Colorado Democrats joined President Joe Biden on the White House lawn Tuesday to celebrate the Inflation Reduction Act, a climate, health care and tax package passed last month on a part-line vote, even as Republicans trumpeted a fresh report that showed inflation remained higher than expected last month.

“Today offers proof that the soul of America is vibrant,” Biden told the crowd, which included lawmakers, cabinet members and activists who supported the $430 billion bill. The legislation includes funds to encourage adoption of clean energy technology, caps some pharmaceutical prices and establishes a minimum tax on large corporate, among other provisions.

Among the throngs of supporters who cheered the legislation was U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, the Colorado Democrat who played a crucial role in pushing the bill across the finish line. Fellow Colorado Democrats U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter were also on hand.

“We’re at the White House with a thousand of our closest friends, celebrating the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate rescue investment ever,” an ebullient Hickenlooper said in a video posted to Twitter from the event. “This historic achievement is going to accelerate our clean energy transition in more ways than I can count, ensuring the U.S. is a global leader in the climate fight, not to mention everything it’s going to do to lower drug costs and make our tax code fairer – a win for families everywhere.”

Added Hickenloper: “This is what a stronger, more resilient America looks like.”

Hickenlooper drew praise last month from fellow lawmakers and supporters of the legislation for helping keep key negotiators at the table and proposing a tax on corporate stock buy-backs to bridge a gap in the bill’s deficit reduction targets.

“For years, Coloradans have called on Washington to do something about the urgent threat of climate change and the outrageous cost of prescription drugs,” Bennet said on Twitter. “With the #InflationReductionAct we overcame the special interests and got it done.”

Bennet helped secure $4 billion for conservation measures to tackle the historic drought in the Colorado River basin and proposed the 15% minimum tax on corporations with profits over $1 billion, a crucial component of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Back in Colorado, Republicans mocked the bill’s title in the wake of a government report that “core” consumer prices in August were up 6.3% from a year earlier, increasing 0.6% from July, even as gas prices fell. The reported inflation rates were higher than expected, spurring worries that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates to tame inflation, risking a recession – sending stock prices tumbling.

“Price up, wages down,” said Colorado GOP chair Kristi Burton Brown in a written statement that took particular aim at Bennet and U.S. Reps. Jason Crow and Joe Neguse, all Colorado Democrats who are seeking reelection in November.

“That is the legacy of the Biden-Bennet economy. Today’s numbers prove once again that Joe Biden and Michael Bennet have failed Colorado families. Coloradans are now struggling with higher grocery costs, all while real wages have fallen every single month since Bennet, Crow, and Neguse helped pass the $1.9 trillion reckless spending package. With grocery prices INCREASING again this month, it’s time to admit that more costly spending isn’t the answer. In 56 days, Coloradans will send Republican leaders to DC who care about making life better for working families.”

Bennet’s Republican challenger, Joe O’Dea, a construction company owner, cited rising costs for groceries, rent and electricity in a statement that blamed the stimulus bill passed early last year by Democrats for fueling inflation.

On Twitter, O’Dea ripped the celebration his opponent attended.

“On the day Americans learned that our inflation crisis is deepening, Joe Biden and Michael Bennet are having a pep rally at the White House,” O’Dea said. “It’s arrogant. And it’s typical. Senator Bennet and Joe Biden are out-of-touch with the struggles of working people.”

Colorado Democratic Party chair Morgan Carroll praised the bill and its anticipated effects, noting in a press release that every Republican in Congress voted against it.

“It’s clear the Democrats from Colorado understand the needs of and care about their fellow Coloradans,” Carroll said. “While Republicans try to push forward unpopular culture war nonsense, Democrats are focused on real kitchen table issues and providing forward-thinking solutions.”