ARIZONA NEWS
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego attends signing of the Inflation Reduction Act
Sep 14, 2022, 4:45 AM | Updated: 7:34 am
(Kate Gallego Photo)
(Kate Gallego Photo)
PHOENIX — Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego attended the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act in D.C. with President Joe Biden on Tuesday, calling the ceremony a momentous occasion.
“I felt like I had a chance to witness history. This is such an important piece of legislation for health care, for climate change, for affordable housing. So many people worked for years to be able to put this together and I got chills as I was there,” Gallego said.
This comes as new reports show the metro Phoenix area is leading the nation in inflation.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer prices increased 8.3% nationwide within the past year, while the metro Phoenix area saw a 13% increase.
In an exclusive interview, Mayor Gallego told KTAR News 92.3 FM the legislation will help Arizonans cut down on a variety of expenses like medical and energy costs.
“For the first time ever, Medicare will be able to negotiate for prescription drug prices. I’m very excited for the seniors on Medicare to have a cap on insulin,” she said.
“If you’re getting an electric vehicle even if it’s used there’s a tax credit to reduce those costs.”
Some of the money in the bill will go toward drought relief and Gallego hopes a good portion of it will be sent to cities to build technology that will use water more efficiently.
“One of the things that is very much on my mind is our water supply. Making sure we have good clean affordable water is key to everything from housing just to daily life,” Gallego said.
Gallego added the legislation will allow the city of Phoenix to pursue funds for affordable housing with low-energy builds.
When it comes to lowering inflation at the local level, Gallego explained she believes it’s driven by the housing market.
“My fellow cities and I have worked together, and we have more than 200,000 units of housing that are zoned, but not built,” Gallego said.
Gallego said the city is also aggressively pursuing programs to get more housing built and get residents moved into that housing to help lower inflation.
