Washington, D.C. – Legislation authored by Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., passed the Senate as part of the historic Inflation Reduction Act.  

The linchpin of the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy package is Wyden’s Clean Energy for America Act, first introduced in 2015, which reforms the energy tax code to incentivize emissions reductions rather than specific technologies. 

The Clean Energy for America Act would reduce carbon emissions in the power sector by about 70 percent over the next decade, and is the main driver of the overall 40 percent reduction in emissions achieved by the Inflation Reduction Act.

“This historic clean energy package has been a decade in the making. When clean energy legislation failed in 2010, we regrouped to ensure success the next time Democrats had an opportunity,” said Wyden. “We turned to emissions-based, technology-neutral tax incentives, and spent nearly a decade preparing this bill. My lodestar has been achieving the greatest emissions and cost-savings possible with 50 votes. That’s why the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax package is about 90 percent of the Clean Energy for America Act that the Senate Finance Committee approved in May 2021. We built the support needed over time. 

Wyden continued, “This bill will reduce energy costs, secure our energy independence, and drastically cut carbon emissions. For the first time, the tax code is going to reward emissions reductions, and encourage the development of new clean energy technologies as soon as they come online. No longer will Congress need to legislate technology by technology, making it easier to innovate and bring new technologies to market. Importantly, this is permanent energy policy. Congress will no longer need to extend these incentives every few years, giving companies and states certainty to plan clean energy projects and create jobs. This is among the most consequential bills of my service in the Senate.”

On health care, the Inflation Reduction Act includes the culmination of Wyden’s work on the Finance Committee to address the high cost of prescription drugs.

The bill would finally allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, particularly for the most expensive drugs that have no competition after being on the market for years. The bill also includes an inflation rebate that limits Big Pharma’s ability to price gouge year after year, and it creates strong protections for seniors including a $2,000 per year out-of-pocket cap.

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