It’s Wednesday.
It’s still Inflation Reduction Act Week(s)…
There are 13 days to go before President Biden hosts the celebration to celebrate the Inflation Reduction Act law.
It appears his vacation is over as there is a press briefing scheduled for this afternoon on President Biden’s Public Schedule for Wednesday, August 24th 2022:
| 8:40 AM | Out-of-Town Pool Call Time Out-of-Town Pool |
| 10:00 AM | The President departs Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Out-of-Town Pool |
| 10:25 AM | In-Town Pool Call Time In-Town Pool |
| 10:55 AM | The President arrives at the White House South LawnOpen Press |
| 3:00 PM | Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre James S. Brady Press Briefing Room |
For Tuesday, President Biden dropped two tweets prior to article post time. He added 5 tweets, giving him a Tuesday Tweeting Total of 7 tweets and 0 retweets.
The White House has posted *11 fact-sheets regarding the Inflation Reduction Act:
08/15/2022: The Inflation Reduction Act (this is a fact-sheet called “By the Numbers”).
The Inflation Reduction Act will lower costs for families, combat the climate crisis, reduce the deficit, and finally ask the largest corporations to pay their fair share. President Biden and Congressional Democrats have worked together to deliver a historic legislative achievement that defeats special interests, delivers for American families, and grows the economy from the bottom up and middle out.
Here’s how the Inflation Reduction Act impacts Americans by the numbers:
White House.gov. 08/15/2022.
HEALTH CARE
Cutting Prescription Drug Cost
- Today, Americans pay two to three times what citizens of other countries pay for prescription drugs
- 5-7 million Medicare beneficiaries could see their prescription drug costs go down because of the provision allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug costs.
- 50 million Americans with Medicare Part D will have the peace of mind knowing their costs at the pharmacy are capped at $2,000 per year, directly benefiting about 1.4 million beneficiaries each year.
- 3.3 million Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes will benefit from a guarantee that their insulin costs are capped at $35 for a month’s supply.
Lowering Health Care Costs
- 13 million Americans will continue to save an average of $800 per year on health insurance premiums
- 3 million more Americans will have health insurance than without the law.
- The uninsured rate is at an all-time low of 8%, which the historic law will build on.
Defeating Special Interests
- $187 million: The amount the Pharmaceutical industry has spent on lobbying in 2022.
- 1,600: number of lobbyists the pharmaceutical companies had in 2021 – three times the number of Members of Congress
- 33 years: the amount of time Congressional Democrats have been trying to lower prescription drug costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices.
- 19 years: number of years Medicare has been blocked from negotiating prescription drug costs
CLEAN ENERGY
Lowering Energy Costs
- Families that take advantage of clean energy and electric vehicle tax credits will save more than $1,000 per year.
- $14,000 in direct consumer rebates for families to buy heat pumps or other energy efficient home appliances, saving families at least $350 per year.
- 7.5 million more families will be able install solar on their roofs with a 30% tax credit, saving families $9,000 over the life of the system or at least $300 per year.
- Up to $7,500 in tax credits for new electric vehicles and $4,000 for used electric vehicles, helping families save $950 per year.
- Putting America on track to meet President Biden’s climate goals, which will save every family an average of $500 per year on their energy costs.
Building a Clean Energy Economy
- Power homes, businesses, and communities with much more clean energy by 2030, including:
- 950 million solar panels
- 120,000 wind turbines
- 2,300 grid-scale battery plants
- Advance cost-saving clean energy projects at rural electric cooperatives serving 42 million people.
- Strengthen climate resilience and protect nearly 2 million acres of national forests.
- Creating millions of good-paying jobs making clean energy in America.
Reducing Harmful Pollution
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 1 gigaton in 2030, or a billion metric tons – 10 times more climate impact than any other single piece of legislation ever enacted.
- Deploy clean energy and reduce particle pollution from fossil fuels to avoid up to 3,900 premature deaths and up to 100,000 asthma attacks annually by 2030.
TAXES
Making the Tax Code Fairer
- $0: how much some of largest, profitable corporations pay in federal income tax.
- 55: the number of America’s largest, wealthiest corporations that got away without paying a cent in federal income taxes in 2020.
- $160 billon: how much the top 1 percent of earners is estimated to evade each year in taxes.
- 15%: the minimum tax on corporate profits the Inflation Reduction Act imposes on the largest, most profitable corporations.
- $124 billion: savings over 10 years the Inflation Reduction Act will generate from collecting taxes already owed by wealthy people and large corporations, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
- And no family making less than $400,000 will see their taxes go up a penny.
Reducing the Deficit
- The Inflation Act will achieve hundreds of billions in deficit reduction.
- The deficit is projected to fall by more than $1.5 trillion this year after falling by more than $350 billion last year.
- 126 leading economists – including 7 Nobel Laureates, 2 former Treasury Secretaries, 2 former Fed Vice Chairs and 2 former CEA Chairs – have said reducing the deficit will help fight inflation and support strong, stable economic growth.
08/16/2022: How the Inflation Act Helps Latino Communities.
By signing the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden is delivering on his promise to build an economy that works for working families, including Latino communities. The Inflation Reduction Act lowers prescription drug costs, health care costs, and energy costs. It’s the most aggressive action we have taken to confront the climate crisis. It’ll lower the deficit and ask the super wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share. And no one making under $400,000 per year will pay a penny more in taxes.
President Biden and Congressional Democrats beat back the special interests to pass this historic legislation to help communities of color, including Latinos, who have been at the frontline of climate change, by lowering costs, advancing environmental justice while building a cleaner future, and growing the economy from the bottom up and the middle out.
White House.gov. 08/16/2022.
LOWER HEALTH CARE COSTS
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will lower health care costs, including prescription drug costs, and expand health insurance coverage for Latino families.
Lower Prescription Drug Costs for Seniors: Americans pay 2-3 times more for their prescription drugs than people in other wealthy countries. High prices contribute to racial and ethnic health inequities. Among adults 65 and older, Latino Medicare beneficiaries were roughly 1.5 times as likely as White beneficiaries to have trouble affording medications, and about 2 times as likely to not fill needed prescriptions due to cost. For example, a recent study of shingles vaccination rates among older Americans showed non-Latino White Americans were over 2 times as likely to have received the shingles vaccine than Latinos, due in part to difficulty affording the shingles vaccine. The Inflation Reduction Act will help close the gap in access to medication by improving prescription drug coverage and lowering drug prices in Medicare. The law:
- Caps the amount that seniors will have to pay for prescription drugs they buy at the pharmacy at $2,000 a year, giving peace of mind to seniors who no longer have to worry about spending thousands and thousands more on prescription drugs.
- Caps the amount that seniors will have to pay for insulin at $35 for a month’s supply.
- Provides access to a number of additional free vaccines, including the shingles vaccine, for Medicare beneficiaries.
- Will further lower prescription drug costs for seniors by allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of high-cost drugs and requiring drug manufacturers to pay Medicare a rebate when they raise prices faster than inflation.
Lower Health Insurance Premiums and Expand Coverage: Since the implementation of the ACA’s coverage expansions, the uninsured rate among Latinos decreased by 11 percentage points, from 30 percent in 2013 to a low of 19 percent in 2017. Despite that progress, almost 10.9 million Hispanic people were uninsured in 2019 before President Biden took office and 640,000 Latinos fell into the “coverage gap” and were locked out of coverage because their state refused to expand Medicaid. Since President Biden took office, the uninsured rate has reached a new historic law: 8% and 5.2 million of Americans have gained health insurance coverage. The Inflation Reduction Act continues the American Rescue Plan’s more generous Affordable Care Act premium tax credits.
White House.gov. 08/16/2022.
- The Inflation Reduction Act locks in lower monthly premiums – 80 percent of uninsured Latinos had access to a plan for $50 or less each month and 69 percent could find a plan for $0 a month in 2021.
- By continuing the improvements made through ARP, the Inflation Reduction Act will help keep free or low-cost health insurance available. Nearly 700,000 Latinos will have health insurance coverage next year, compared to without the IRA.
COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE AND LOWER ENERGY COSTS
The Inflation Reduction Act takes the most aggressive action on climate and clean energy in American history. The legislation will bring down energy costs for families and create thousands of good jobs, all while reducing climate pollution and ensuring that we have a clean, secure future energy supply. It will:
Make Home Efficiency Upgrades More Affordable: The Inflation Reduction Act will make it more affordable for families to purchase energy efficient and electric appliances when they need to replace everyday home appliances and equipment. And, these appliances will save families money on their utility bills in the long run.
White House.gov. 08/16/2022.
- When families need to replace air conditioners, water heaters, or furnaces, they can save up to 30% with tax credits for efficient heating and cooling equipment that will save them hundreds of dollars on utility bills.
- Households can save up to 30% with tax credits for home construction projects on windows, doors, insulation, or other weatherization measures that prevent energy from escaping homes.
- If families need to replace or upgrade stoves, ovens, or other home appliances, they can receive direct rebates when buying more energy efficient and electric appliances that can lower future utility bill by at least $350 per year.
- Families in affordable housing units will benefit from resources to support projects that boost efficiency, improve indoor air quality, make clean energy or electrification upgrades, or strengthen their climate resilience.
- Overall, families that take advantage of clean energy tax credits can save more than $1,000 per year.
Create Economic Opportunities and Jobs: The Inflation Reduction Act creates economic opportunities and jobs that will reach all Americans as it:
- Spurs solar project development in environmental justice communities by providing a 20% bonus credit for solar projects on federally-subsidized affordable housing projects and a 10% bonus credit for solar projects in low-income communities.
- Creates a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator that will seed state and local clean energy financing institutions, support the deployment of distributed zero-emission technologies like heat-pumps, community solar and EV charging, while prioritizing over 50% of its investments in disadvantaged communities.
- Expands clean energy tax credits for wind, solar, nuclear, clean hydrogen, clean fuels and carbon capture include bonus credit for businesses that pay workers a prevailing wage and hire using registered apprenticeship programs – so that the clean energy we use create good paying jobs.
Protect Public Health: The Inflation Reduction Act recognizes that climate change disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color. The law:
- Creates Environmental Justice Block Grants, and a dedicated program to tackle pollution in port communities – where air pollution is especially dense and deadly.
- Funds a range of programs to reduce air pollution, including for fenceline monitoring and screening near industrial facilities, air quality sensors in disadvantaged communities, new and upgraded multipollutant monitoring sites, and monitoring and mitigation of methane and wood heater emissions.
- Protects our children with investments to monitor and reduce at public schools in disadvantaged communities.
Strengthen Resilience to Climate Change: The Inflation Reduction Act bolsters climate resilience, and strengthens the Nation’s infrastructure and economy against natural disaster and extreme weather events by:
- Upgrading affordable housing with HUD funding to reinforce homes against climate impacts, and increase water and energy efficiency.
- Expanding USDA’s Urban and Community Forestry Program with tree-planting projects that help cool neighborhoods, with a priority for projects that benefit underserved communities.
- Advancing transportation equity and resilience with a new Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant program to improve walkability, safety, and affordability, including projects to protect against extreme heat, flooding, and other impacts.
Lower Costs for Small Businesses: The Inflation Reduction Act includes a number of provisions that will save small business owners money.
- Small businesses can deduct up to $1.00 per square foot of their business for making high energy efficiency upgrades. The per square foot deduction is boosted if the efficiency upgrades are completed by workers who are a paid a prevailing wage – helping businesses save money and provide good paying jobs.
MAKE THE TAX CODE FAIRER
President Trump and Congressional Republicans’ 2017 tax law only made an unfair tax system worse. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is a critical step forward in making our tax code fairer. It will raise revenue by:
White House.gov. 08/16/2022
- Ensuring that high-income people and large corporations pay the taxes they already owe.
- Cracking down on large, profitable corporations that currently get away with paying no federal income tax.
- Imposing a 1% surcharge on corporate stock buybacks that will encourage businesses to invest.
The legislation’s tax reforms won’t just raise revenue to finance critically needed investments to lower costs and combat climate change, they are also an important component of building an economy that rewards work rather than wealth and doesn’t let the rich and powerful get away with playing by a separate set of rules.
Millions of working families will have better access to the benefits they are entitled to under the tax code and be able to get their questions answered quickly and efficiently, thanks to the Act’s transformational investments in the Internal Revenue Service. And, no family making less than $400,000 per year will see their taxes go up by a single cent.
White House.gov. 08/16/2022.
08/16/2022: How the Inflation Reduction Act Helps Black Communities.
By signing the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden is delivering on his promise to build an economy that works for working families, including Black families. The Inflation Reduction Act lowers prescription drug costs, health care costs, and energy costs. It’s the most aggressive action we have taken to confront the climate crisis. It’ll lower the deficit and ask the super wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share. And no one making under $400,000 per year will pay a penny more in taxes.
President Biden and Congressional Democrats beat back the special interests to pass this historic legislation that lowers costs for Black Americans and their families, advances environmental justice while building a cleaner future, and grows the economy from the bottom up and the middle out.
White House.gov. 08/16/2022.
LOWER HEALTH CARE COSTS
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will lower health care costs, including prescription drug costs, and expand health insurance coverage for Black families.
Lower Prescription Drug Costs for Seniors: Americans pay 2-3 times more for their prescription drugs than people in other wealthy countries. High prices contribute to racial and ethnic health inequities. Among adults 65 and older, Black Medicare beneficiaries were roughly 1.5 times as likely as White beneficiaries to have trouble affording medications, and about 2 times as likely to not fill needed prescriptions due to cost. For example, a recent study of shingles vaccination rates among older Americans showed non-Latino White Americans were over 2 times as likely to have received the shingles vaccine than Black Americans, due in part to difficulty affording the shingles vaccine. The Inflation Reduction Act will help close the gap in access to medication by improving prescription drug coverage and lowering drug prices in Medicare. The law:
White House.gov. 08/16/2022
- Caps the amount that seniors will have to pay for prescription drugs they buy at the pharmacy at $2,000 a year, giving peace of mind to seniors who no longer have to worry about spending thousands and thousands more on prescription drugs.
- Caps the amount that seniors will have to pay for insulin at $35 for a month’s supply.
- Provides access to a number of additional free vaccines, including the shingles vaccine, for Medicare beneficiaries.
- Will further lower prescription drug costs for seniors by allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of high-cost drugs and requiring drug manufacturers to pay Medicare a rebate when they raise prices faster than inflation.
Lowering Health Insurance Premiums and Expanding Coverage: Almost 3.9 million Black people were uninsured in 2019 before President Biden took office and over 570,000 Black people fell into the Medicaid “coverage gap” and were locked out of coverage because their state refused to expand Medicaid. Since President Biden took office, the uninsured rate has reached a new historic law: 8% and 5.2 million of Americans have gained health insurance coverage. The Inflation Reduction Act continues the American Rescue Plan’s more generous Affordable Care Act premium tax credits.
White House.gov. 08/16/2022.
- The Inflation Reduction Act locks in lower monthly premiums — more than three quarters of uninsured Black Americans had access to a plan with a monthly premium of $50 or less and about two thirds could find a plan for $0-premium plan in 2021.
- By continuing the improvements made through ARP, the Inflation Reduction Act will help keep free or low-cost health insurance available. Over half a million more Black Americans will have health insurance coverage next year, compared to without the IRA.
COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE AND LOWER ENERGY COSTS
The Inflation Reduction Act takes the most aggressive action on climate and clean energy in American history. The legislation will bring down energy costs for Black families and create thousands of good jobs, all while reducing climate pollution and ensuring that we have a clean, secure future energy supply. It will:
Make Home Efficiency Upgrades More Affordable: The Inflation Reduction Act will make it more affordable for families to purchase energy efficient and electric appliances when they need to replace everyday home appliances and equipment. And, these appliances will save families money on their utility bills in the long run.
White House.gov. 08/16/2022.
- When families need to replace air conditioners, water heaters, or furnaces, they can save up to 30% with tax credits for efficient heating and cooling equipment that will save them hundreds of dollars on utility bills.
- Households can save up to 30% with tax credits for home construction projects on windows, doors, insulation, or other weatherization measures that prevent energy from escaping homes.
- If families need to replace or upgrade stoves, ovens, or other home appliances, they can receive direct rebates when buying more energy efficient and electric appliances that can lower future utility bill by at least $350 per year.
- Families in affordable housing units will benefit from resources to support projects that boost efficiency, improve indoor air quality, make clean energy or electrification upgrades, or strengthen their climate resilience.
- Overall, families that take advantage of clean energy tax credits can save more than $1,000 per year.
Create Economic Opportunities and Jobs: The Inflation Reduction Act creates economic opportunities and jobs that will reach all Americans as it:
- Spurs solar project development in environmental justice communities by providing a 20% bonus credit for solar projects on federally-subsidized affordable housing projects and a 10% bonus credit for solar projects in low-income communities.
- Creates a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator that will seed state and local clean energy financing institutions, support the deployment of distributed zero-emission technologies like heat-pumps, community solar and EV charging, while prioritizing over 50% of its investments in disadvantaged communities.
- Expands clean energy tax credits for wind, solar, nuclear, clean hydrogen, clean fuels and carbon capture include bonus credit for businesses that pay workers a prevailing wage and hire using registered apprenticeship programs – so that the clean energy we use create good paying jobs.
Protect Public Health: The Inflation Reduction Act recognizes that climate change disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color. The law:
- Creates Environmental Justice Block Grants, a dedicated program to tackle pollution in port communities – where air pollution is especially dense and deadly.
- Funds a range of programs to reduce air pollution, including for fenceline monitoring and screening near industrial facilities, air quality sensors in disadvantaged communities, new and upgraded multipollutant monitoring sites, and monitoring and mitigation of methane and wood heater emissions.
Strengthen Resilience to Climate Change: The Inflation Reduction Act bolsters climate resilience and strengthens the Nation’s infrastructure and economy against natural disaster and extreme weather events by:
- Upgrading affordable housing to reinforce homes against climate impacts, and increase water and energy efficiency.
- Expanding USDA’s Urban and Community Forestry Program with tree-planting projects that help cool neighborhoods, with a priority for projects that benefit underserved communities.
- Advancing transportation equity and resilience with a new Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant program to improve walkability, safety, and affordability, including projects to protect against extreme heat, flooding, and other impacts.
Lower Costs for Small Businesses: The Inflation Reduction Act includes a number of provisions that will save small business owners money.
- Small businesses can receive a tax credit that covers 30% of the cost of switching over to low-cost solar power – lowering operating costs and protecting against the volatile energy prices that are currently squeezing small businesses.
- Small businesses can deduct up to $1.00 per square foot of their business for making high energy efficiency upgrades. The per square foot deduction is boosted if the efficiency upgrades are completed by workers who are a paid a prevailing wage – helping businesses save money and provide good paying jobs.
MAKE THE TAX CODE FAIRER
President Trump and Congressional Republicans’ 2017 tax law only made an unfair tax system worse. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is a critical step forward in making our tax code fairer. It will raise revenue by:
White House.gov. 08/16/2022.
- Ensuring that high-income people and large corporations pay the taxes they already owe.
- Cracking down on large, profitable corporations that currently get away with paying no federal income tax.
- Imposing a 1% surcharge on corporate stock buybacks that will encourage businesses to invest.
The legislation’s tax reforms won’t just raise revenue to finance critically needed investments to lower costs and combat climate change, they are also an important component of building an economy that rewards work rather than wealth and doesn’t let the rich and powerful get away with playing by a separate set of rules.
Millions of working families will have better access to the benefits they are entitled to under the tax code and be able to get their questions answered quickly and efficiently, thanks to the Act’s transformational investments in the Internal Revenue Service. And, no family making less than $400,000 per year will see their taxes go up by a single cent.
White House.gov. 08/16/2022
08/16/2022: How the Inflation Reduction Act Builds a Better Future for Young Americans.
By signing the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden is delivering on his promise to meet the climate crisis and build an economy that works for working families. The Inflation Reduction Act makes historic investments in America’s future while lowering health care and energy costs. It’s the most aggressive action we have taken to confront the climate crisis. It’ll lower the deficit and ask the super wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share. And no one making under $400,000 per year will pay a penny more in taxes.
President Biden and Congressional Democrats beat back the special interests to pass this historic legislation that builds a brighter future for young Americans by lowering costs, advancing environmental justice while building a cleaner future, and growing the economy from the bottom up and the middle out.
White House.gov. 08/16/2022.
TACKLE THE CLIMATE CRISIS
This lawrepresents the single most aggressive action the U.S. is taking to tackle the climate crisis and create clean energy solutions in American history. The law will bring down energy costs for families and create thousands of good jobs, all while reducing climate pollution and ensuring that we have a clean, secure future energy supply. It will:
Reduce Pollution: The law would reduce about a gigaton (a billion metric tons) of greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 and position America to meet President Biden’s climate goals of cutting climate pollution in half by 2030 and reaching net-zero emissions by no later than 2050.
Advance Environmental Justice: Climate change disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color. The Act will work to alleviate legacy pollution and to ensure that clean energy opportunities reach all Americans through:
White House.gov. 08/16/2022.
- Creating new Environmental Justice Block Grants—which will support community-led projects across the country, including tackling pollution in port communities where air pollution is especially deadly.
- Creating a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator that will seed state and local clean energy financing banks, which will help disadvantaged communities access the benefits of the law.
- Providing funding for Tribal communities to bring clean, zero-emissions power to homes and to boost their climate resilience.
Cut Energy Costs: The law makes it more affordable to purchase energy efficient and electric appliances, home improvements, and more to bring down energy costs. Overall, the law puts America on track to meet the President’s climate goals, which will save every family an average of $500 per year on their energy bills, providing support for:
White House.gov. 08/16/2022.
- Efficient Appliances and Home Upgrades – The law includes direct consumer rebates when households need to upgrade furnaces, water heaters, stoves, ovens, or other home appliances with more energy efficient and electric appliances. Households can save up to 30% with tax credits for home construction projects on windows, doors, insulation, or other weatherization measures that prevent energy from escaping homes. These upgrades can lower future utility bills by at least $350 per year.
- Home Energy Systems – When households want to install solar on their roof they can save up to 30% with tax credits. For example, average family installing solar using this credit would save $9,000 on their electricity bill over the life of the system, or about $300 per year.
- Cleaner Cars and Trucks – The law will bring down the sticker price of electric vehicles, providing Americans tax credits of up to $7,500 for new and $4,000 for used electric vehicle purchases. This measure could especially help young Americans buy their first car and skip the gas pump forever.
LOWER HEALTH CARE COSTS
Since 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has helped provide quality health insurance coverage for people who don’t receive coverage through their jobs. Still, health insurance remains unaffordable for many Americans. During his campaign, President Biden promised to build on the ACA by making premium tax credits more generous and lowering health care premiums for working families. The President’s American Rescue Plan kept that commitment by improving premium tax credits. However, those improvements are set to expire at the end of 2022. The Inflation Reduction Act extends them through 2025:
White House.gov. 08/16/2022.
- Saving 13 Million Americans Hundreds of Dollars per Year. About 13 million Americans will save an average of about $800 annually on health insurance premiums. Young people will also benefit significantly, as more than 3.5 million people ages 18-34 are on marketplace health care plans.
- About 3 million more people will have coverage next year with this extension. Although the uninsured rate fell to the lowest level in U.S. history in early 2022, young people ages 18-24 continue to be the most likely to be uninsured.
- By increasing access to coverage, the law will improve health outcomes; improve financial security by reducing medical debt and rent and mortgage delinquencies; and narrow racial disparities in health coverage and care access.
MAKE THE TAX CODE FAIRER
President Trump and Congressional Republicans’ 2017 tax law only made an unfair tax system worse. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is a critical step forward in making our tax code fairer. It will raise revenue by:
White House.gov. 08/16/2022.
- Ensuring that high-income people and large corporations pay the taxes they already owe.
- Cracking down on large, profitable corporations that currently get away with paying no federal income tax.
- Imposing a 1% surcharge on corporate stock buybacks that will encourage businesses to invest.
The legislation’s tax reforms won’t just raise revenue to finance critically needed investments to lower costs and combat climate change, they are also an important component of building an economy that rewards work rather than wealth and doesn’t let the rich and powerful get away with playing by a separate set of rules. Millions of working families will have better access to the benefits they are entitled to under the tax code and be able to get their questions answered quickly and efficiently, thanks to the law’s transformational investments in the Internal Revenue Service. And, no family making less than $400,000 per year will see their taxes go up by a single cent.
White House.gov. 08/16/2022.
08/17/2022: How the Inflation Reduction Act Lowers Energy Costs, Creates Jobs, and Tackles Climate Change Across America (this one contains links to each state and information on how the Inflation Reduction Act will help them).
Today, the White House released state fact sheets highlighting how the Inflation Reduction Act tackles the climate crisis in states across the country and how families and communities can benefit from a clean energy future. The fact sheet outlines how families can save on their utility bills, get tax credits for electric vehicles and energy-saving appliances, and access the economic opportunities of the clean energy future.
President Biden and Congressional Democrats beat back special interests to pass this historic legislation, delivering the most significant action in U.S. history to tackle the climate crisis and strengthen U.S. energy security. By signing the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden is delivering on his promise to lower energy costs, create good-paying jobs, and deliver a clean, secure, and healthy future for families across America.
[there are links to each states fact-sheet posted at the bottom of the above text].
White House.gov. 08/17/2022.
08/17/2022: How the Inflation Reduction Act Helps Rural Communities.
By signing the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden is delivering on his promise to build an economy that works for working families, including rural families. The Inflation Reduction Act makes historic investments in America’s future while lowering health care and energy costs. It’s the most aggressive action we have taken to confront the climate crisis. It’ll lower the deficit and ask the super wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share. And no one making under $400,000 per year will pay a penny more in taxes.
White House.gov. 08/17/2022.
President Biden and Congressional Democrats beat back the special interests to pass this historic legislation that will build a brighter future for rural Americans by lowering costs, invests in rural communities to expand access to affordable clean energy and energy efficient upgrades, and grows the economy from the bottom up and the middle out.
LOWER HEALTH CARE COSTS
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will build on the success of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) by helping to lower health care costs, including prescription drug costs, and expanding coverage for millions of Americans.
Lower Prescription Drug Costs for Seniors: Because seniors disproportionately choose to live in rural America, rural Americans stand to disproportionately benefit from the Inflation Reduction Act as it lowers prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare. Today, Americans pay 2-3 times more for their prescription drugs than people in other wealthy countries. The Inflation Reduction Act increases access to medication in rural areas by improving prescription drug coverage and lowering drug prices in Medicare. The law:
White House.gov. 08/17/2022.
- Caps the amount that seniors will have to pay for prescription drugs they buy at the pharmacy at $2,000 a year, giving peace of mind to seniors who no longer have to worry about spending thousands and thousands more on prescription drugs.
- Caps the amount that seniors will have to pay for insulin at $35 for a month’s supply.
- Means that seniors on Medicare will now have access to a number of additional free vaccines, including the shingles vaccine.
- Will further lower prescription drug costs for seniors by allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of high-cost drugs and requiring drug manufacturers to pay Medicare a rebate when they raise prices faster than inflation.
Lower Health Insurance Premiums and Expand Coverage: Since the implementation of the ACA’s coverage expansions, the uninsured rate among rural Americans decreased by 8%, from about 24 percent in 2010 to 16 percent in 2019. The Inflation Reduction Act continues the American Rescue Plan’s more generous Affordable Care Act premium tax credits
White House.gov. 08/17/2022.
- Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, 65 percent (1.3 million) of the 1.9 million rural uninsured Americans in states using the HealthCare.gov had access to a $0-premium health insurance plan for 2021. The Inflation Reduction Act will help keep free or low-cost health insurance available to rural Americans, with average savings of about $800 per person per year. As a result, about 3 million more Americans will have health insurance coverage next year, compared to without the IRA.
COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE AND LOWER ENERGY COSTS
This Inflation Reduction Act represents the single largest investment in climate and clean energy solutions in American history. The law invests in rural communities to expand access to affordable clean energy and energy efficiency upgrades, create good-paying jobs through climate-smart agriculture and conservation, and protect communities from intensifying climate impacts like wildfires and extreme heat. Because of this legislation, farmers, ranchers, and foresters will have the tools they need to adopt practices that recognize the valuable role our lands provide in tackling the climate crisis.
White House.gov. 08/17/2022.
Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency: The Inflation Reduction Act boosts the long-term resiliency, reliability, and affordability of rural electric systems, helps families save money on utility bills, and expands rural opportunities in the clean energy economy. It provides:
- Rural electric cooperatives, which serve 42 million customers, resources to advance clean energy projects, energy efficiency improvements, zero-emission systems, and more. And for the first time, these co-ops will now be eligible for direct-pay clean energy tax credits.
- An expansion of USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program to support clean energy and energy efficiency projects for more than 41,500 farms and small businesses.
- Investments to advance biofuel infrastructure to help 4,600 retailers boost domestic supplies of clean fuels.
Support for Farmers, Ranchers, and Forest Landowners: The Inflation Reduction Act recognizes the critical role that America’s farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners play in addressing the climate crisis. The law will:
White House.gov. 08/17/2022.
- Invest in helping farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners deploy climate-smart practices that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase storage of carbon in soils and trees, and make their operations more productive.
- Support innovative, cost-effective ways to measure and verify climate benefits, including through USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Stewardship Program, Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, Regional Conservation Partnership Program, and Conservation Technical Assistance.
- Help up to 280,000 farmers and ranchers apply conservation to approximately 125 million acres of land.
Strengthening the Resilience of Rural Lands to Climate Impacts: The Inflation Reduction Act protects communities from the risks of wildfires and make public and private lands more resilient in the face of climate change. These investments will help:
White House.gov. 08/17/2022.
- Protect 1.8 million acres of National Forest System Lands from wildfire and restore an additional 550,000 acres of federal lands.
- Increase climate resilience of forests on 280,000 acres of non-federal land, support conservation easements on 475,000 private acres, and prepare management plans for an additional 1,500,000 private acres.
- Strengthen habitats and infrastructure to withstand climate-induced extreme weather events in our National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges and across our public lands.
- Address the long-term drought conditions that are afflicting large swaths of rural America.
Supporting Energy Producing Communities: The Inflation Reduction Act invests in revitalizing economies of energy communities across the country, by create good-paying, union jobs, and supporting workers in coal, oil and gas, and power plant industries by:
White House.gov. 08/17/2022.
- Reinstating funding for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, which provides payments and medical treatment to coal miners suffering from breathing and respiratory challenges.
- Authorizes $250 billion in loans through the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office to retool legacy energy infrastructure like transmission lines, refineries and power plants for the net-zero economy.
- Provides a 10% bonus tax credit for wind and solar projects that are developed in places that have seen a coal mine or power plant close or have seen employment losses as a result of contractions in the fossil fuel economy.
- Delivers tax credits for clean energy manufacturing projects that are developed in energy communities where coal mines and power plants have closed with bonus credit for projects creating good-paying union jobs.
SUPPORT FARMERS AND RANCHERS
We need every farmer to contribute to reducing food inflation and feeding the nation and the world. The Inflation Reduction Act will help keep distressed farmers farming and provide assistance to farmers who have experienced discrimination in USDA’s leading programs. The law includes:
White House.gov. 08/17/2022.
- Relief for distressed USDA borrowers whose agricultural operations are at risk through loan modifications or payments.
- Financial assistance to farmers who have experienced past discrimination in USDA lending programs.
MAKE THE TAX CODE FAIRER
President Trump and Congressional Republicans’ 2017 tax law only made an unfair tax system worse. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is a critical step forward in making our tax code fairer. It will raise revenue by:
White House.gov. 08/17/2022.
- Ensuring that high-income people and large corporations pay the taxes they already owe.
- Cracking down on large, profitable corporations that currently get away with paying no federal income tax.
- Imposing a 1% surcharge on corporate stock buybacks that will encourage businesses to invest.
The legislation’s tax reforms won’t just raise revenue to finance critically needed investments to lower costs and combat climate change, they are also an important component of building an economy that rewards work rather than wealth and doesn’t let the rich and powerful get away with playing by a separate set of rules.
White House.gov. 08/17/2022.
Millions of working families will have better access to the benefits they are entitled to under the tax code and be able to get their questions answered quickly and efficiently, thanks to the Act’s transformational investments in the Internal Revenue Service. And, no family making less than $400,000 per year will see their taxes go up by a single cent.
08/17/2022: Inflation Reduction Act Advances Environmental Justice.
Most Significant Climate Legislation in U.S. History Delivers for Overburdened Communities
By signing the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden is delivering on his promise to build an economy that works for working families, including communities that have been underinvested and underserved for too long. President Biden and Congressional Democrats beat back special interests to pass this historic legislation that lowers energy costs, advance environmental justice while building a cleaner future, and grows the economy from the bottom up and the middle out.
For far too long, communities across our country have faced environmental injustices, bearing the brunt of toxic pollution, enduring underinvestment in infrastructure and critical services, and suffering disproportionate impacts from climate change. The Inflation Reduction Act includes historic investments in environmental justice, including establishing several new environmental justice grant programs. The law will improve public health, reduce pollution, and revitalize communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution while increase access to affordable and accessible clean energy.
The Inflation Reduction Act builds on the historic investments in President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and advances his Justice40 Initiative, which will deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of climate and clean energy investments to disadvantaged communities. In total, hundreds of federal programs, including those established by the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Law, representing historic investments are being reimagined and transformed to meet the Justice40 goal and maximize benefits to disadvantaged communities.
The Inflation Reduction Act will:
White House.gov. 08/17/2022.
REDUCE POLLUTION
All people deserve to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live in healthy communities free from toxic pollutants. However, research shows that low-income communities, communities of color, and Tribal and indigenous communities are more likely to live near polluting sites and face negative health impacts from ongoing pollution and environmental hazards. The Act invests directly in programs to reduce pollution in frontline communities, including:
- Creating Climate and Environmental Justice Block Grants to support community-led projects in disadvantaged communities and address disproportionate environmental and public health harms related to pollution and climate change.
- Funding for fenceline monitoring near industrial facilities, air quality sensors in disadvantaged communities, new and upgraded multipollutant monitoring sites, and monitoring and mitigation of methane and wood heater emissions.
- Protecting our children with investments to monitor and reduce pollution at public schools in disadvantaged communities.
IMPROVE CLEAN TRANSIT
Communities living near transportation corridors have been exposed to toxic pollution which can cause respiratory and cardiovascular harm – especially in children. The Inflation Reduction Act will clean up transit systems and provide healthier, sustainable transportation options for all Americans, including:
- Addressing diesel emissions from goods movement facilities and speeding their adoption of clean heavy-duty vehicles, a key part of the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act.
- Cleaning up ports to reduce the pollution burden faced by fenceline communities, jump-starting the transition of ports to zero-emissions with funding for clean technology and emissions reduction plans.
- Creating Neighborhood Access and Equity Grants to support neighborhood equity, safety, and affordable transportation access. These grants will reconnect communities divided by existing infrastructure, mitigate negative impacts of transportation facilities or construction projects on communities, and support equitable transportation planning.
MAKE CLEAN ENERGY MORE AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE
As the U.S. grows its clean energy economy, no community will be left behind. The Inflation Reduction Act helps achieve this goal by:
- Spurring solar project development in communities with a 20% bonus credit for solar projects on federally-subsidized affordable housing projects and a 10% bonus credit for solar projects in low-income communities.
- Creating a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator, which will seed state and local clean energy financing institutions, support the deployment of distributed zero-emission technologies like heat-pumps, community solar and EV charging, while prioritizing over 50% of its investments in disadvantaged communities.
- Creating a new grant program for Improving Energy Efficiency or Water Efficiency or Climate Resilience of Affordable Housing, which will help cover the cost when families need to replace energy appliances and equipment.
- Expanding access to affordable, clean energy in Indian country with rebates that give families money back when they need to purchase efficient electric appliances, bring clean power to homes that have never had electricity access, and new investments in energy projects and infrastructure through DOE’s Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program.
STRENGTHEN RESLIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE
People of color and low-income communities live in areas most vulnerable to climate change fueled weather events. The Act will strengthen the resilience of communities to climate change impacts and leverage the ecosystems they depend on, including:
- Boosting the resilience of Tribal and Native Hawaiian communities, landscapes, and fisheries from the impacts of climate change and severe drought.
- Enabling the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to improve the climate resilience of affordable housing.
- Planting trees, establishing community and urban forests, and expanding green spaces in cities, which combats climate change, lowers energy bills and reduces heat-related death and illness.
08/18/2022: How the Inflation Reduction Act Lowers Health Case Costs Across America (this one contains links to each state and information on how the Inflation Reduction Act will help them).
Today, the White House released state fact sheets that highlight how the Inflation Reduction Act lowers health care costs for Americans nationwide. The fact sheets highlight how millions of Americans across all 50 states and the District of Columbia will benefit from Medicare finally having the power to negotiate prescription drug prices, will gain peace of mind from knowing that their out-of-pocket prescription drug costs are capped at $2,000 annually in Medicare, and will save hundreds of dollars per year on health insurance premiums because of the law.
After three decades of attempts, the Inflation Reduction Act takes on one of the most powerful special interests in history – the pharmaceutical lobby – to deliver cost savings directly to American families. And, it protects the progress made under the Biden-Harris Administration to give more Americans access to affordable health insurance coverage, bringing the uninsured rate to an all-time low. By signing the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden is delivering on his promise to lower prescription drug costs, make health insurance more affordable, and make the economy work for working families.
[there are links to each states fact-sheet posted at the bottom of the above text].
White House.gov. 08/18/2022.
08/18/2022: How the Inflation Reduction Act Helps Tribal Communities.
By signing the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden is delivering on his promise to meet the climate crisis and build an economy that works for working families, including Tribal nations and American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian families. The Inflation Reduction Act lowers prescription drug costs, health care costs, and energy costs. It’s the most aggressive action we have taken to confront the climate crisis. It’ll lower the deficit and ask the super wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share. And no one making under $400,000 per year will pay a penny more in taxes.
President Biden and Congressional Democrats beat back the special interests to pass this historic legislation that includes significant Tribal-specific provisions, and otherwise helps American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities who have been at the frontline of climate change, by lowering costs, advancing environmental justice while building a cleaner future, and growing the economy from the bottom up and the middle out.
White House.gov. 08/18/2022.
TRIBAL-SPECIFIC FUNDING
The Inflation Reduction Act takes the most aggressive action on climate and clean energy in American history. And it does so by providing funding specifically for Tribes to plan for and adapt to climate change, mitigate drought, support fisheries, and shift to clean energy production and use.
Support climate resilience and adaptation in Tribal nations and Native communities. The Inflation Reduction Act includes Tribal-specific funding to address climate-related impacts in Native communities, including investments that support:
- Tribal climate resilience and adaptation programs at the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA);
- Climate resilience and adaptation activities for the Native Hawaiian community;
- Mitigating drought impacts in Tribal communities; and
- Tribal fish hatchery operations and maintenance programs.
Fund a Tribal electrification program. The Inflation Reduction Act includes investments for a Tribal Electrification Program for Tribes and Tribal organizations to provide electricity to unelectrified Tribal homes through zero-emission energy systems, and to transition electrified homes to zero-emission energy systems.
Support Tribal energy development. The Inflation Reduction Act provides additional investments for the Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program, and increases loan guarantees for Tribal energy development from $2 billion to $20 billion.
COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE AND LOWER ENERGY COSTS
In addition to its Tribal-specific funding, the Inflation Reduction Act will bring down energy costs for families and create thousands of good jobs, all while reducing climate pollution and ensuring that we have a clean, secure future energy supply. It will:
Reduce Pollution: The law will eliminate about a billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 and position America to meet President Biden’s climate goals of cutting emissions in half or more by 2030 and reaching net-zero by no later than 2050.
Advance Environmental Justice: Climate change disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color. The Act will work to alleviate legacy pollution and to ensure that clean energy opportunities reach all Americans, including through new Environmental Justice Block Grants—which will support community-led projects across the country.
Make Home Efficiency Upgrades More Affordable: The Inflation Reduction Act will make it more affordable for families to purchase energy efficient and electric appliances when they need to replace everyday home appliances and equipment. And, these appliances will save families money on their utility bills in the long run.
- When families need to replace air conditioners, water heaters, or furnaces, they can save up to 30% with tax credits for efficient heating and cooling equipment that will save them hundreds of dollars on utility bills.
- Households can save up to 30% with tax credits for home construction projects on windows, doors, insulation, or other weatherization measures that prevent energy from escaping homes.
- If families need to replace or upgrade stoves, ovens, or other home appliances, they can receive direct rebates when buying more energy efficient and electric appliances that can lower future utility bill by at least $350 per year.
- Families in affordable housing units will benefit from resources to support projects that boost efficiency, improve indoor air quality, make clean energy or electrification upgrades, or strengthen their climate resilience.
- Overall, families that take advantage of clean energy tax credits can save more than $1,000 per year.
Support Farmers, Ranchers, and Forest Landowners: The Inflation Reduction Act recognizes the critical role that America’s farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners play in the addressing the climate crisis. The law will:
- Help farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners deploy climate-smart practices that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase storage of carbon in soils and trees, and make their operations more productive.
- Support innovative, cost-effective ways to measure and verify climate benefits, including through USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Stewardship Program, Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, Regional Conservation Partnership Program, and Conservation Technical Assistance.
- Help up to 280,000 farmers and ranchers apply conservation to approximately 125 million acres of land.
Strengthen the Resilience of Rural Lands to Climate Impacts: The Inflation Reduction Act protects communities from the risks of wildfires and make public and private lands more resilient in the face of climate change. These investments will help:
- Protect 1.8 million acres of National Forest System Lands from wildfire and restore an additional 550,000 acres of federal lands.
- Increase climate resilience of forests on 280,000 acres of non-federal land, support conservation easements on 475,000 private acres, and prepare management plans for an additional 1,500,000 private acres.
- Strengthen habitats and infrastructure to withstand climate-induced extreme weather events in our National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges and across our public lands.
LOWER HEALTH CARE COSTS
The Inflation Reduction Act will lower health care costs, including prescription drug costs, and expand health insurance coverage for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian families.
Lower Prescription Drug Costs for Seniors: Americans pay 2-3 times more for their prescription drugs than people in other wealthy countries. The Inflation Reduction Act increases access to medication in Tribal communities, especially for Tribal elders, by improving prescription drug coverage and lowering drug prices in Medicare. The law:
- Caps the amount that seniors will have to pay for prescription drugs they buy at the pharmacy at $2,000 a year, giving peace of mind to seniors who no longer have to worry about spending thousands and thousands more on prescription drugs.
- Caps the amount that seniors will have to pay for insulin at $35 for a month’s supply.
- Means that seniors on Medicare will now have access to a number of additional free vaccines, including the shingles vaccine.
- Will further lower prescription drug costs for seniors by allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of high-cost drugs and requiring drug manufacturers to pay Medicare a rebate when they raise prices faster than inflation.
Lowering Health Insurance Premiums and Expanding Coverage: Almost half a million AI/ANs were uninsured in 2019 before President Biden took office and over 130,000 AI/ANs fell into the Medicaid “coverage gap” and were locked out of coverage because their state refused to expand Medicaid. Since President Biden took office, the uninsured rate has reached a new historic low: 8% and over 5 million Americans have gained health insurance coverage. The Inflation Reduction Act continues the American Rescue Plan’s more generous Affordable Care Act premium tax credits.
- The Inflation Reduction Act locks in lower monthly premiums – about 26,000 uninsured AI/ANs had access to a $0-premium plan in 2021.
- By continuing the improvements made through ARP, the Inflation Reduction Act will help keep free or low-cost health insurance available. About 60,000 more AI/ANs will have health insurance coverage next year, compared to without the IRA.
MAKE THE TAX CODE FAIRER
President Trump and Congressional Republicans’ 2017 tax law only made an unfair tax system worse. The Inflation Reduction Act is a critical step forward in making our tax code fairer. It will raise revenue by:
- Ensuring that high-income people and large corporations pay the taxes they already owe.
- Cracking down on large, profitable corporations that currently get away with paying no federal income tax.
- Imposing a 1% surcharge on corporate stock buybacks that will encourage businesses to invest.
The legislation’s tax reforms won’t just raise revenue to finance critically needed investments to lower costs and combat climate change, they are also an important component of building an economy that rewards work rather than wealth and doesn’t let the rich and powerful get away with playing by a separate set of rules.
White House.gov. 08/18/2022.
Millions of working families will have better access to the benefits they are entitled to under the tax code and be able to get their questions answered quickly and efficiently, thanks to the Act’s transformational investments in the Internal Revenue Service. And, no family making less than $400,000 per year will see their taxes go up by a single cent.
08/19/2022: How the Inflation Reduction Act Helps, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Communities.
By signing the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden is delivering on his promise to build an economy that works for working families, including Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) families. The Inflation Reduction Act lowers prescription drug costs, health care costs, and energy costs. It’s the most aggressive action we have taken to confront the climate crisis. It’ll lower the deficit and ask the super wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share. And no one making under $400,000 per year will pay a penny more in taxes.
President Biden and Congressional Democrats beat back the special interests to pass this historic legislation that lowers costs for Americans and their families, advances environmental justice while building a cleaner future, and grows the economy from the bottom up and the middle out.
White House.gov. 08/19/2022.
LOWER HEALTH CARE COSTS
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will lower health care costs, including prescription drug costs, and expand health insurance coverage for AA and NHPI families.
White House.gov. 08/19/2022.
Lower Prescription Drug Costs for Seniors: Americans pay 2-3 times more for their prescription drugs than people in other wealthy countries. Nearly 1 in 4 Americans struggle to afford prescription drugs, and high prices contribute to racial and ethnic health inequities. The Inflation Reduction Act will help close the gap in access to medication by improving prescription drug coverage and lowering drug prices in Medicare. The law:
- Caps the amount that seniors will have to pay for prescription drugs they buy at the pharmacy at $2,000 a year, giving peace of mind to seniors who no longer have to worry about spending thousands and thousands more on prescription drugs.
- Caps the amount that seniors will have to pay for insulin at $35 for a month’s supply.
- Provides access to a number of additional free vaccines, including the shingles vaccine, for Medicare beneficiaries.
- Will further lower prescription drug costs for seniors by allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of high-cost drugs and requiring drug manufacturers to pay Medicare a rebate when they raise prices faster than inflation.
Lowering Health Insurance Premiums and Expanding Coverage: Almost 1.5 million AA and NHPI people were uninsured in 2019 before President Biden took office and over 1.3 million people of color fell into the Medicaid “coverage gap” and were locked out of coverage because their state refused to expand Medicaid. Since President Biden took office, the uninsured rate has reached a new historic low: 8% and over 5 million Americans have gained health insurance coverage. The Inflation Reduction Act continues the American Rescue Plan’s more generous Affordable Care Act premium tax credits.
White House.gov. 08/19/2022.
- The Inflation Reduction Act locks in lower monthly premiums – about 197,000 AA and NHPI people became newly eligible for premium savings last year, with more than 150,000 uninsured AA and NHPI people having access to a plan with a $0-premium plan in 2021.
- By continuing the improvements made through ARP, the Inflation Reduction Act will help keep free or low-cost health insurance available. About 120,000 more Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders will have health insurance coverage next year, compared to without the IRA.
COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE AND LOWER ENERGY COSTS
The U.S. Pacific Islands region includes more than 2,000 islands spanning millions of square miles of ocean. Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders are in every state, especially with concentrations on the West Coast and in Hawai’I, communities are vulnerable to rising sea levels or severe wildfires. And, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders who live in large cities like New York City, Boston, Houston, Chicago, and Seattle are also feeling the impacts of climate change most acutely.
White House.gov. 08/19/2022.
The Inflation Reduction Act takes the most aggressive action on climate and clean energy in American history. The legislation will bring down energy costs for families and create thousands of good jobs, all while reducing climate pollution and ensuring that we have a clean, secure future energy supply. It will:
Make Home Efficiency Upgrades More Affordable: The Inflation Reduction Act will make it more affordable for families to purchase energy efficient and electric appliances when they need to replace everyday home appliances and equipment. And, these appliances will save families money on their utility bills in the long run.
- When families need to replace air conditioners, water heaters, or furnaces, they can save up to 30% with tax credits for efficient furnaces, water heaters, air conditioners and more that will save them hundreds of dollars on utility bills.
- Households can save up to 30% with tax credits for home construction projects on windows, doors, insulation, or other weatherization measures that prevent energy from escaping homes and wasting money.
- If low- or moderate- income families need to replace or upgrade stoves or other home appliances, they can receive direct rebates when buying more energy efficient and electric appliances that can lower future utility bills by at least $350 per year.
- Families in affordable housing units will benefit from resources to support projects that boost efficiency, improve indoor air quality, make clean energy or electrification upgrades, or strengthen their climate resilience.
- Overall, families that take advantage of clean energy and clean vehicle tax credits can save more than $1,000 per year.
Create Economic Opportunities and Jobs: The Inflation Reduction Act ensures that the clean energy opportunities reach all Americans as it:
- Spurs solar project development in environmental justice communities by providing a 20% bonus credit for solar projects on federally subsidized affordable housing projects and a 10% bonus credit for solar projects in low-income communities.
- Creates a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator that will seed state and local clean energy financing institutions, support the deployment of distributed zero-emission technologies like heat-pumps, community solar and EV charging, while prioritizing over 50% of its investments in disadvantaged communities.
- Expands clean energy tax credits for wind, solar, nuclear, clean hydrogen, clean fuels and carbon capture to include bonus credit for businesses that pay workers a prevailing wage and hire using registered apprenticeship programs – so that the clean energy we use creates good paying jobs.
Protect Public Health: The Inflation Reduction Act recognizes that climate change disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color. The law:
- Creates Environmental Justice Block Grants, a dedicated program to tackle pollution in port communities – where air pollution is especially dense and deadly.
- Funds a range of programs to reduce air pollution, including for fenceline monitoring and screening near industrial facilities, air quality sensors in disadvantaged communities, new and upgraded multipollutant monitoring sites, and monitoring and mitigation of methane and wood heater emissions.
- Protects our children and young adults with investments to monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants at public schools in disadvantaged communities.
Strengthen Resilience to Climate Change: The Inflation Reduction Act bolsters climate resilience and strengthens the Nation’s infrastructure and economy against natural disaster and extreme weather events by:
- Upgrading affordable housing to reinforce homes against climate impacts, and increase water and energy efficiency.
- Expanding USDA’s Urban and Community Forestry Program with tree-planting projects that help cool neighborhoods, with a priority for projects that benefit underserved communities.
- Advancing transportation equity and resilience with a new Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant program to improve walkability, safety, and affordability, including projects to protect against extreme heat, flooding, and other impacts.
Lower Costs for Small Businesses: According to the Small Business Administration, 2 million Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander-owned small businesses in the U.S. generate more than $700 billion in revenues and create 3.6 million jobs. The Inflation Reduction Act includes a number of provisions that will save small business owners money.
- Small businesses can receive a tax credit that covers up to 30% of the cost of switching over to low-cost solar power – lowering operating costs and protecting against the volatile energy prices that are currently squeezing small businesses.
- Businesses can deduct up to $1.00 per square foot of a commercial building for making qualifying high energy efficiency upgrades. The per square foot deduction is boosted if the efficiency upgrades are completed by workers who are a paid a prevailing wage and the project employs apprentices – helping businesses save money and providing good paying jobs.
MAKE THE TAX CODE FAIRER
President Trump and Congressional Republicans’ 2017 tax law only made an unfair tax system worse. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is a critical step forward in making our tax code fairer. It will raise revenue by:
- Ensuring that high-income people and large corporations pay the taxes they already owe.
- Cracking down on large, profitable corporations that currently get away with paying no federal income tax.
- Imposing a 1% surcharge on corporate stock buybacks that will encourage businesses to invest.
The legislation’s tax reforms won’t just raise revenue to finance critically needed investments to lower costs and combat climate change, they are also an important component of building an economy that rewards work rather than wealth and doesn’t let the rich and powerful get away with playing by a separate set of rules.
White House.gov. 08/19/2022.
Millions of working families will have better access to the benefits they are entitled to under the tax code and be able to get their questions answered quickly and efficiently, thanks to the Act’s transformational investments in the Internal Revenue Service. And, no family making less than $400,000 per year will see their taxes go up by a single cent.
08/19/2022: The Inflation Reduction Act Supports Workers and Families.
By signing the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden is delivering on his promise to build an economy that works for working families. President Biden is the most pro-worker, pro-union President in history, and the Inflation Reduction Act builds on that legacy. President Biden and Congressional Democrats beat back special interests to pass this historic law that lowers costs for families, creates good-paying jobs for workers, and grows the economy from the bottom up and the middle out.
The Inflation Reduction Act lowers prescription drug costs, health care costs, and energy costs. It’s the most aggressive action on tackling the climate crisis in American history, which will lift up American workers and create good-paying, union jobs across the country. It’ll lower the deficit and ask the ultra-wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share. And no one making under $400,000 per year will pay a penny more in taxes.
White House.gov. 08/19/2022.
CREATE CLEAN ENERGY JOBS
The Inflation Reduction Act creates good-paying union jobs that will help reduce emissions across every sector of our economy. As President Biden promised when running for president, the law includes some of the strongest labor protections and incentives ever attached to clean energy tax credit programs. It will:
- Incentivize prevailing wages. The expanded tax credits for energy efficient commercial buildings, new energy efficient homes, and electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure will include bonus credits for businesses that pay prevailing wages and hire registered apprentices, ensuring local wages are not undercut by low-road contractors.
- Stop companies from ripping off workers. It will penalize companies that promise to pay prevailing wages but don’t follow through, and workers who are owed prevailing wages will receive the difference, plus interest.
- Make it in America. For the first time ever, the Inflation Reduction Act establishes Make it in America provisions for the use of American-made equipment for clean energy production. The law provides expanded clean energy tax credits for wind, solar, nuclear, clean hydrogen, clean fuels, and carbon capture, including bonus credits for businesses that pay workers a prevailing wage and use registered apprenticeship programs.
MAKE THE TAX CODE FAIRER
The Inflation Reduction Act will make our tax code fairer by cracking down on millionaires, billionaires, and corporations that evade their obligations, and making sure the largest corporations pay their fair share. No family making less than $400,000 per year will see their taxes go up by a single cent. The Inflation Reduction Act will raise revenue by:
- Going after tax dodgers, ensuring the wealthy and large corporations pay the taxes they already owe.
- Cracking down on the largest profitable corporations that currently get away with paying little to no federal income tax, instituting a minimum corporate tax of 15%.
- Imposing a 1% surcharge on corporate stock buybacks, to encourage businesses to invest instead of enriching CEOs or funneling profits tax-free to shareholders.
- Making transformational investments in taxpayer service so that regular Americans can get their questions answered and access the credits and benefits they are entitled to.
The law’s tax reforms won’t just raise revenue to finance critically needed investments to lower costs for working families and combat climate change, they are also an important component of building an economy that rewards work rather than wealth and doesn’t let the rich and powerful get away with playing by a separate set of rules.
REVITALIZE AMERICAN MANFACUTURING
President Biden made a promise to re-energize American manufacturing, and he kept his promise. The President already has the strongest record of growing manufacturing jobs in modern history, and this law invests in American workers and industry. The Inflation Reduction Act will:
- Build American clean energy supply chains, by incentivizing domestic production in clean energy technologies like solar, wind, carbon capture, and clean hydrogen.
- Support American workers with targeted tax incentives aimed at manufacturing U.S.-sourced products such as batteries, solar, and offshore wind components, and technologies for carbon capture systems.
- Strengthen America’s manufacturing base. The Inflation Reduction promotes domestic sourcing and American jobs. For example, clean energy tax credits are increased if the amount of American steel used in wind projects meets the domestic content threshold, and bonus credits apply to employers who use of prevailing wages and apprenticeships, ensuring that federal tax policy supports good-paying, high-skilled jobs.
- Create good-paying union jobs in energy communities. Clean energy tax credits will be increased by 10% if the clean energy projects are established in communities that have previously relied upon the extraction, processing, transport, or storage of coal, oil, or natural gas as a significant source of employment, creating jobs and economic development in the communities that have powered America for generations.
LOWER HEALTH CARE COSTS
President Biden has followed through on his promise to lower the cost of prescription drugs. The Inflation Reduction Act will protect Medicare recipients from catastrophic drug costs by phasing in a cap for out-of-pocket costs and establishing a$35 cap for a month’s supply of insulin. And, as an historic win, Medicare will be able to negotiate prices for high-cost drugs for the first time ever. For union members or family members who benefit from the Affordable Care Act, it extends health insurance premium subsidies.
And that’s it. Going forward I will not be copying and pasting the above fact-sheets I’ll link to this article.
President Biden: (18:44) And remember: Every single Republican in Congress voted against this bill. Every single Republican in Congress voted against lowering prescription drug prices, against lowering healthcare costs, against a fairer tax system. Every single Republican — every single one — voted against tackling the climate crisis, against lowering our energy costs, against creating good-paying jobs.
He’s got 3 tweets so far for Wednesday…
His full statement:
On behalf of all Americans, I congratulate the people of Ukraine on their Independence Day. Over the past six months, Ukrainians have inspired the world with their extraordinary courage and dedication to freedom. They have stood resolute and strong in the face of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine. And today is not only a celebration of the past, but a resounding affirmation that Ukraine proudly remains – and will remain – a sovereign and independent nation.
The United States of America is committed to supporting the people of Ukraine as they continue the fight to defend their sovereignty. As part of that commitment, I am proud to announce our biggest tranche of security assistance to date: approximately $2.98 billion of weapons and equipment to be provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. This will allow Ukraine to acquire air defense systems, artillery systems and munitions, counter-unmanned aerial systems, and radars to ensure it can continue to defend itself over the long term.
I know this independence day is bittersweet for many Ukrainians as thousands have been killed or wounded, millions have been displaced from their homes, and so many others have fallen victim to Russian atrocities and attacks. But six months of relentless attacks have only strengthened Ukrainians’ pride in themselves, in their country, and in their thirty-one years of independence. Today and every day, we stand with the Ukrainian people to proclaim that the darkness that drives autocracy is no match for the flame of liberty that lights the souls of free people everywhere. The United States, including proud Ukrainian-Americans, looks forward to continuing to celebrate Ukraine as a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous state for decades to come.
White House.gov. 08/24/2022.
The White House posted the following fact-sheet: President Biden Announces Student Loan Relief for Borrowers Who Need It Most
A three-part plan delivers on President Biden’s promise to cancel $10,000 of student debt for low- to middle-income borrowers
President Biden believes that a post-high school education should be a ticket to a middle-class life, but for too many, the cost of borrowing for college is a lifelong burden that deprives them of that opportunity. During the campaign, he promised to provide student debt relief. Today, the Biden Administration is following through on that promise and providing families breathing room as they prepare to start re-paying loans after the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic.
White House.gov. 08/24/2022.
Since 1980, the total cost of both four-year public and four-year private college has nearly tripled, even after accounting for inflation. Federal support has not kept up: Pell Grants once covered nearly 80 percent of the cost of a four-year public college degree for students from working families, but now only cover a third. That has left many students from low- and middle-income families with no choice but to borrow if they want to get a degree. According to a Department of Education analysis, the typical undergraduate student with loans now graduates with nearly $25,000 in debt.
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The skyrocketing cumulative federal student loan debt—$1.6 trillion and rising for more than 45 million borrowers—is a significant burden on America’s middle class. Middle-class borrowers struggle with high monthly payments and ballooning balances that make it harder for them to build wealth, like buying homes, putting away money for retirement, and starting small businesses.
For the most vulnerable borrowers, the effects of debt are even more crushing. Nearly one-third of borrowers have debt but no degree, according to an analysis by the Department of Education of a recent cohort of undergraduates. Many of these students could not complete their degree because the cost of attendance was too high. About 16% of borrowers are in default – including nearly a third of senior citizens with student debt – which can result in the government garnishing a borrower’s wages or lowering a borrower’s credit score. The student debt burden also falls disproportionately on Black borrowers. Twenty years after first enrolling in school, the typical Black borrower who started college in the 1995-96 school year still owed 95% of their original student debt.
Today, President Biden is announcing a three-part plan to provide more breathing room to America’s working families as they continue to recover from the strains associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. This plan offers targeted debt relief as part of a comprehensive effort to address the burden of growing college costs and make the student loan system more manageable for working families. The President is announcing that the Department of Education will:
White House.gov. 08/24/2022.
- Provide targeted debt relief to address the financial harms of the pandemic, fulfilling the President’s campaign commitment. The Department of Education will provide up to $20,000 in debt cancellation to Pell Grant recipients with loans held by the Department of Education, and up to $10,000 in debt cancellation to non-Pell Grant recipients. Borrowers are eligible for this relief if their individual income is less than $125,000 ($250,000 for married couples). No high-income individual or high-income household – in the top 5% of incomes – will benefit from this action. To ensure a smooth transition to repayment and prevent unnecessary defaults, the pause on federal student loan repayment will be extended one final time through December 31, 2022. Borrowers should expect to resume payment in January 2023.
- Make the student loan system more manageable for current and future borrowers by:
- Cutting monthly payments in half for undergraduate loans. The Department of Education is proposing a new income-driven repayment plan that protects more low-income borrowers from making any payments and caps monthly payments for undergraduate loans at 5% of a borrower’s discretionary income—half of the rate that borrowers must pay now under most existing plans. This means that the average annual student loan payment will be lowered by more than $1,000 for both current and future borrowers.
- Fixing the broken Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program by proposing a rule that borrowers who have worked at a nonprofit, in the military, or in federal, state, tribal, or local government, receive appropriate credit toward loan forgiveness. These improvements will build on temporary changes the Department of Education has already made to PSLF, under which more than 175,000 public servants have already had more than $10 billion in loan forgiveness approved.
- Protect future students and taxpayers by reducing the cost of college and holding schools accountable when they hike up prices. The President championed the largest increase to Pell Grants in over a decade and one of the largest one-time influxes to colleges and universities. To further reduce the cost of college, the President will continue to fight to double the maximum Pell Grant and make community college free. Meanwhile, colleges have an obligation to keep prices reasonable and ensure borrowers get value for their investments, not debt they cannot afford. This Administration has already taken key steps to strengthen accountability, including in areas where the previous Administration weakened rules. The Department of Education is announcing new efforts to ensure student borrowers get value for their college costs.
Provide Targeted Debt Relief, Fulfilling the President’s Campaign Commitment
To address the financial harms of the pandemic for low- and middle-income borrowers and avoid defaults as loan repayment restarts next year, the Department of Education will provide up to $20,000 in loan relief to borrowers with loans held by the Department of Education whose individual income is less than $125,000 ($250,000 for married couples) and who received a Pell Grant. Nearly every Pell Grant recipient came from a family that made less than $60,000 a year, and Pell Grant recipients typically experience more challenges repaying their debt than other borrowers. Borrowers who meet those income standards but did not receive a Pell Grant in college can receive up to $10,000 in loan relief.
White House.gov. 08/24/2022.
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The Pell Grant program is one of America’s most effective financial aid programs—but its value has been eroded over time. Pell Grant recipients are more than 60% of the borrower population. The Department of Education estimates that roughly 27 million borrowers will be eligible to receive up to $20,000 in relief, helping these borrowers meet their economic potential and avoid economic harm from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Current students with loans are eligible for this debt relief. Borrowers who are dependent students will be eligible for relief based on parental income, rather than their own income.
If all borrowers claim the relief they are entitled to, these actions will:
White House.gov. 08/24/2022.
- Provide relief to up to 43 million borrowers, including cancelling the full remaining balance for roughly 20 million borrowers.
- Target relief dollars to low- and middle-income borrowers. The Department of Education estimates that, among borrowers who are no longer in school, nearly 90% of relief dollars will go to those earning less than $75,000 a year. No individual making more than $125,000 or household making more than $250,000 – the top 5% of incomes in the United States – will receive relief.
- Help borrowers of all ages. The Department of Education estimates that, among borrowers who are eligible for relief, 21% are 25 years and under and 44% are ages 26-39. More than a third are borrowers age 40 and up, including 5% of borrowers who are senior citizens.
- Advance racial equity. By targeting relief to borrowers with the highest economic need, the Administration’s actions are likely to help narrow the racial wealth gap. Black students are more likely to have to borrow for school and more likely to take out larger loans. Black borrowers are twice as likely to have received Pell Grants compared to their white peers. Other borrowers of color are also more likely than their peers to receive Pell Grants. That is why an Urban Institute study found that debt forgiveness programs targeting those who received Pell Grants while in college will advance racial equity.
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The Department of Education will work quickly and efficiently to set up a simple application process for borrowers to claim relief. The application will be available no later than when the pause on federal student loan repayments terminates at the end of the year. Nearly 8 million borrowers may be eligible to receive relief automatically because their relevant income data is already available to the Department.
Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, this debt relief will not be treated as taxable income for the federal income tax purposes.
To help ensure a smooth transition back to repayment, the Department of Education is extending the student loan pause a final time through December 31, 2022. No one with federally-held loans has had to pay a single dollar in loan payments since President Biden took office.
White House.gov. 08/24/2022.
Make the Student Loan System More Manageable for Current and Future Borrowers
Fixing Existing Loan Repayment to Lower Monthly Payments
The Administration is reforming student loan repayment plans so both current and future low- and middle-income borrowers will have smaller and more manageable monthly payments.
The Department of Education has the authority to create income-driven repayment plans, which cap what borrowers pay each month based on a percentage of their discretionary income. Most of these plans cancel a borrower’s remaining debt once they make 20 years of monthly payments. But the existing versions of these plans are too complex and too limited. As a result, millions of borrowers who might benefit from them do not sign up, and the millions who do sign up are still often left with unmanageable monthly payments.
To address these concerns and follow through on Congress’ original vision for income-driven repayment, the Department of Education is proposing a rule to do the following:
White House.gov. 08/24/2022.
- For undergraduate loans, cut in half the amount that borrowers have to pay each month from 10% to 5% of discretionary income.
- Raise the amount of income that is considered non-discretionary income and therefore is protected from repayment, guaranteeing that no borrower earning under 225% of the federal poverty level—about the annual equivalent of a $15 minimum wage for a single borrower—will have to make a monthly payment.
- Forgive loan balances after 10 years of payments, instead of 20 years, for borrowers with original loan balances of $12,000 or less. The Department of Education estimates that this reform will allow nearly all community college borrowers to be debt-free within 10 years.
- Cover the borrower’s unpaid monthly interest, so that unlike other existing income-driven repayment plans, no borrower’s loan balance will grow as long as they make their monthly payments—even when that monthly payment is $0 because their income is low.
These reforms would simplify loan repayment and deliver significant savings to low- and middle-income borrowers. For example:
- A typical single construction worker (making $38,000 a year) with a construction management credential would pay only $31 a month, compared to the $147 they pay now under the most recent income-driven repayment plan, for annual savings of nearly $1,400.
- A typical single public school teacher with an undergraduate degree (making $44,000 a year) would pay only $56 a month on their loans, compared to the $197 they pay now under the most recent income-driven repayment plan, for annual savings of nearly $1,700.
- A typical nurse (making $77,000 a year) who is married with two kids would pay only $61 a month on their undergraduate loans, compared to the $295 they pay now under the most recent income-driven repayment plan, for annual savings of more than $2,800.
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For each of these borrowers, their balances would not grow as long as they are making their monthly payments, and their remaining debt would be forgiven after they make the required number of qualifying payments.
Further, the Department of Education will make it easier for borrowers who enroll in this new plan to stay enrolled. Starting in the summer of 2023, borrowers will be able to allow the Department of Education to automatically pull their income information year after year, avoiding the hassle of needing to recertify their income annually.
Ensuring Public Servants Receive Credit Toward Loan Forgiveness
Borrowers working in public service are entitled to earn credit toward debt relief under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. But because of complex eligibility restrictions, historic implementation failures, and poor counseling given to borrowers, many borrowers have not received the credit they deserve for their public service.
The Department of Education has announced time-limited changes to PSLF that provide an easier path to forgiveness of all outstanding debt for eligible federal student loan borrowers who have served at a non-profit, in the military, or in federal, state, Tribal, or local government for at least 10 years, including non-consecutively. Those who have served less than 10 years may now more easily get credit for their service to date toward eventual forgiveness. These changes allow eligible borrowers to gain additional credit toward forgiveness, even if they had been told previously that they had the wrong loan type.
The Department of Education also has proposed regulatory changes to ensure more effective implementation of the PSLF program moving forward. Specifically, the Department of Education has proposed allowing more payments to qualify for PSLF including partial, lump sum, and late payments, and allowing certain kinds of deferments and forbearances, such as those for Peace Corps and AmeriCorps service, National Guard duty, and military service, to count toward PSLF. The Department of Education also proposed to ensure the rules work better for non-tenured instructors whose colleges need to calculate their full-time employment.
To ensure borrowers are aware of the temporary changes, the White House has launched four PSLF Days of Action dedicated to borrowers in specific sectors: government employees, educators, healthcare workers and first responders, and non-profit employees. You can find out other information about the temporary changes on PSLF.gov. You must apply to PSLF before the temporary changes end on October 31, 2022.
White House.gov. 08/24/2022.
Protecting Borrowers and Taxpayers from Steep Increases in College Costs
While providing this relief to low- and middle-income borrowers, the President is focused on keeping college costs under control. Under this Administration, students have had more money in their pockets to pay for college. The President signed the largest increase to the maximum Pell Grant in over a decade and provided nearly $40 billion to colleges and universities through the American Rescue Plan, much of which was used for emergency student financial aid, allowing students to breathe a little easier.
White House.gov. 08/24/2022.
Additionally, the Department of Education has already taken significant steps to strengthen accountability, so that students are not left with mountains of debt with little payoff. The agency has re-established the enforcement unit in the Office of Federal Student Aid and it is holding accreditors’ feet to the fire. In fact, the Department just withdrew authorization for the accreditor that oversaw schools responsible for some of the worst for-profit scandals. The agency will also propose a rule to hold career programs accountable for leaving their graduates with mountains of debt they cannot repay, a rule the previous Administration repealed.
Building off of these efforts, the Department of Education is announcing new actions to hold accountable colleges that have contributed to the student debt crisis. These include publishing an annual watch list of the programs with the worst debt levels in the country, so that students registering for the next academic year can steer clear of programs with poor outcomes. They also include requesting institutional improvement plans from the worst actors that outline how the colleges with the most concerning debt outcomes intend to bring down debt levels.
From Studentaid.gov/debt-reflief-announcement:
The Biden-Harris Administration’s Student Debt Relief Plan Explained
What the program means for you, and what comes next
President Biden, Vice President Harris, and the U.S. Department of Education have announced a three-part plan to help working and middle-class federal student loan borrowers transition back to regular payment as pandemic-related support expires. This plan includes loan forgiveness of up to $20,000. Many borrowers and families may be asking themselves “what do I have to do to claim this relief?” This page is a resource to answer those questions and more. There will be more details announced in the coming weeks. To be notified when the process has officially opened, sign up at the Department of Education subscription page.
The Biden Administration’s Student Loan Debt Relief Plan
Part 1. Final extension of the student loan repayment pause
Due to the economic challenges created by the pandemic, the Biden-Harris Administration has extended the student loan repayment pause a number of times. Because of this, no one with a federally held loan has had to pay a single dollar in loan payments since President Biden took office.
To ensure a smooth transition to repayment and prevent unnecessary defaults, the Biden-Harris Administration will extend the pause a final time through December 31, 2022, with payments resuming in January 2023.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Do I need to do anything to extend my student loan pause through the end of the year?
- No. The extended pause will occur automatically.
Part 2. Providing targeted debt relief to low- and middle-income families
To smooth the transition back to repayment and help borrowers at highest risk of delinquencies or default once payments resume, the U.S. Department of Education will provide up to $20,000 in debt cancellation to Pell Grant recipients with loans held by the Department of Education and up to $10,000 in debt cancellation to non-Pell Grant recipients. Borrowers are eligible for this relief if their individual income is less than $125,000 or $250,000 for households.
In addition, borrowers who are employed by non-profits, the military, or federal, state, Tribal, or local government may be eligible to have all of their student loans forgiven through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. This is because of time-limited changes that waive certain eligibility criteria in the PSLF program. These temporary changes expire on October 31, 2022. For more information on eligibility and requirements, go to PSLF.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How do I know if I am eligible for debt cancellation?
- To be eligible, your annual income must have fallen below $125,000 (for individuals) or $250,000 (for married couples or heads of households)
- If you received a Pell Grant in college and meet the income threshold, you will be eligible for up to $20,000 in debt cancellation.
- If you did not receive a Pell Grant in college and meet the income threshold, you will be eligible for up to $10,000 in debt cancellation.
What does the “up to” in “up to $20,000” or “up to $10,000” mean?
- Your relief is capped at the amount of your outstanding debt.
- For example: If you are eligible for $20,000 in debt relief, but have a balance of $15,000 remaining, you will only receive $15,000 in relief.
What do I need to do in order to receive loan forgiveness?
- Nearly 8 million borrowers may be eligible to receive relief automatically because relevant income data is already available to the U.S. Department of Education.
- If the U.S. Department of Education doesn’t have your income data – or if you don’t know if the U.S. Department of Education has your income data, the Administration will launch a simple application in the coming weeks.
- The application will be available before the pause on federal student loan repayments ends on December 31st.
- If you would like to be notified by the U.S. Department of Education when the application is open, please sign up at the Department of Education subscription page.
What is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program?
- The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program forgives the remaining balance on your federal student loans after 120 payments working full-time for federal, state, Tribal, or local government; military; or a qualifying non-profit.
- Temporary changes, ending on Oct. 31, 2022, provide flexibility that makes it easier than ever to receive forgiveness by allowing borrowers to receive credit for past periods of repayment that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF.
- Enrollments on or after Nov. 1, 2022 will not be eligible for this treatment. We encourage borrowers to sign up today. Visit PSLF.gov to learn more and apply.
Part 3. Make the student loan system more manageable for current and future borrowers
Income-based repayment plans have long existed within the U.S. Department of Education. However, the Biden-Harris Administration is proposing a rule to create a new income-driven repayment plan that will substantially reduce future monthly payments for lower- and middle-income borrowers.
The rule would:
- Require borrowers to pay no more than 5% of their discretionary income monthly on undergraduate loans. This is down from the 10% available under the most recent income-driven repayment plan.
- Raise the amount of income that is considered non-discretionary income and therefore is protected from repayment, guaranteeing that no borrower earning under 225% of the federal poverty level—about the annual equivalent of a $15 minimum wage for a single borrower—will have to make a monthly payment.
- Forgive loan balances after 10 years of payments, instead of 20 years, for borrowers with loan balances of $12,000 or less.
- Cover the borrower’s unpaid monthly interest, so that unlike other existing income-driven repayment plans, no borrower’s loan balance will grow as long as they make their monthly payments—even when that monthly payment is $0 because their income is low.
The Biden-Harris Administration is working to quickly implement improvements to student loans. Check back to this page for updates on progress. If you’d like to be the first to know, sign up for email updates from the U.S. Department of Education.
This is an Open Thread.
