Washington, D.C. (August 7, 2022) – Terry O’Sullivan, General President of LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America – made the following statement today:

President Biden and Congressional Democrats made historic progress fighting inflation and lowering costs for the American people with the Senate passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which will tackle inflation and lower costs for working men and women while improving energy security.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will help reduce inflation by paying down our national debt, lowering energy costs and lowering healthcare costs. This is medicine working families desperately need to put food on the table.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 tackles climate change while also taking a commonsense approach to our energy needs rather than setting unrealistic goals for an abrupt energy transition. The legislation invests in efficiency and innovation for all fuel types – from hydrogen, nuclear, renewables, fossil fuels to energy storage, and with inclusion of Davis Bacon and apprenticeship language which is important in ensuring that the jobs created are good union jobs. LIUNA members, who are on the frontlines of the energy industry, strongly support the proposed incentives for jobs-creating clean energy development.

The Inflation Reduction Act will also lower the staggering cost of prescription drugs to millions of Americans under Medicare. LIUNA is very disappointed that the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that critical prescription drug rebates only apply to Medicare and not also to our private, non-profit health plans. LIUNA calls on Congress and the Biden Administration to act to prevent any resulting price spikes to our union health plans.

With passage in the U.S. House expected shortly, LIUNA is grateful to Congressional Democrats and the White House for their leadership on this legislation and we look forward to working with the Administration as we build our nation’s infrastructure.

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The half-million members of LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America – are on the forefront of the construction industry, a powerhouse of workers who are proud to build the United States and Canada.