WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Sunday approved a $430 billion bill to fight climate change, lower drug prices and raise some corporate taxes, a major victory for President Joe Biden that Democrats hope will help them maintain their chances of retaining. control of Congress in this year’s elections.
After a marathon, 27-hour weekend debate session and Republican efforts to derail the package, the Senate approved the legislation known as the Inflation Reduction Act by a party-line vote of 51-50, the Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote.
The action sends the measure to the House of Representatives for a vote expected on Friday that could send it, in turn, to the White House for Biden’s signature. In a statement, Biden urged the House to act as soon as possible and said he hoped to sign the bill into law.
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“The Senate is making history,” an elated Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after raising his fists in the air as Democrats cheered and his staff responded to the vote with a standing ovation .
“For Americans who have lost faith that Congress can do great things, this bill is for you,” he said. “This bill will change America for decades.”
Schumer said the legislation contains “the boldest clean energy package in American history” to fight climate change while lowering energy costs and some medicines for consumers.
Democrats have come under fire from Republicans over the legislation’s $430 billion in new spending and about $740 billion in new revenue. Read more
But Democrats hope his approval, before an August recess, will help the party’s House and Senate candidates in the Nov. 8 midterm elections at a time when Biden is suffering of anemic public approval amid high inflation.
The legislation aims to reduce carbon emissions and move consumers to green energy, while lowering prescription drug costs for seniors and toughening tax enforcement for corporations and the rich
Because the measure offsets and reduces the federal deficit over time, Democrats say it will help reduce inflation, an economic liability that has also weighed on their hopes of retaining legislative control heading into the 2024 presidential election.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris reacts as she speaks to the media about the passage of the ‘Inflation Reduction Act of 2022’ on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, U.S., August 7, 2022. REUTERS/ Ken Cedeno
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Republicans, arguing the bill won’t address inflation, have denounced the measure as a job-killing, left-wing spending wish list that could undermine growth as the economy risks slipping into recession.
Democrats passed the bill using a parliamentary maneuver called reconciliation, which allows budget-related legislation to bypass the 100-seat chamber’s 60-vote threshold for most bills and pass with a simple majority.
After several hours of debate, the Senate began a quick “vote-a-rama” on Saturday evening on the Democratic and Republican amendments that stretched into Sunday afternoon.
Democrats repelled more than 30 Republican amendments, points of order and motions, all aimed at gutting the legislation. Any change in the bill’s content brought about by an amendment could have undone the coalition of 50 Democratic senators needed to keep the legislation on track.
NO TIP ON INSULIN COSTS
But they failed to muster the votes needed to maintain a provision to cap rising insulin costs at $35 a month in the private health insurance market, which fell outside the reconciliation rules. Democrats said the legislation would still cap insulin costs for those with Medicare.
In a harbinger of the upcoming fall election campaign, Republicans used the defeats of their amendments to attack vulnerable Democrats seeking re-election in November.
“Democrats are voting again to allow the chaos at the southern border to continue,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement that named Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Raphael Warnock of Georgia. All four face close contests for re-election.
The bill was more than 18 months in the making as Biden’s original plan, Build Back Better, was scaled back in the face of opposition from Republicans and key lawmakers in his own party.
“It took a lot of compromise. Getting things done almost always does,” Biden said in a statement.
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Reporting by Richard Cowan, Rose Horowitch, David Morgan and Makini Brice; Editing by Scott Malone, Mary Milliken, Lisa Shumaker and Cynthia Osterman
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