President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party achieved a big victory on Friday when the House of Representatives voted to pass a $750 billion health care, energy, and environment measure.
Party lines determined the final vote, which was 220-207. Only four Republicans cast ballots.
The bill will now go to Biden for his signature after passing the Democratic-controlled House.
For Democrats, the bill’s successful approval represents a significant victory and an opportunity to advance long-desired political goals in advance of the 2019 midterm elections.
It comes at a crucial moment when Democrats are battling to maintain control of slim majorities in Congress.
Here is a breakdown of the articles that received the most comments throughout the past week.
The expansive legislation, officially known as the Inflation Reduction Act, would extend expired health care subsidies for three years in addition to making significant changes to health policy.
It would be the greatest investment in climate change in US history. The proposed law would increase revenue for the Internal Revenue Service, lower the deficit, and pay for itself through additional taxes, including a 1% tax on stock buybacks and a minimum 15% tax on major firms.
It would generate more than $700 billion in government income over ten years, spend more than $430 billion on reducing carbon emissions and extending subsidies for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, and utilize the remaining funds to lower the deficit.
Acting After the Bill Was Approved by Senate Democrats
The bill was taken up by the House after the Senate passed it after a long night of heated amendment votes.
On a party-line vote of 51–50 in favour of the measure in the Senate, Vice President Kamala Harris broke the deadlock.
In the end, Senate Democrats, who have a slim 50-seat majority, remained together to pass the bill. Reconciliation was a special, filibuster-proof procedure that was utilized to pass the bill without Republican votes.
For Senate Democrats, who had long aspired to pass a landmark legislation package but had fought for months to come to an agreement that had the backing of their entire caucus, the bill’s passage in the chamber was a significant victory.
Sen. Joe Manchin was instrumental in drafting the measure, which only advanced after the West Virginia Democrat and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer revealed an agreement at the end of July. This announcement marked a significant Democratic victory after earlier negotiations had stalled.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat from Arizona, was at the core of the push to approve the bill, and she, Sen. Joe Manchin, and other senators worked all weekend to make changes.
The Senate passed the measure during a protracted round of amendment votes, or “vote-a-Rama,” that lasted for about 16 hours from late Saturday night to early Sunday.
Republicans used the weekend “vote-a-Rama” to pressure Democrats and compel contentious votes. They also succeeded in getting a crucial clause that would have limited the cost of insulin to $35 per month in the private insurance market removed because, according to the Senate parliamentarian, it did not adhere to the Senate’s reconciliation procedures. Medicare beneficiaries continue to be subject to the $35 insulin cap.
In the end, Republicans gathered in opposition to the bill. In a statement, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell claimed that the bill amounted to “an assault on American fossil fuel” and contained “huge job-killing tax hikes.” Democrats “do not care about the priorities of middle-class folks,” the Kentucky Republican claimed.
How the Legislation Responds to the Climate Catastrophe
Although analysts are divided on whether the package would actually live up to its name and lower inflation, especially in the short term, it would have a significant impact on lowering carbon emissions.
The groundbreaking Clean Air Act was a major win for the environmental movement, and the approximately $370 billion clean energy and climate package is the largest climate investment in US history.
The idea could cut US carbon emissions by up to 40% by 2030, according to an analysis by Schumer’s office and other independent studies.
To achieve Biden’s target of a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030, states must take action and the Biden administration must enact strong climate policies.
Several tax incentives are also included in the bill to lower electricity costs through the use of more renewable energy sources and encourage more American consumers to use electricity to power their homes and automobiles.
The Bill’s Main Tax and Health Care Policies
The proposed legislation would give Medicare the authority to negotiate discounts on some pricey prescription drugs that are either prescribed by doctors’ offices or purchased from pharmacies.
Ten drug prices would be negotiated in 2026, fifteen more in 2027, and once more in 2028 by the secretary of health and human services. By 2029 and thereafter, there would be 20 medications per year.
The controversial clause is considerably more restrictive than the one that House Democratic leaders have previously supported.
But it would pave the way for achieving a long-standing party objective of enabling Medicare to use its weight to cut prescription prices.
Additionally, Democrats want to extend the improved federal premium subsidies for Obamacare coverage through 2025, which is a year later than what legislators had previously proposed. They wouldn’t pass away right after the 2024 presidential election if they did this.
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- Overreach by the Fbi and the Irs Cannot Be Allowed to Stand.
- Sen. Warren Wants to Extend the Inflation Reduction Act’s Authority for the Irs to Draft Tax Returns.
To increase revenue, the measure would impose a 15% minimum tax on the earnings that big businesses disclose to shareholders instead of the Internal Revenue Service, or “book income.”
The policy, which would raise $258 billion over ten years, would apply to businesses with annual profits above $1 billion.
Sinema has stated that she changed the Democrats’ plan to limit how firms can deduct depreciated assets from their taxes because she was worried about how this measure would affect some industries, particularly manufacturers. Details are still hazy.
Sinema, however, rejected her party’s attempt to close the carried interest loophole, which permits investment managers to classify a large portion of their salary as capital gains and pay a 20% long-term capital gains tax rate rather than income tax rates as high as 37%.
To benefit from the reduced tax rate, the requirement that investment managers’ profit interest be retained for five years instead of three years were included in the provision. The goal of congressional Democrats had long been to close this loophole, which would have raised $14 billion over ten years.
According to a Democratic aide, it was replaced with a 1% excise tax on stock buybacks by corporations, which brought in an additional $74 billion.
