5 former Treasury secretaries support $430 billion drug, energy bill

Five former U.S. Treasury secretaries -- four Democrats and one Republican -- supported a proposed $430 billion drug, energy and tax bill, saying it would reduce costs for middle-class families.

The statement from former secretary Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, Jacob Lew, Tim Geithner and Henry Paulson is a link to a letter from home.treasury. The gov system files 136 Inflation-Reduction Act-Letter to Congress 20220802.pdf sent by current Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to congressional leaders on Tuesday that the bill would not raise taxes for Americans earning less than $400,000.

Steven Mnuchin, the most recent former secretary, was not included in the statement, who had served in former president Donald Trump's Republican administration. Paulson, the lone Republican in the group, has championed environmental causes, including transition to clean energy.

The Joint Committee on Taxation Analysis of Distributional Effects found that the bill would break President Biden's pledge not to raise taxes on that level. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the bill known as the Senate.gov, shows that higher taxes paid by corporations would indirectly increase the burden of Americans with incomes of $200,000 or less in 2023, as a result of income reduction effects.

The bill was financed by prudent tax policy that will collect more money from top earners and large corporations, according to a statement issued by the former Treasury secretaries.

A family with less than $400,000 a year will not be affected by the taxes due or paid. They said that the additional taxes levied on corporations did not reflect increases in the corporate tax rate, but rather the reclaiming of revenue lost due to tax avoidance and provisions benefiting the most affluent.

The secretaries said the JCT analysis selectively presented distributional effects of the bill, but neglected to show its benefits to middle-class families from reduced prescription drug prices to more affordable energy.

This legislation will help increase American competitiveness, address our climate crisis, lower costs for families, and fight inflation, and will be passed immediately by Congress, the former secretaries said.

Summers last year was critical of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan COVID 19 relief package, arguing that it was excessive and would cause persistent inflation.

The proposed legislation would allow Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly and disabled to negotiate lower pharmaceutical prices because it would allow for new federal funding for a reduction in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change.

The bill would be financed by a new 15% domestic corporate minimum tax large companies with more than $1 billion in book income, while closing credits and deductions benefiting wealthy Americans.