The activity on the Senate side of Capitol Hill has been steady throughout the day. In just a moment, we will hear from a Republican senator about a spending plan for semiconductors that includes more than fifty billion dollars.
But first, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia made an announcement this evening about a new budget package that would include some of the climate money that Manchin had previously pushed for.
Recent negotiations resulted in a compromise between the two parties on a scaled-back proposal with a primary emphasis on cost-cutting measures for medical care.
Kelsey Snell, a legislative journalist for NPR, has been sifting through the details of this agreement, and she joins us now to discuss them. Good to see you.
KELSEY SNELL, BYLINE: Good day to you.
SUMMERS: Okay, Kelsey, so explain to us exactly what the terms of this new arrangement are.
SNELL: All right, let’s get started with the most important things, and one of those is the approximately $370 billion that will go toward energy security and climate change.
In addition, these activities would continue for the following decade. In addition, there is $65 billion allocated to continue certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act through the year 2025.
They are also pairing that with more than $300 billion in deficit reduction, which has been a really critical element for Manchin.
Manchin has refused to go along with other proposals due to the fear that additional spending will stoke inflation that is already at record-breaking levels in the country.
The deficit reduction has been a really critical element for Manchin. They intend to achieve this deficit reduction by imposing a minimum tax on corporations of 15 per cent, which, according to their estimates, will generate approximately 313 billion dollars.
In addition, they seek to increase the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) enforcement efforts and have new tax reforms for carried interest.
In other words, all of this is in addition to the initiatives that have already been announced to give Medicare the ability to negotiate the pricing of prescription pharmaceuticals.
This is indeed a far cry from the trillions of dollars they previously intended to spend on a plan that would have covered child care and education, but it’s also true that this is more than many Democrats anticipated receiving.
SUMMERS: OK. Kelsey, Senators Schumer and Manchin have been going back and forth with each other on this issue for the past few months. How was it that we were able to reach this decision so quickly?
SNELL: Well, it’s a little bit of theatrical, maybe a little bit of politics, and definitely a lot of pressure related to the upcoming midterm elections.
Therefore, the public was made aware of this deal only a few hours after the Senate had voted to adopt that crucial semiconductor measure you mentioned.
And the Republicans had pledged that they would oppose the package so long as the Democrats continued their efforts to enact a more comprehensive political bill on climate change and taxes.
Now that the bill regulating semiconductors has been passed, Republicans have absolutely little leverage over Democrats, and as a result, they were allowed to proceed with their plans.
In the run-up to the midterm elections, the Democrats are also about to enter an extremely crucial moment.
This upcoming August recess, which is something that happens every year – Congress always leaves for a month in August – this year, it is all about campaigning and making a pitch to voters that Democrats not only need to stay in power, but they need to gain seats in the Senate.
This is a change from previous years when the August recess was used for other purposes.
And this is a bill that could do a lot to help to overcome a lot of sceptics who question that Democrats haven’t done much of anything during the time that they’ve had control of the House and the Senate.
This is a bill that could do a lot to help to overcome a lot of sceptics who question that Democrats haven’t done much of anything during the time that Therefore, this is the reason why they want to vote on it the following week.
They want to send Democrats back to their districts with news of recent victories and the assurance that this is merely the first step toward more ambitious goals, but this is contingent on the participation of voters.
SUMMERS: I do not believe that moving quickly is something that the Senate does very frequently.
SNELL: (Laughter).
SUMMARIES: Is it even possible to do that?
SNELL: When they say next week, they may mean the very end of the following week or even the weekend, but that is the objective that they have set for themselves.
You should know that the next step is to go through the process of vetting the proposals with the Senate parliamentarian.
This individual will decide whether or not the bills fit into the really strict rules for budget reconciliation, which is the system that enables Democrats to pass the bill without the threat of a Republican filibuster.
After then, there is a drawn-out voting procedure, and everything hangs in the balance on whether or not the plan has the backing of all Democrats, which is something that isn’t really known as of yet.
The bill must also win approval from the House of Representatives before it can be sent to Vice President Joe Biden for his signature.
However, we do know that Vice President Biden is on board with the agreement, which will put a lot of pressure on Democrats to fall in line.
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SUMMERS: Okay, we’ll keep an eye out for more developments. NPR’s Kelsey Snell. Thank you.
SNELL: Thanks for having me.
