PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Investing in the environment: the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act were both recently signed into law by President Joe Biden, and on Wednesday Portsmouth's mayor and other local lawmakers came together to talk about the positive impact they expect will come from these new laws.
Mayor Shannon Glover was joined by Delegates Nadarius Clark and Jackie Glass, as well as business and community advocates.
The new laws are expected to cut costs for Virginia families, create jobs, and reduce the threat of coastal flooding.
"It will lower energy costs for Portsmouth families," Glover said of the IRA. "It will slash climate pollution by roughly 40% nationwide while creating nearly 5 million clean-energy jobs over the next 10 years."
Clark said the IRA will do more than just fight climate change.
"Even at the local level for the everyday person, everyone can benefit from the IRA, because it can help with your businesses, it can help with home improvement. We're giving tax credits out to help with those modifications in your home. They're helping with tuition," Clark said.
These investments are expected to help the Biden Administration reach its goal of cutting climate pollution by 50% by 2030.