Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act: Not Actually About Inflation.

President‌ Joe Biden this week ⁢admitted that his signature Inflation Reduction Act was not actually aimed at⁢ reducing inflation. In fact, he expressed regret over its name, wishing he had given it a different one.

“I wish I​ hadn’t called it that because ⁣it has less to do with inflation than it has to do with providing alternatives that generate ⁤economic growth,” Biden said at a Utah fundraiser on Thursday, according to a ⁣White House pool report.

Biden signed the approximately $1.2 trillion act last year, which primarily focused on massive climate spending. However, both ⁤the Congressional Budget Office and Biden’s favorite economist acknowledged at the time that the legislation would have little impact on inflation.

During a visit to New Mexico⁢ on ‍Tuesday, Biden reiterated his stance, ‍stating that the ⁢act has “nothing” to do with inflation.

“We’ve put ourselves in a position where we passed the most comprehensive environmental piece of legislation—it’s called the Inflation Reduction Act. It’s within that.⁢ It⁣ has nothing to do​ with inflation; it has to do with the ⁢… $368 billion, the single-largest investment ​in climate ‍change anywhere in the world,” Biden said.

These recent comments sharply contrast with past remarks made by the president about the legislation.

In July 2022, Biden referred to it as “the strongest bill you can pass to lower⁣ inflation.” Two ⁢months later, during a White ⁢House event, he called it “the single most important legislation passed in this Congress to combat inflation and one of the most significant laws in our nation’s history.”

Other Democrats also praised the bill. Then-Senate majority ⁣leader Chuck Schumer claimed that “it reduces inflation” and “lowers their costs.”

West Virginia senator Joe Manchin, considered the “chief architect” of the bill, defended ‌his support for it ⁢last⁢ year, ⁣calling it a “great bill” that ​was “about the American people” and would fight inflation, the “greatest ‍threat.”

When economists raised doubts about the⁣ bill’s impact on inflation, Manchin responded, “Maybe they’re wrong.”

However, ⁤Manchin, potentially facing a challenging reelection campaign, has since distanced⁣ himself from the legislation, ⁢criticizing Biden for attempting to “liberalize” it.