Dear Neighbor,

The 117th Congress has been among the most productive in recent memory.

From the American Rescue Plan that pulled us out of the depths of the pandemic to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that makes the biggest investment in our infrastructure since the creation of the interstate highway system in 1956, we have done more in two years than many thought was possible.

Check out this summary of the historic legislation passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Biden, and click here for a full list.

MAJOR BILLS SIGNED INTO LAW

117th Congress

THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT is a transformative piece of legislation that:

• Slashes prescription drug costs: Empowers Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs for the first time ever; prevents Big Pharma's unjustified price hikes in Medicare; and creates a new out-of-pocket cap for Part D drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries of $2,000 a year – as well as a $35 per month cap on co-pays for insulin.
• Lowers the cost of health care:  Locks in lower health care premiums that save 13 million people an average of $800 a year by extending ACA enhanced subsidies for three more years.
• Lowers energy costs and delivers the largest-ever action to fight climate change:  Invests in domestic energy production and manufacturing; reduces carbon emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030; makes historic investments in energy security; and tackles the climate crisis.
• Reduces the deficit and inflation: Makes a historic down payment on deficit reduction to fight inflation.  According to 126 leading economists — including seven Nobel Prize winners, three former chairs of the Council of Economic Advisers, and two former Treasury Secretaries — this law “will fight inflation and lower costs for American families while setting the stage for strong, stable, and broadly-shared long-term economic growth.”

THE CHIPS AND SCIENCE ACT is a critically important bill that:

• Lowers costs for American consumers by making more critical semiconductor chip components here in America, helping to end the shortage of chips that have driven up the price of everything from cars to consumer goods. 
• Creates 100,000 new good-paying jobs by building hi-tech manufacturing facilities here in America.
• Ends our dangerous dependence on foreign manufacturers of chips
• Turbocharges American research and development, powering America’s preeminence in both basic research and next-generation technologies.

THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT provides an historic investment in improving our infrastructure. 

• This year alone, Virginia will receive more than $2 billion to invest in roads, bridges, public transit, ports, and airports and over $120 million for clean water.

THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT OF 2021 is a $1.9 trillion package designed to address the unprecedented health and economic crises brought about by the pandemic. Its provisions focused on crushing the coronavirus, returning children safely to classrooms, getting COVID-19 vaccines in American arms, putting dollars into families’ pockets, and putting people back to work.

• The legislation was a lifeline for our local governments, providing $222,894,638 for Fairfax County, $91,357,060 for Prince William County, and $29,585,521 for the City of Fairfax to recover from the pandemic and invest in our communities, including our brave first responders.

THE HONORING OUR PACT ACT OF 2022 expands VA health care and benefits for veterans who have been exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances.

THE BIPARTISAN SAFER COMMUNITIES ACT is the most significant piece of gun violence prevention legislation in nearly 30 years. From suicide and domestic violence to gun crimes in our cities and mass shootings, the bill creates commonsense gun safety regulations to address these problems from all angles. 

THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT REAUTHORIZATION includes key improvements to address gaps in current law, including making vital new investments in prevention, improving services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, and sexual assault, and working to better protect Native American women.

THE OCEAN SHIPPING REFORM ACT lowers costs for American consumers by cracking down on the exorbitant fees charged by international ocean shipping companies, which are then passed onto American consumers. The bill also cracks down on the ability of international shipping companies to refuse to take American exports back to Asia — leaving with empty containers instead.

THE POSTAL SERVICE REFORM ACT OF 2022 includes reforms that will put the Postal Service on a much stronger financial footing. For example, it eliminates the requirement that the Postal Service pre-fund retiree health benefits for all current and retired employers for 75 years in the future. This will save the Postal Service $27 billion over the next 10 years.  

THE ACCESS TO BABY FORMULA ACT helped to improve access to infant formula for vulnerable families who depend upon the WIC program during the infant formula shortage crisis.  Infant formula is essential to a baby’s early life and development. The shortage crisis was caused in February 2022 when Abbot Nutrition, the largest infant formula manufacturer in the country, initiated a voluntary recall of several lines of its infant formula due to concerns about bacterial infection at its Michigan facility, after four infants fell ill and two died.

THE EMMETT TILL ANTILYNCHING ACT explicitly designates lynching as a hate crime under federal law for the first time.  The bill is named in honor of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American youth from Chicago who was lynched while visiting an uncle in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of whistling at a white woman. Prior to this bill being signed, there was no federal law explicitly prohibiting lynching. The enactment of this bill corrected this historic injustice.  

THE ENDING IMPORTATION OF RUSSIAN OIL ACT was passed in response to Russia’s unprovoked and brutal invasion of Ukraine and ends all importation of energy products from Russia into the United States.  

THE SUSPENDING NORMAL TRADE RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA AND BELARUS ACT suspends normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus and authorizes the President to proclaim increases in the rates of duty applicable to products of Russia and Belarus.  

THE UKRAINE DEMOCRACY DEFENSE LEND-LEASE ACT is designed to bolster Ukraine’s war-fighting capabilities. The lend-lease bill significantly enhances lend-lease authorities available to President Biden. The bill ensures that shipments of urgently needed weapons systems, ammunition, and military assistance in other forms arrive in Ukrainian hands faster and more seamlessly.

THE ENDING FORCED ARBITRATION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT ACT allows sexual harassment and sexual assault survivors to elect to file a case in a court of law rather than be subject to forced arbitration provisions in cases involving sexual harassment or sexual assault, which deprive survivors of their rights.  

THE COVID-19 HATE CRIMES ACT focuses on the dramatic increase in hate crimes and violence against Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. It directs the DOJ to expedite review of COVID-19 hate crimes and authorizes grants for state and local governments to respond to and prevent hate crimes.

As we move forward in our fight to improve your quality of life and lower your cost of living, we can take pride in the tremendous work we accomplished over the past two years.

This Congress has made a real difference in the lives of the American people and in protecting the future of our planet. For that, we should be proud.