ICYMI: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Senior Advisor John Podesta Celebrate One Year Anniversary of the Landmark Inflation Reduction Act

One year after President Biden signed the transformative Inflation Reduction Act into law, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Senior Advisor John Podesta each wrote op-eds describing our progress taking historic climate action, investing in America, create good-paying union jobs, reducing energy and health care costs for families, and making the tax code fairer.

Senior Advisor Podesta writes, "For decades, scientists and advocates have called on Washington to lead on climate. Meanwhile, the world has gotten hotter, and Americans are coping with the consequences with this summer's extreme weather—heat, smoke, fires, and floods. We've watched in horror as Maui experienced the deadliest U.S. fire in over a century. But thanks to President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Democrats in Congress, America is leading again by making the largest investment in clean energy and climate action in world history."

As Secretary Yellen puts it, "When I gave my first major climate speech in the late 1990s, many still regarded the effects of climate change to be abstract and remote. No longer. …The Inflation Reduction Act is a turning point in the national effort to preserve the planet and to shape a prosperous, inclusive and resilient economic future."

Today, President Biden will recognize the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act Reduction Act during an event at the White House surrounded by individuals benefitting from the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act – union workers, farmers, business owners, and individuals whose health care and energy costs are lower.

Read full opinion pieces below:

MSNBC: One Year In, The Inflation Reduction Act is Working
That's what Bidenomics — investing in America and rebuilding our economy from the middle out and bottom up — is all about.
[John Podesta, 8/15/23]

Today, the most significant climate and clean energy legislation in history—the Inflation Reduction Act—turns one year old. And America has a lot to celebrate.

For decades, scientists and advocates have called on Washington to lead on climate. Meanwhile, the world has gotten hotter, and Americans are coping with the consequences with this summer's extreme weather—heat, smoke, fires, and floods. We've watched in horror as Maui experienced the deadliest U.S. fire in over a century. But thanks to President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Democrats in Congress, America is leading again by making the largest investment in clean energy and climate action in world history.

How did that happen? We stopped asking the question of what do we need to shut down to tackle the climate crisis, and started asking what do we need to build—from wind turbines and solar panels to electric vehicles and battery factories to new industries like green hydrogen and low-carbon steel. And we made sure these new industries are built here in America, with American workers. One year in, the law is working – putting President Biden's ambitious climate goals within reach, sparking a clean energy boom, and creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs.

A new report from the Department of Energy, released today, finds that because of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the United States could generate 80% of our electricity from clean sources by 2030. We're on track to meet or exceed President Biden's goal of making half of new car sales electric in the same timeframe. And thanks to these laws, we're on a path to achieve President Biden's goal of cutting our overall carbon pollution in half by 2030.

The Inflation Reduction Act is accomplishing this with a government-enabled, but private sector-led approach. Its clean energy tax credits have already unleashed more than $110 billion in new clean energy manufacturing investments from the private sector in the past year.
We've seen a boom in domestic manufacturing. At a factory in South Carolina, Enphase is now producing its solar microinverters—a crucial component of solar panels—here in America for the first time. Last week, President Biden visited a former Solo cups factory in New Mexico that is now breaking ground as an Arcosa onshore wind tower manufacturing facility – and the company is contracting with union labor for construction. Batteries for electric vehicles are being built in a new "battery belt" stretching from Georgia to Michigan.

The law doesn't just affect what we build, but how we build it. The Inflation Reduction Act contains incentives to invest in workers and underserved communities with bonus credits for companies that pay prevailing wage and use registered apprentices, use materials produced here in America, and locate clean energy projects in low-income communities and energy communities.

All of this new activity means new jobs and new economic opportunity in states across the country—over 170,000 jobs already and more than 1.5 million additional jobs over the next decade, according to external analysts. At the same time, we're boosting our energy security and lowering costs by making more of our energy here in America—and it's building healthier, more resilient communities by cutting pollution. That's what Bidenomics—Investing in America and rebuilding our economy from the middle out and bottom up—is all about.

The President understands that clean energy won't just save our planet—it lowers energy costs for hard-working families, creates good-paying, union jobs, and brings competitive industries back to our shores.

Years from now, when we look back on the legacy of the Inflation Reduction Act, our implementation work will be judged by the tremendous impact this law has had on every American in every community.

It's rare that one piece of legislation can change the course of history, but this law may well be the turning point in America's fight to save the planet.

Wall Street Journal: Opinion: A Prosperous Year for the Inflation Reduction Act
The demand for electric cars has spurred a 'battery belt' of new factories in the Midwest and South.
[Secretary Janet L. Yellen, 8/15/23]

When I gave my first major climate speech in the late 1990s, many still regarded the effects of climate change to be abstract and remote. No longer. Today, no one can ignore the mounting evidence of climate change's destabilizing effect on our planet and on our way of life.

Americans are witnessing it firsthand this summer. From Phoenix to Miami, the past few months have featured extreme heat. Major parts of the country have been shrouded in smoke from wildfires abroad, while others are experiencing floods and droughts.

These phenomena have a serious economic cost, both in lost productive capacity and in their potential long-term threat to macroeconomic stability.

One year ago, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. It's the boldest climate action in the nation's history—one that pushes us toward a net-zero economy by 2050. Over time, the Inflation Reduction Act will drive down the cost of clean energy technologies, which will boost their adoption and reduce emissions globally.

The law is also designed to advance two other goals: economic opportunity and resilience. It's already delivering on both fronts.

Building a clean-energy economy is among the biggest economic transformations of our lifetimes. Global investment in clean energy has reached more than $1 trillion a year. For too long, the U.S. lacked a concerted strategy to lead the development of low-carbon technologies and other industries of the future. With the Inflation Reduction Act, we are delivering on what I call "modern supply-side" economics: a policy framework that animates much of Bidenomics. It includes government investment to mobilize private capital, spurring economic growth and helping the U.S. reach its climate goals.

Since the Inflation Reduction Act's passage, we've begun providing the long-term certainty that businesses need to invest at scale. With expanded demand- and supply-side tax incentives, companies in the clean-energy industry are finding an even greater commercial case to invest in the U.S., creating high-quality, well-paying American jobs. The Inflation Reduction Act is helping power a boom in U.S. factory construction spending, which has doubled in real terms since the end of 2021. Since President Biden took office, companies have committed more than $500 billion in investments in clean energy and manufacturing.

I am seeing these green shoots emerge around the country. In Las Vegas this week, I spoke with members of an electrical workers union that has called the Inflation Reduction Act a "historic win." The law requires companies to pay prevailing wages and abide by apprenticeship requirements to reap the full value of many of its incentives. The law promotes investment in low-income communities and those historically dependent on fossil-fuel jobs and revenue. As one example of the law's early impact, commentators are now dubbing the Midwest and the South as the new "Battery Belt" because of the rise in electric-vehicle battery factories there.

Expanding economic opportunity isn't only morally right—it's also good economics. Research has shown that investments in underserved communities can deliver a bigger bang for the buck. That means that taxpayer resources are spent more productively and the benefits to the overall economy are magnified.

The Inflation Reduction Act is also strengthening our economic resilience. While oil prices have declined significantly in the past year, their spike after Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine caused significant hardship for many families. Building a clean-energy economy means reducing U.S. dependence on fossil fuels and exposure to the autocratic regimes that control them, providing greater certainty for families and businesses on their energy costs. The Inflation Reduction Act aims to make this transition easier for households through cost savings on electric vehicles, heat pumps and other energy-efficient appliances.

But our strategy is more ambitious than that. Advancing U.S. energy security also means reducing the risks of overconcentration in our critical clean-energy supply chains, which create potential choke points and heighten the likelihood of disruption. The Inflation Reduction Act's two-pronged approach begins with building up our industrial base, while also encouraging companies to work with trusted trading partners on secure global supply chains for clean-energy inputs and products. In the past year, we have begun establishing formal mechanisms to facilitate these efforts.

The Inflation Reduction Act is a turning point in the national effort to preserve the planet and to shape a prosperous, inclusive and resilient economic future.