Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Historic Investments Across The Country Made Possible By The Inflation Reduction Act

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor regarding Democrats’ efforts during the August state work period to advance the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

It is good to be back. Leader McConnell will speak after me here on the floor and I am glad to see him back and doing well.

Let me begin by welcoming Senators back from the August work period. August was a busy month for all of us back home, a time to listen to constituents about what’s on their minds – like lowering costs and increasing paychecks.

It was also a time for ribbon cuttings, groundbreakings, as the historic investments that Democrats made come to fruition.

And of course, it was a time to prepare for the very busy month in front of us.

On the implementation side, August was a month of action, of groundbreakings, of celebrating new factories and new good-paying jobs that will stick around for a long, long time. When a parent sees his or her son or daughter get these jobs, they know they’re going to be around for a long time, not going to be gone in two, three years. It’s a great thing for optimism and the future of America.

It was even nice to see Speaker McCarthy in my home state of New York, celebrating the new jobs secured by Democrats when he visited JMA Wireless last month.

I’ve been there many times too. In fact, it was from my own visits there – and to other companies across New York – that I saw firsthand the opportunity to invest in companies like JMA, by Buy-In-America provisions that we added to legislation, and it helped me shape the Inflation Reduction Act.

As the Speaker saw with his own eyes, Democrats’ investments are already bearing fruit.

In just one year, the Inflation Reduction Act alone has resulted in over 200 new clean energy projects and created over 170,000 new, good-paying jobs. And it’s projected to create another 1.5 million jobs over the next decade.

Pick any region of the country and you’ll have no trouble seeing Democrats’ agenda in action.

One of the amazing visits I went to was in Allegany County in Upstate New York, it’s in Appalachia. By income levels, it’s one of the poorest counties in our state. And there, the Inflation Reduction Act is blowing new life into Ljungström –  this was a company that used to make coal technology equipment and has transitioned to making parts for wind turbines. All in a place where people thought they didn’t have much of a history because they knew the coal industry was declining. It’s happened all over America.

In Georgia, Hyundai and LG announced they’re increasing their multi-billion dollar investment towards a major EV and battery manufacturing plant, one that will be the state’s largest project ever, creating thousands of good paying jobs in years to come.

And in New Mexico, Arcosa broke ground on a new wind tower production facility expected to create 250 new jobs. These jobs will help fill the over-$1 billion worth of wind tower orders they have received since President Biden signed the IRA law.

These investments – and many others – are supporting the whole of America: red and blue states, rural and urban, everyone, everywhere. And you can be sure the best is yet to come.

Last month, we saw other examples of implementation too. Over the past few weeks, President Biden made groundbreaking announcements on lowering the costs of prescription drugs, on prevailing wage, and more. Many of these are a direct result of the work that we have done in the Congress.

So, Democrats are very proud of the agenda now taking hold across America, and we intend to keep going.

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