Congressional members who represent Fontana vote in favor of Inflation Reduction Act | News

The House of Representatives on Aug. 12 approved the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and both members of Congress who represent Fontana joined with their fellow Democrats in voting for the massive bill.

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-31st District) and Rep. Norma Torres (D-35th District) praised the legislation, which narrowly passed the Senate on Aug. 7 and will now head to President Biden’s desk for his signature.

Aguilar said the bill will lower the price of prescription drugs, keep health insurance affordable for millions of Americans, and make the largest investment in modern history to combat climate change.

“I have been fighting to lower the costs of prescription drugs by allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies since I was first elected,” Aguilar said. “This commonsense legislation honors the pledge I made to Inland Empire families and seniors and provides meaningful relief to the residents in our community who have been struggling to pay for necessary medications.”

The Inflation Reduction Act will invest $369 billion in clean energy tax credits to address the climate crisis and reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030. The bill provides 10 years of consumer tax credits so families can lower energy costs, creates home energy rebate programs and invests $1 billion to make affordable housing units across the country more energy efficient.

The bill provides $300 billion toward paying down the national debt and is paid for by raising taxes on the wealthy. It creates no new taxes on families making less than $400,000 per year or any small businesses, Aguilar said.

The bill was strongly opposed by Republicans.

“California Democrats gleefully voted for another massive tax increase and brazenly call it inflation reduction,” said California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson in a statement. “Not only will it not reduce inflation, but instead it will increase the tax burden on hardworking Americans and businesses during a recession. Californians struggling to afford gas and groceries in the failing Biden economy should not be paying higher taxes to fund 87,000 new audit-happy IRS agents.”