The White House states that over a hundred economists “have said reducing the deficit will help fight inflation and support strong, stable economic growth.”
All of Texas’ 12 Democratic Representatives voted for the bill, and all its 24 Republican Representatives voted against it.
According to Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX-8), the Inflation Reduction Act provides $80 billion in funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which will “supercharge the IRS and unleash 87,000 new IRS enforcement agents on taxpayers, including the middle class.”
That 87,000 number from a May 2021 report from the U.S. Treasury Department, proposing the IRS would use a portion of $80 billion to hire 86,852 new employees over 10 years.
On the Congress floor on August 12, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX-21) claimed, “My colleagues now today are going to dump hundreds of billions into corporate America, screwing over the American people every single day with tax audits, increased energy prices, and increased taxes.”
In response to a CBS headline claiming the Inflation Reduction Act might not lower inflation, Rep. Mayra Flores (R-TX-34) commented, “There’s the surprise of the century.”
After the act was signed into law, she wrote, “Payments over $600 through CashApp and Venmo will now be reported to the IRS. Who still thinks giving $80B to the IRS was a good idea?”
Rep. Austin Pfluger (R-TX-11) criticized the bill on Twitter, stating, “Here’s a good rule of thumb… if you’re one of the White House’s favorite Green special interest groups, you get a handout subsidized by U.S. taxpayers when @POTUS signs the Inflation Expansion Act today.”
On the other hand, Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX-32) said that the new law would address climate change, lower energy and pharmaceutical costs, create jobs, and reduce the federal spending deficit.
Rep. Henry Cuellar (R-TX-28) released a statement in favor of the bill, writing, “No bill is perfect, however, putting partisan politics aside to make meaningful and balanced change is our duty as legislators.”
Both of Texas’ Republican senators voted against the legislation.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) tweeted, “Two things the so called “Inflation Reduction Act” will produce: more inflation and pure political graft for Democrats.”
Texas’ other senator John Cornyn (R-TX) retweeted Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), who wrote, “Biden gave the IRS another $80 billion—nearly double Marine Corps’ annual budget.”
In November 2021, the slim Democratic majority in the House of Representatives passed the $2.2 trillion Build Back Better Act to invest in healthcare, housing, childcare, universal pre-kindergarten, and renewable energy.
The bill languished in the Senate as Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) withdrew his support over its “decarbonization” program, which would harm the coal mining industry in Manchin’s state of West Virginia. After months of negotiations, the Senate replaced the original language of the bill with the new $369 billion Inflation Reduction Act, which the House adopted as well.
According to the Biden administration, the new law cuts healthcare costs and expands health insurance, provides tax credits and rebates for renewable energy initiatives like electric vehicles and home solar panels, and reduces the federal deficit by raising corporate taxes.
“No family making less than $400,000 will see their taxes go up a penny.”
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