Richmond, Va. — After the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the U.S. Senate, Virginia Organizing Chairperson Ladelle McWhorter released the following statement:
“At Virginia Organizing, we are celebrating the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the U.S. Senate as an important step forward on health care, taxes, and climate justice. We also recognize the shortcomings of this compromise legislation and are extremely concerned about the backroom horse trading that could fast-track the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
“We organize for affordable health care for all, and this bill allows Medicare to negotiate lower prices for medications, which will benefit all of us. The IRA also prevents a premium spike in prices for ACA enrollees. And that’s not all. We have been calling for tax reform for decades, and this bill would finally make billionaires and large corporations pay fairer taxes. We would like to thank Senator Mark Warner and Senator Tim Kaine for supporting this historic legislation.
“We were disappointed that the bill failed to close the Medicaid coverage gap for the two million people in the United States who still lack any health care. After our years-long fight to expand Medicaid in Virginia, Virginia Organizing knows how important that program is to families everywhere. We are also very concerned about the new oil and gas leasing the bill mandates. New drilling on public lands is only going to slow our progress in eliminating fossil fuels and cause more harm to communities most affected by climate change.
“Most of all we stand against the reported promise that the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) will be approved and other fossil fuel infrastructure projects will receive an easier permitting process in a future bill. As many of our friends fighting the MVP have said, Southwest Virginia is not a sacrifice zone. We will work to stop any legislation that makes it easier to harm us, and we call on Senators Warner and Kaine—and all of our representatives—to make their positions clear and oppose such harmful, backward legislation.”
For more information or to interview a spokesperson for Virginia Organizing, please contact Rosemary Gould at 434-962-7261 or rosemary@virginia-organizing.org.
