While We Were Away: Summer Summary

The summer of 2022 was eventful in the world of politics and in general in the United States of America. This is just a quick summary of the events that took place over the summer that you may have missed.

June 30

Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice. She is the first black woman to be sworn in as a Justice in the history of the United States. Jackson had previously served on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She replaced previous Court Justice, Stephen Breyer, who retired earlier this year with a close vote of 53-47.

July 29

The House of Representatives voted on a bill (HR 1808) to ban assault-style weapons. The vote was very narrow with a four-point difference of 217-213. The bill is now being sent to the Senate, where it is expected that it will not pass through. The bill would end up needing 60 votes to pass a filibuster, which is predicted will not be achieved. Currently, the date of the Senate discussion is unknown.

August 7

The Senate passed a bill called the Inflation Reduction Act, which will lower the cost of prescription drugs by allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of drugs. The act also focuses on greatly reducing carbon emissions greatly. By 2030, there will be an increase in the number of solar panels, wind turbines, and other clean energy sources in the United States. There will also be a 15% minimum tax when it comes to large corporations. Companies who were not paying their taxes before will have to now. Those who are not making less than $400k a year will not see an increase in their taxes. Ultimately, the bill will decrease the country's national debt. It is predicted that by the end of this year, our debt will fall by $1.5 trillion.

August 23

Dr. Anthony Fauci is stepping down from the many positions he holds, including Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, and Chief Medical Advisor to the United States President of the United States. He is expected to leave all of these positions in December, but announced it to the public this August. Fauci has been the United States Medical Advisor over many epidemics and pandemics, such as the HIV/AIDS crisis, Ebola, Zika, and most famously the Coronavirus pandemic. It is currently unknown who will be his replacement.

August 26

The state of California will no longer be selling gas cars by the year 2035. This is not to say gasoline cars will be permanently banned, they will only be prevented from being sold in the state. Officials state that the state's carbon emissions and air pollution will decrease. This does not completely exclude hybrid vehicles, however. As long as the battery range of the electric part is over 50 miles, it is able to be sold. Thirteen other states are said to also enact this law, one of those states being New York. This also plays a part in the New Inflation Reduction Act which has a goal of lowering emissions and improving the state of the climate and pollution.