Biden signs massive climate and health care legislation
x

Biden signs massive climate and health care legislation


President Joe Biden signed Democrats landmark climate change and health care bill into law on Tuesday, delivering what he has called the final piece of his pared-down domestic agenda, as he aims to boost his partys standing with voters less than three months before the midterm elections.

The legislation includes the most substantial federal investment in history to fight climate change some USD 375 billion over the decade and would cap prescription drug costs at USD 2,000 out-of-pocket annually for Medicare recipients. It also would help an estimated 13 million Americans pay for health care insurance by extending subsidies provided during the coronavirus pandemic.

The measure is paid for by new taxes on large companies and stepped-up IRS enforcement of wealthy individuals and entities, with additional funds going to reduce the federal deficit.

In a triumphant signing event at the White House, Biden pointed to the law as proof that democracy no matter how long or messy the process can still deliver for voters in America as he road-tested a line he will likely repeat later this fall ahead of the midterms: The American people won, and the special interests lost.

In this historic moment, Democrats sided with the American people, and every single Republican in the Congress sided with the special interests in this vote, Biden said, repeatedly seizing on the contrast between his party and the GOP. Every single one.

The House on Friday approved the measure on a party-line 220-207 vote. It passed the Senate days earlier with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking a 50-50 tie in that chamber.

In normal times, getting these bills done would be a huge achievement, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said during the White House ceremony. But to do it now, with only 50 Democratic votes in the Senate, over an intransigent Republican minority, is nothing short of amazing.

Biden signed the bill into law during a small ceremony in the State Dining Room of the White House, sandwiched between his return from a six-day beachside vacation in South Carolina and his departure for his home in Wilmington, Delaware. He plans to hold a larger celebration for the legislation on Sept. 6 once lawmakers return to Washington.

The signing caps a spurt of legislative productivity for Biden and Congress, who in three months have approved legislation on veterans benefits, the semiconductor industry and gun checks for young buyers. The president and lawmakers have also responded to Russias invasion of Ukraine and overwhelmingly supported NATO membership for Sweden and Finland.

With Bidens approval rating lagging, Democrats are hoping that the string of successes will jump-start their chances of maintaining control in Washington in the November midterms. The 79-year-old president aims to restore his own standing with voters as he contemplates a reelection bid.

The White House announced Monday that it was going to deploy Biden and members of his Cabinet on a Building a Better America Tour to promote the recent victories. One of Bidens trips will be to Ohio, where hell view the groundbreaking of a semiconductor plant that will benefit from the recent law to bolster production of such computer chips. He will also stop in Pennsylvania to promote his administrations plan for safer communities, a visit that had been planned the same day he tested positive for COVID-19 last month.

In the coming weeks, the President will host a Cabinet meeting focused on implementing the Inflation Reduction Act, will travel across the country to highlight how the bill will help the American people, and will host an event to celebrate the enactment of the bill at the White House on September 6th, the White House said in a statement.

Republicans say the legislations new business taxes will increase prices, worsening the nations bout with its highest inflation since 1981. Though Democrats have labeled the measure the Inflation Reduction Act, nonpartisan analysts say it will have a barely perceptible impact on prices.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., on Tuesday continued those same criticisms, although he acknowledged there would be benefit through extensions on tax credits for renewable energy projects like solar and wind.

I think its too much spending, too much taxing, and in my view wrong priorities, and a super-charged, super-sized IRS that is going to be going after a lot of not just high-income taxpayers but a lot of mid-income taxpayers, said Thune, speaking at a Chamber of Commerce event in Sioux Falls. The administration has disputed that anyone but high earners will face increased tax scrutiny, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen directing the tax agency to focus solely on businesses and people earning more than $400,000 per year for the new audits.

The measure is a slimmed-down version of the more ambitious plan to supercharge environment and social programs that Biden and his party unveiled early last year.


(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)

Read More
Next Story