’ transformative Inflation Reduction Act into law. This legislation delivered on the promise to tackle inflation, lower costs for hardworking Americans, accelerate the deployment of clean-energy technology, combat climate change, and advance environmental justice. 

“The IRA allowed Medicare to negotiate the price of certain prescription drugs for the first time, reduced the cost of insulin to $35 per month for seniors, and expanded affordable health care coverage to more Americans by enhancing subsidies under the Affordable Care Act and lowering premiums by an average of $800 per month. These are important steps in our continued efforts to ensure every American has access to quality, affordable health care and the life-saving prescription drugs they need. 

“The IRA represents the single largest federal investment in clean energy and climate mitigation efforts in our nation’s history. In just one year, the IRA helped create more than 170,000 clean energy jobs and supported hundreds of new projects in the clean energy sector. The IRA has put the United States on a path to reach our ambitious climate goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, and the private industry has responded with over $270 billion in clean energy investments over the past twelve months. 

“We have made tremendous progress since the IRA was signed into law, and we will continue to see the benefits of this legislation for years to come. As the provisions within the bill are implemented, I will work with the Biden-Harris Administration and relevant agencies to ensure Virginia’s Fourth continues to benefit from this historic legislation.” 

The Inflation Reduction Act has provided significant benefits to Virginia’s Fourth and the Commonwealth:  

• 28,000 people in Virginia’s Fourth enrolled in ACA marketplace health insurance coverage, with the average enrollee saving $880 in premiums this year. 
• ACA marketplace enrollees will pay $1720 in premiums this year on average. Without the enhanced subsidies, the average annual premium would have increased to $2590. 
• 1,300 Medicare beneficiaries in Virginia’s Fourth are saving an average of $480 each year on their insulin with the $35/month cap. 
• 390,000 Virginians statewide will save an average $440 on prescription drugs every year. 
• 329 new clean energy jobs have been created in Virginia and $67,200,000 in investments. 

More information on IRA investments is available here. 

Original source can be found here.