It was disappointing to find out that Congressman Bentz failed to vote for the Inflation Reduction Act. It’s inconceivable that a bill benefiting all of us in Eastern Oregon and rural residents across the country received no votes from nearly half the members of Congress. It may be difficult to go against the party line, but that bill is all about the power of the U.S. to carry out the sort of policy that has gotten the country where it is today. Endless attacks against government, many conducted as a way to avoid paying taxes, have deceived us about how we got here.

The Inflation Reduction Act is filled with incentives that will have business booming across the country. This is how we developed our economy in the past, with government incentivizing entrepreneurs to move in new directions. There are endless examples, from Boeing to Tesla and coronavirus vaccine developers Moderna and Pfizer and many more. Biotechnology, information technology, nanotech, silicon manufacturing for solar panels — those and countless other innovations were built on government money. Apple’s products include memory, screen technology, GPS, batteries, networks and many other ideas and inventions funded by federal dollars.

Farm owners, farmworkers, small business, tourism, recreation, electric co-ops, consumers who need medicine, and many more will benefit. To give just one example, those of any income who want to add heat pumps will be be able to get direct payments or tax credits to do that, up to $8,000 worth. Why is that valuable? Because those devices heat and cool and they do so without needing fossil fuels. They will greatly reduce heating bills, saving money while keeping heat-trapping carbon emissions out of the atmosphere.

The Inflation Reduction Act pays for itself in a hundred ways, including by taxing the corporations who have long avoided paying their fair share for being here. As chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Ron Wyden and his expert staff were instrumental in crafting the bill and its budget provisions. All the other Oregon representatives voted for it. It’s a shame that our very own member of Congress didn’t.

Norm Cimon

La Grande