President Joe Biden signed the Democrats’ landmark climate change and health care legislation into law on Tuesday, delivering what he called the final piece of his limited domestic agenda as he aims to boost his party’s standing with voters less than three months before midterm elections. The legislation includes the most substantial federal investment in history to fight climate change at about $375 billion over ten years and would limit prescription drug costs to $2,000 in out-of-pocket costs per year for Medicare beneficiaries. It would also help an estimated 13 million Americans pay for health insurance by expanding subsidies provided during the coronavirus pandemic.
The measure is being paid for by new taxes on large corporations and increased IRS enforcement of wealthy individuals and entities, with additional funds going to reduce the federal deficit. At a triumphant White House signing event, Biden pointed to the law as proof that democracy, no matter how long or messy the process, can still deliver for America’s voters, testing a line he is likely to repeat later this fall. midterms: Americans won and special interests lost.
At this historic moment, Democrats have sided with the American people, and every single Republican in Congress has sided with special interests in this vote, Biden said, repeatedly seizing on the contrast between his party and the GOP. Everyone. The House of Representatives approved the measure on Friday by a 220:207 vote. It passed the Senate days earlier when Vice President Kamala Harris broke a 50-50 tie in that chamber. Under normal circumstances, passing these bills would be a huge success, said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. during a ceremony at the White House. 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 during a small ceremony in the White House State Dining Room, sandwiched between his return from a six-day beach vacation in South Carolina and his departure for his home in Wilmington, Delaware. He plans to hold a larger celebration of the legislation on Sept. 6 once lawmakers return to Washington. The signing capped a flurry of legislative productivity for Biden and Congress, which passed legislation on veterans benefits, the semiconductor industry and gun controls for young buyers in three months. The president and lawmakers also responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by overwhelmingly supporting Sweden and Finland’s membership in NATO.
With Biden’s approval ratings lagging, Democrats are hoping a string of successes will boost their chances of retaining control of Washington in the November midterms. The 79-year-old president is aiming to restore his own standing with voters as he considers re-election. The White House announced Monday that it will put Biden and members of his cabinet on the Building a Better America Tour to promote the recent victories. One of Biden’s trips will be to Ohio, where he will tour groundbreaking work at a semiconductor factory that will benefit from a recent law to boost the production of such computer chips.
He will also stop in Pennsylvania to promote his administration’s plan for safer communities, a visit that was scheduled for the same day he tested positive for COVID-19 last month. In the coming weeks, the president will host a cabinet meeting to focus on the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, travel across the country to highlight how the act will help the American people, and host an event to celebrate the act’s passage at the White House on September 6, the White House said in declaration.
Republicans say the legislation’s new business taxes will raise prices and worsen the nation’s highest inflation since 1981. Although Democrats have called the measure an anti-inflation bill, nonpartisan analysts say it will have barely a noticeable impact on prices. Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., continued the same criticism on Tuesday, although he acknowledged that extending tax credits for renewable energy projects like solar and wind will benefit.
I think it’s too much spending, too many taxes, and I think it’s the wrong priorities and a super-charged, super-big IRS that’s going to go after a lot of not just high-income taxpayers, but a lot of middle-income taxpayers. income taxpayers, Thune said in a speech at a Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce event. The administration has disputed that anyone but high earners will face increased tax scrutiny, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ordering the tax agency to focus only on businesses and people making more than $400,000 a year for new audits. The measure is a watered-down version of a more ambitious plan to boost environmental and social programs that Biden and his party unveiled early last year.
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