The Senate Democrats passed a package on climate change and health care spending on Sunday, introducing the bill to the House, giving Joe Biden's legislative One step closer to victory. The crucial midterm elections in November.
If signed into law, the bill, formally known as the Reducing Inflation Act, would allocate his $369 billion to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and invest in renewable energy sources. Become. Expertsestimatethat the bill's climate clause will reduce America's greenhouse gas emissions by about 40% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.
Democrats said the bill would allow Medicare to negotiate prices for prescription drugs and cap Medicare beneficiaries' out-of-pocket prescriptions. , promised to reduce health care costs for millions of Americans. $2000 drug price per year. Those who receive health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace are also expected to see lower premium costs.
This law contains a number of tax provisions to cover the costs of these policies, bringing her $739 billion to the government and an overall deficit reduction of about $300 billion. connected to Policy changes include a new minimum corporate tax, his 1% excise tax on stock buybacks, and stricter enforcement by the Internal Revenue Service.
The final vote in the Senate was 51-50, with all Democrats supporting the bill and all 50 Republicans voting against it. Vice President Kamala Harris had a tie vote as the Senate was evenly split on passing the bill.
Democrats used a settlement process to advance the bill, requiring only a simple majority to pass the bill, avoiding Republican filibusters.
However, The choice to use the settlement somewhat limited what Democrats could include in the bill. It ruled that the medical provision violated the Settlement Rule. Another proposal to limit the cost of insulin in the private insurance market to $35 a month was also removed from the bill after 43 Senate Republicans voted to block the policy on procedural grounds.
Still, Democrats applauded the senators for advancing most of the health and climate legislation.
“There was one unfortunate ruling that the scope of the inflation rebate was more limited, but the overall program remained in place, ultimately pitting against big pharma and saving millions of dollars. We are one step closer to lowering the price of Rx drugs for as many Americans as possible," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Saturday.
Democratic leaders had previously had to change the tax provisions of the bill to secure votes for Arizona's Kirsten Cinema. It caused last-minute uproar among Democrats because it called for a change to the new minimum corporate tax that would exempt some businesses from the policy. , which was funded by extending the loss limit for the pass-through business.
Cinema was seen as the last Democratic resistance in negotiations after fellow centrist Joe Manchin said he would vote for the bill. That came about eight months after Mr. Manchin abruptly ended talks on what was seen as Mr. Biden's signature legislative proposal, a "build back better law." After scrapping that bill, Manchin quietly agreed with Schumer on another spending package focused on reducing the federal deficitand tackling record-high inflation
. I spent months deliberating. The bill is much smaller in scope than the Build Back Better Act, but to win the support of the entire Senate Democratic Caucus on Sunday.
The bill's narrower focus irritated progressive Senator Bernie Sanders, who criticized the compromise in his address to the House on Saturday, who said the bill would struggle to keep up with rising prices. He complained that it was of little use to working Americans who were working, and called for expansion of the bill to further reduce health care costs, but failed. It doesn't address the reality that there is greater income and wealth inequality than at any point in time," Sanders said. "This bill does not address the systemic dysfunction of America's healthcare system."
Despite that criticism, Sanders supported the final version of the bill. Senate approval followed a marathon session that lasted overnight through Sunday afternoon as Republicans forced votes on dozens of proposed changes to the spending package. Democrats remained largely united in opposing the Republican amendment, leaving the bill unchanged and ensuring its passage.
Republicans vehemently criticized the bill, rejecting Democrats' claims that it would help combat rising prices. According to a reportpublished by Moody's Analytics, the bill would "moderate inflation over a 10-year budget period."
"What are Democrats trying to do with hundreds of billions of dollars in tax increases and billions of dollars in reckless spending," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Saturday. In a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives, he said: "For a so-called inflation bill that doesn't meaningfully lower inflation."
House Democrats shrugged off Republican criticism of the bill, passed it quickly, and put it on Biden's desk. insisted on submitting. Majority leader Stenny Hoyer has said the House will be back to take up the bill on Friday, and Democrats won't need a Republican vote to pass the bill.
Nancy Pelosi has promised to move the House of Representatives as soon as the Senate gives its seal of approval to the bill. I will give it to you."