Hispanic Federation Applauds the Senate’s Passage of Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

The following statement is attributed to Frankie Miranda, President and CEO of Hispanic Federation.

WASHINGTON — Hispanic Federation congratulates Senate Democrats for passing the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, historic legislation that is critical for addressing the major challenges that Latino families and all Americans face in healthcare and climate. Hispanic Federation urges the House to swiftly pass the legislation and send it to President Biden for signature.

“We applaud Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Alex Padilla, Sen. Bob Menendez, and all our champions who fought tirelessly to negotiate and pass this landmark legislation that will not only enhance the well-being of Latinx communities, our families, and all Americans, but also put us on the right path to reach our climate goals and protect our planet, our children, and future generations. Moreover, the Senate passed this bill without any anti-immigrant amendments - a victory for all of us, especially our immigrant communities. This legislation will make a significant impact on people’s lives by making healthcare and lifesaving prescription drug prices more affordable for Latinx and all other communities, especially those who are struggling to make ends meet amid the pandemic and soaring prices. All while taking steps to have the richest corporations pay their fair share in taxes.

While we recognize this legislation required many compromises, it paves a path to transition to cleaner and renewable energy and climate equity. This bill includes a $60 billion investment to address environmental justice, including investments in underserved, heavily polluted, low-income communities, tribes, and territories like Puerto Rico. The bill also creates a new $7 billion EPA grant program to enable the deployment of residential solar in lower-income and environmental justice communities. The package also includes the extension and expansion of clean energy tax credits and makes them directly available to non-profit organizations. The bill further includes other meaningful investments that will significantly improve Latinx lives. Among them are provisions for clean air and transportation, drought response, toxic pollution cleanup, boosting development for clean and renewable energy, and offering tax credits for electric vehicles, which, all together, will reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2030. For Latinx communities, the passage of this bill is critical. Latinos are 165% more likely to live in heavily polluted areas, have been at the forefront of climate disasters and extreme weather events, and their children are twice as likely to die from asthma than non-Hispanic white children.

This is the largest, single federal investment in clean energy programs, which will also create more clean energy jobs for Latinx workers. Currently, the renewable energy sector employs the highest share of Latinx workers, and nearly a third of solar installer positions are composed of Latinx workers.

We are deeply disappointed that not a single Republican senator voted for this bill; many of them even actively pursued amendments to derail it. However, the Senate’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 proves that when allies are united, they can deliver and stand for communities of color and show that hate and discrimination have no place in our nation. We acknowledge that the bill is not perfect. More must be done to address systemic inequities in our communities, including additional investments in social safety-net programs like the Child Tax Credit and childcare. Also missing are supports for basic nutrition and healthcare for Puerto Rico and other territories like Medicaid and SSI. Hispanic Federation supports this landmark bill and is committed to continuing the fight for justice and equity for all our communities. We urge the House to swiftly pass the Inflation Reduction Act and send it to the president’s desk as soon as possible.”

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Hispanic Federation Applauds the Senate’s Passage of Inflation Reduction Act of 2022