When President Joe Biden took office, lawmakers on the left were quick to pass a COVID-19 relief bill that offered stimulus checks for the majority of Americans as well as an expanded Child Tax Credit to give parents some additional assistance.
This bill was quickly followed by President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Many people’s bank accounts were credited with thousands of dollars after the passage of this piece of legislation, which is known as the American Rescue and Reinvestment Plan Act.
Despite the skyrocketing cost of living and the fact that millions of people have signed a petition asking for further assistance, no further efforts have been done to directly offer financial assistance to American citizens since this bill was passed and became law.
The Democrats in Congress hold a razor-thin majority, and they have been attempting to negotiate a new bill that they could pass along party lines. However, there have been many dead ends and false starts in these negotiations.
On July 27, 2022, prominent left-leaning MPs made the announcement that a compromise had been achieved. The name of the new piece of the proposed legislation is the Inflation Reduction Act, and it has a very real chance of being enacted into law, even though this outcome is not assured.
If it does make it to the president’s desk, the most important question is whether or not it will contain financial assistance for individuals who are struggling.
Does the new accord proposed by Democrats include checks to stimulate the economy?
The majority of Americans are not eligible to receive stimulus cheques or any other form of direct assistance under the current version of the proposed Inflation Reduction Act.
Many people who are currently having difficulty may find this to be an unwelcome and unexpected discovery.
The Act does contain several provisions, however, that have the potential to lessen the financial burdens that people are experiencing.
For instance, it offers brand-new tax credits that can be utilised for the acquisition of pre-owned electric cars.
These might provide savings of up to $7,500 on new electric vehicles and up to $4,000 on used electric vehicles. Because the price of gasoline is a major contributor to overall inflation, this may make it feasible for some individuals to move to more fuel-efficient vehicles.
It also contains a continuation of the Obamacare subsidies that have resulted in cheaper health insurance premiums for a further three years.
These subsidies were first approved as part of the COVID-19 relief measures, and they were due to expire at the end of this year; however, they will now be in force for a longer period. This may prevent a significant increase in premium costs for families.
It does not, however, include an extension of the expanded Child Tax Credit, which deposited payments of $250 or $300 per month per child into people’s bank accounts from July to December of the previous year and resulted in millions of Americans getting more money back when they filed their taxes. However, this provision is not included in the agreement.
Will the bill be passed into law?
If Democrats can rally their party behind the proposed bill, then Americans will get the limited relief that this legislation provides. If they are unable to do so, then Americans will not get this relief.
Because 50 senators normally vote with the Democrats, it is impossible for most legislation to move because Republicans can filibuster it, and to overcome this procedural ploy, you need 60 votes.
Reconciliation is a different strategy that can be utilised by Democrats as an alternative to obtaining a filibuster-proof majority to carry particular laws through the legislative process.
However, for this to pass, it needs 51 votes, which means that not only do all 50 senators need to support it, but Vice President Kamala Harris also needs to vote in favour of it to break the tie.
On the other hand, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, two moderate senators, have indicated reluctance in supporting expansive legislation that other members of their party have been pressing for.
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Manchin has made it clear that he agrees with this latest idea, which represents a significant advance in the process. There is a very good possibility that the Inflation Reduction Act will be passed into law if the other Democrats can keep their solidarity.
