How Dems are handling GOP hypocrisy on the IRA
One year after President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, Democrats trust voters will reward them—not the Republicans who opposed it but claim credit for the historic investments.
IRA DAY AT THE WH • President Joe Biden this afternoon will celebrate the anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark health care, tax, and climate law he signed a year ago.
He’ll be joined by the two Democrats who shepherded the legislation through Congress—Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)—plus members who voted for it.
Ahead of the event, the White House introduced a new interactive feature on its website where you can see the real-world impact of the IRA and Bidenomics on people and communities across the country.
DEMS FOCUS ON VOTERS NOT GOP CREDIT-TAKERS • Several Republicans voted against the American Rescue Plan—the COVID-19 stimulus law President Biden signed in March 2021—because they said the provisions disproportionately benefited Democratic-controlled states.
But the IRA has featured an inverse asymmetry with billions of more dollars in investments funneled to red states versus blue.
Perhaps this explains in part why congressional Republicans have been so brazen in their promotion of the investments in their districts and states despite unanimous opposition to the IRA when it passed last year. (FWIW, Republicans argue that once a bill they disapprove of is signed into law, it’s their responsibility to bring as many dollars from the legislation back home.)
Privately, Democrats express frustration at what they characterize as hypocrisy from the GOP. But publicly many, including Leader Schumer brush aside questions of whether the IRA can be a political boost for Republicans as well.
Schumer told reporters during a press call on Tuesday that the IRA and the bipartisan infrastructure law and CHIPS and Science Act—the two major laws that preceded it—were crafted with a particular focus on rural America.
“When the Republicans come and show up at these things, it’s just proof positive that these are good things,” he said. “The public knows now, I think instinctively and will know even more as we move forward as many more of these projects are opened up, that this was done by the president and, frankly, the Democratic Senate.”
And while House Democrats call the IRA another example of the caucus putting people over politics, some say that what’s more dangerous than Republicans taking credit for the law back home is their attempt to repeal the IRA’s key provisions on Capitol Hill during the recent debt limit negotiations and current appropriations process.
“I will say that it is so ironic that they are home in their districts—either Republican members who voted against these bills or Republicans as candidates who raised against these bills—touting the benefits of all these bills and at the same time in our House Appropriations Committee, they're literally putting in amendments trying to chip away at bills like the IRA and infrastructure bills and the other ones,” Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) said to Supercreator Daily in July.
The White House is sensitive to the politics of the IRA and Deputy Chief of Staff Natalie Quillian said earlier this month that the officials would continue to hold Republicans accountable for their attempts to roll back progress and take credit for investments they voted against that are delivering for their communities.
But the administration sees more value in localizing the IRA by barnstorming the country with cabinet members and senior administration officials to showcase the breadth of the legislation. (By week’s end, Biden and six top officials will have traveled to 11 states to speak about the law.) There’s also an effort to tout personal success stories from Americans who have benefited from the IRA to demonstrate its impact without coming off as braggadocious.
Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), the number-three House Democrat, expressed a similar sentiment to Supercreator Daily last month.
“It’s not to praise us. It’s not to say, ‘Thank you for delivering that,’” he said. “It’s to say, ‘Trust us’ because when we get the majority again, those are the types of benefits that we’re going to help deliver for the American public.”
IRA REFRESHER • The Inflation Reduction Act is a narrowed and reconstructed version of Build Back Better, the legislative framework President Biden proposed after taking office to make the largest nationwide investment in social, infrastructure, and environmental programs since the 1930s New Deal following the Great Depression.
Leader Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) negotiated the scaled-back version of a bill in secret last summer and settled on a skinny agreement that surprised the entire Washington establishment when it was announced.
It invested $783 billion in climate provisions, expanded Obamacare subsidies for three years, empowered Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time, and increased funding for IRS modernization and tax enforcement on wealthy individuals and businesses.
The lawmakers paid for the bill the revenue generated from the Medicare prescription drug price reforms and a 15-percent corporate minimum tax rate for companies with $1 billion or more in annual income. The IRA also enacted a new tax on stock buybacks.
Politically, the IRA changed the outlook of the Biden presidency and helped Democrats stave off a red wave during the 2022 midterm elections. After Manchin tanked Build Back Better, there was little hope the party’s climate and tax priorities would be passed while they controlled the House and Senate. The angst feels like centuries ago one year later.
👋🏾 HI, HEY, HELLO! Good Wednesday morning. It’s August 16, 2023. Thank you for reading Supercreator Daily, your guide to the politicians, power brokers, and policies shaping the American creator experience. Get in touch: michael@supercreator.news.
IN THE KNOW
MAUI WILDFIRES • The death toll in the has risen above 100 people, according to Democratic Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii as federal officials work with coroners, pathologists, and technicians to identify victims and process remains.
“We are heartsick that we've had so much loss,” Green said.
President Biden said on Wednesday in Wisconsin that he and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will travel to Hawaii as soon as they can visit without disrupting the recovery efforts.
“Our prayers are with the people of Hawaii,” Biden added. “But not just our prayers. Every asset they need will be there for them. And we’ll be there for Maui as long as it takes.”
Chuck Schumer expressed his condolences to the Hawaii residents affected by the wildfires and said he had spoken to the state’s two Democratic senators, Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz.
He said he told the senators that he is fully supportive of the $12 billion the White House requested in supplemental funding for disaster relief last week and that he would do everything in his power to get it passed in the Senate.
“Whether it’s a hurricane in the south or east, flood in the midwest, wildfire in the west, Americans can’t fail to answer the call when our fellow Americans are suffering from disaster.”
GOVERNMENT FUNDING • Schumer also expressed support for a short-term continuing resolution to keep the government open into early December while the House and Senate work to pass the 12 funding bills for next fiscal year—a task that will take Congress beyond the Sep. 30 deadline.
This came a day after Speaker McCarthy told House Republicans he expected Congress would need to approve a stop-gap measure next month to prevent a government shutdown.
Schumer praised the Senate Appropriations Committee for reporting all 12 of its bills to the full Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support and urged the House to follow suit. The House funding bills have been passed with little to no Democratic support due to the divisive policy riders Republicans have attached to each bill.
“The only way we’re going to avoid a government shutdown is by bipartisan support in both houses. You cannot keep the government open if you just want to do it with one party. It just won’t work the way our government is structured,” Schumer said. “And so we hope that our House Republicans will realize that any funding resolution has to be bipartisan or they will risk shutting down the government.”
POST-ROE AMERICA • Matthew Kacsmaryk, the Trump-appointed Texas federal judge who suspended approval of the abortion pill mifepristone in April, heard arguments on Tuesday in a case against Planned Parenthood that seeks to force it to repay millions of dollars it received through Medicaid.
Planned Parenthood says the goal of the lawsuit is to shut down the organization and strip millions of people in Texas and beyond of critical health care like cancer screenings and birth control.
“This really is a meritless case that the judge should not let proceed any further,” Susan Manning, general counsel for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said during a brief press call with reporters, including your Supercreator Daily author. “The undisputed facts show that Planned Parenthood did not commit Medicaid fraud. Planned Parenthood organizations are nonprofit organizations that follow the law—period, full stop.”
The lawsuit—brought by the state of Texas and an anonymous plaintiff—alleges Planned Parenthood violated the False Claims Act, a federal law that imposes liability on individuals and companies who defraud government programs.
Manning said the court was deliberate in asking questions on all key issues of the case but Judge Kacsmaryk did not indicate when he would issue a ruling.
“And while this case never should have been brought in the first place or allowed to proceed, if it moves to trial, we’re confident that we will be fully vindicated and we look forward to making our arguments,” Manning said. “We are however hopeful that we will not have to get there and this case will be terminated now by the court as it should be.”
Further reading: The Texas Tribune, “Even after Planned Parenthood stopped performing abortions, Texas is still trying to shut it down” … AP News, “Texas wants Planned Parenthood to repay millions of dollars”
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE • The center-left New Democrat Coalition announced a 23-member working group on artificial intelligence to promote innovation and establish guardrails against the risks of the emerging technology.
The group will be led by Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) with Reps. Don Beyer (D-Va.), Jeff Jackson (D-N.C.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), Susie Lee (D-Nev.), and Haley Stevens (D-Mich.).
“We are already seeing how breakthroughs in this emerging technology present both great opportunities and challenges with potential disruptions for workers, for democracy, and for national security,” Kilmer said in a statement. “As AI’s expectations expand and change, it is incumbent on lawmakers to address its unique opportunities and challenges by creating a regulatory framework that both encourages growth while guarding against potential risks.”
New Dems hosted the Republican Governance Group at their weekly lunch last month in what a source familiar with the discussion said is part of an ongoing effort by the two groups to find areas of common ground in the closely divided House. Read the full announcement on the working group.
2024 CAMPAIGN • Two Democratic candidates for the Senate notched key endorsements on Tuesday.
Angela Alsobrooks, the county executive for Prince George’s County, received the backing of Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) in her campaign to replace retiring Sen. Ben Cardin as Maryland’s second senator.
Van Hollen said he’s supporting Alsobrooks because she will fight as hard every Marylander as she has for the people of PGC.
“I’ve witnessed firsthand the steady and stellar leadership of Angela Alsobrooks—in both good times and in very challenging times,” Van Hollen said in a statement. “Angela will always put Maryland’s hardworking families first and will be a partner for progress in the Senate.”
Alsobrooks has also been endorsed by Rep. Steny Hoyer, the former number-two House Democrat and the dean of the Maryland congressional delegation.
If elected, Alsobrooks would be just the third Black woman in the Senate.
In his bid to unseat Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas, Dallas Congressman Colin Allred got a vote of approval from his Fort Worth neighbor Rep. Marc Veasey.
In a statement, Veasey drew a contrast between Allred as a consensus-builder always looking to create common ground and Cruz as a divider who is unfit for the job.
“Ted Cruz has no interest in doing that hard work,” Veasey said. “He’d rather find things that divide us than work across the aisle to solve problems and make things better for the Texans we serve.”
The Democratic primary for Texas and Mar. 5, 2024, while the Maryland primaries will be held on May 14, 2024.
HAPPENINGS
All times Eastern
11 a.m. President Biden will receive his daily intelligence briefing in the Oval Office.
2:30 p.m. The president will speak on the anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act in the East Room.
Vice President Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff are in Los Angeles and have no public events scheduled.
The House is out.
The Senate is out.
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