The Senate is considering the Inflation Reduction Act, a bill that will address several urgent challenges our country faces. This legislation represents a landmark opportunity to set the United States on a better path for our children and grandchildren.
The Episcopal Church’s public policy priorities are rooted in our firm commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which calls us to place before our lawmakers the needs and concerns of the most vulnerable people in our society. We support policies that reduce poverty, promote fairness, and care for God’s creation. It is our judgment that the Inflation Reduction Act will do all three.
The Episcopal Church’s General Convention has repeatedly urged the federal government to address income and wealth inequality by constructing a fairer tax system. The tax provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act accomplish this by reforming several longstanding inequities in the tax code that allow the richest among us to avoid paying taxes. The Episcopal Church also strongly supports urgent action on climate change, as well as efforts to provide quality, affordable healthcare to all Americans. These priorities are all addressed in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Our faith commitment compels us to keep before the minds of lawmakers the poor, the needy, and the most vulnerable, as Christ calls us to do. In that vein, there are several urgent priorities not included in the Inflation Reduction Act we commend to you, chief among them the necessity of expanding Medicaid in the holdout states. While the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act are undoubtedly good, much more should be done to address our nation’s gaps in health care coverage.
The American people need Congress to take the baton of leadership on these, and many other issues. The Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations supports the Inflation Reduction Act and urges Congress to swiftly pass this legislation.