Biden Signs Major Climate, Health and Tax Bill Into Law

This week, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. The bill provides approximately $369 billion in tax incentives to address climate change, including tax policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, expand the use of electric vehicles, accelerate carbon capture technology, and increase green energy production. The bill also provides a three-year extension of Affordable Care Act federal subsidies to purchase health insurance and for the first time gives Medicare the authority to negotiate prescription drug purchase prices.

When fully implemented, the bill is expected to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 2005 emissions level. Under current policies, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are expected to drop 30 percent below 2005 levels.

While celebrated as a major legislative victory for the President, the final package is more modest in size and scope than the original $2+ trillion legislative package originally proposed by the White House. The bill also includes a number of compromises needed to secure the votes of Sen. Machin (D-WV) and Sen. Sinema (D-AZ) – including provisions linking green energy projects on federal lands and off-shore wind projects to opening up federal lands for additional fossil fuel leasing opportunities.