Press Releases

(Honolulu, HI) – Congressman Ed Case (HI-01) today leaves back to Washington, DC to vote for the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Act).

“This Act, in combatting climate change, easing inflation, lowering health care costs, and strengthening our economy and federal finances and more, is certainly one of the hallmarks of this Congress and one of the most consequential pieces of legislation in decades”, said Case, a member of the U.S. House Committees on Appropriations and on Natural Resources which contributed to development of the measure.

The Act originated in the U.S. House of Representatives as the Build Back Better Act and passed the House last November with Case voting yes.

It passed the U.S. Senate in amended form this past Sunday, and the full House is returning from its August district work period to vote on the Act this Friday. Assuming passage, it will go straight to the President, who is expected to sign it into law.

“The crisis of climate change is very real and accelerating, and we must lead the world in combatting it on every front,” said Case. “At $369 billion, this measure’s climate-related provisions alone are the largest and most comprehensive effort we have ever passed, and are critical to lowering our energy costs, increasing cleaner production and reducing carbon emissions by roughly 40% by 2030.”

“On inexcusably high prescription drug costs, I have fought for two decades, dating back to my first years in Congress, to authorize Medicare to negotiate down the prices of large bulk purchases of lifesaving drugs for our kūpuna, and this measure will finally achieve that goal for many of the most needed drugs,” said Case. “It also caps out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 for Medicare Part D beneficiaries, and lowers Affordable Care Act health care premiums for millions of Americans.”

“Moving our nation back toward a fiscally responsible path, the measure further is fully paid, meaning it won’t further increase our ballooning deficits and debt”, said Case, a Co-Chair of the U.S. House Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of House Democrats focused on fiscal responsibility, national defense and pragmatic, results-oriented governing. “It does so fairly by assuring that our largest multinational businesses, some of which are paying very low or no taxes, must pay a minimum 15%. It holds to President Biden’s pledge not to raise taxes families making $400,000 or less or to impose new taxes on small businesses, and further also reinvests revenues and savings in significantly reducing our deficits.”

“The Inflation Reduction Act is critical not only to our world and country, but to our Hawai‘i on several fronts,” said Case. “By offering grants, rebates and tax credits to help states, counties, communities and families move toward cleaner energy sources, the Act is fully synched with our own state leadership to renewables.

It offers funding to conserve and restore coastal habitats as well as grants to support healthy forests, and also provides assistance for Native Hawaiian communities specifically to implement climate resilience and adaptation activities. Further, the Act’s health care cost controls aimed largely at kūpuna care are especially relevant in Hawai‘i given the forecast by our State Plan on Aging that one-third of the state’s population will be over the age of 60 by the year 2035.”

A summary of the Inflation Reduction Act is attached.

Highlights of the Medicare prescription savings in the Act is attached.

Case expects to return to Hawai‘i on Saturday to resume his August district work period activities.

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