Virginia Congressman Don Beyer (VA-08) is the latest Democrat to call the Inflation Reduction Act what it truly is — a “climate change bill.”
Beyer — a lead Democrat who is Chairman of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) and often considers himself to be a champion of environmental policies — said last night at a forum hosted by the Arlington County Civic Federation in Arlington, Virginia that despite the name, the “Inflation Reduction Act” was the “biggest investment in climate change we've ever had in American history.”
This statement isn't one that Beyer was forced into making via a “gotcha” question at last night's forum, he volunteered it himself.
A similar sentiment was articulated by the congressman in a floor speech last month.
During the speech, Beyer shared the following:
“I am overjoyed that Congress is finally taking the kind of sweeping, ambitious action we desperately need to prevent the worst effects of the climate crisis. This is the biggest problem my constituents sent me here to solve. We are about to pass the biggest and most important climate bill in history. I'm proud of provisions I wrote or co-wrote, including tax credits to speed up the adoption of zero-emission mid-size trucks, vans, and other commercial vehicles; scale up direct air capture technology to remove carbon pollution directly from the atmosphere; promote the development of green hydrogen; and incentivize the reduction of emissions in commercial buildings. These provisions and the bill as a whole will create huge numbers of good-paying jobs. But look at the big picture: this bill will put us on a path to meet our targets to reduce emissions, and help save this planet.”
Notably, Beyer also isn't the first Virginia Democrat to admit that Biden's biggest legislative win to date was a massive green energy handout.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) also highlighted an instance when VA-02 Congresswoman Elaine Luria made a similar statement late last month at a press conference hosted by the BlueGreen Alliance.
“As you mention, the Inflation Reduction Act. That might be the name, but it's a huge environmental bill” Luria acknowledged during the event.
At the time, NRCC Spokeswoman Camille Gallo said “we applaud Elaine Luria for admitting the so-called ‘Inflation Reduction Act' will do nothing to actually stop inflation and will increase taxes on Virginia families.”
Biden championed the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act as a measure to help lower and middle class Americans. However, the bill also included provisions such as funding for 87,000 IRS agents and a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles.
The claims made by the likes of Beyer and Luria have also notably been disputed by climate activists in their own ranks and other groups still have noted how the bill actually fails to make the climate promises come true.
Beyer is running against Republican Karina Lipsman and independent Teddy Fikre in VA-08, and Luria is running against Republican Jenn Kiggans in VA-02.
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