Republican Zach Nunn says Inflation Reduction Act won’t help Iowans

Republican congressional candidate Zach Nunn said Saturday the Inflation Reduction Act passed Friday will hurt Iowans and small businesses.

Nunn, a state senator running against U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne in Iowa’s 3rd District, spoke at the Register’s Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair.

He introduced his wife and four of his six children to a group of more than 60 gathered for his Soapbox speech. His said his experience raising kids in Iowa has shown him that Democrat-backed policies like the Inflation Reduction Act do not help families like his.

“It’s not a good time to be an Iowan and a small business owner,” Nunn said.

The $740 billion spending bill includes measures like hiring more IRS agents, lowering pharmaceutical costs and creating incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles. Nunn said these investments increase government spending, but do not help reduce everyday costs for Iowans.

All of the Republicans in Iowa’s congressional delegation voted against the measure, while Axne voted for it. The incumbent Democrat praised the bill when it passed, saying it will help Iowans navigate the rising costs of living.

“I voted today to level the playing field for Iowans by lowering the costs for things Iowans need and use every day like prescription drugs and electricity while ensuring billionaire corporations are paying their fair share in taxes,” Axne said in a statement Friday.

While Democrats argued the bill will increase costs only on the wealthy, Nunn said the burden would fall on average-income Americans. He shared a story of meeting with a small business owner Friday, who told Nunn he had to spend $50,000 in the process of being audited by the IRS.

Nunn said he would take his Iowa Statehouse experience to Washington, D.C., to offer an alternative to legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act. Iowa’s economy recovered quickly following the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, in large part due to state tax cuts. The national economy could recover with that same policy agenda, he said.

The tax cuts approved by the Iowa Legislature this year do not take effect until 2023.

“What we need to do is take what has worked so well here in Iowa, and give it back,” Nunn said. “Give back your tax money and watch what happens with the economy, just like here in Iowa.”