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THE HILL
August 8, 2023
By Alexander Bolton
Manchin hails anniversary of Inflation
Reduction Act after battling with Biden over law
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., chairman of the Senate
Energy and Natural Resources Committee, speaks to a colleague just
outside the chamber, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 13,
2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (D) on Tuesday hailed
the anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark law he
co-authored in secret negotiations with Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer (D-N.Y.) a year ago that then became a major point of
contention between Manchin and President Biden.
“The Inflation Reduction Act is one of the most historic pieces of
legislation passed in decades, and we are already seeing real results
in West Virginia,” Manchin said in a statement, claiming the law has
reduced the nation’s debt by $238 billion.
Manchin also praised the law for lowering the cost of prescription
drug prices for 400,000 West Virginians on Medicare, capping insulin
cost at $35 per month for seniors and funding for the Black Lung
Disability Trust Fund, which pays out benefits to miners suffering
from black lung disease.
The senior senator from West Virginia, who is up for reelection next
year, also touted the bill for advancing “our all-of-the-above energy
policy and innovation to strengthen our energy security” and argued it
would “ensure that Americans have reliable and affordable power for
years to come.”
He noted that West Virginia officials just celebrated the
groundbreaking for the Form Energy factory in Weirton and a BHE
Renewables manufacturing hub in Jackson County, projects he said would
create “hundreds of good-paying jobs.”
But Manchin also alluded to his battles with the Biden administration
over the implementation of the law, which frustrated the senator
earlier this year.
He threatened to vote to repeal the law in April because he thought
the administration wasn’t honoring its pledge to safeguard the
availability of cheap fossil fuels to meet the nation’s energy needs.
“They broke their word to the American public,” Manchin told Fox News
host Sean Hannity at the time. “This legislation was balanced. In the
next 10 years, we are going to have enough fossil fuel to run our
country and to help our allies around the world. We will also be
investing in new technology for the future.”
“Now, the Biden administration has disregarded this completely. This
was about energy security, and we have not heard a word about energy
security out of their mouths since it was passed. It’s all about the
environment,” he grumbled.
Manchin’s statement marking the
anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act declared he would continue
to battle the White House over its implementation.
“While I have and will continue to fight the Biden Administration’s
unrelenting efforts to manipulate the law to push their radical
climate agenda at the expense of both our energy and fiscal security,
I am also proud of the money it is saving hard-working families and
the economic opportunities it is bringing to communities in West
Virginia and across America,” he said.
Politico first reported Manchin’s statement.
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