Senate Democrats pass $740B energy and health care bill with Harris’ vote
Senate Democrats by a razor-thin margin passed a domestic bill that addressed energy, taxes and health care Sunday, sending the legislation to the House of Representatives.
Vice President Kamala Harris was the deciding vote as the $740 billion package dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act passed 51-50.
“It’s been a long, tough and winding road, but at last, at last we have arrived,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), before the final votes.
“The Senate is making history. I am confident the Inflation Reduction Act will endure as one of the defining legislative measures of the 21st century.”
The approval comes after quick-fire amendments were offered Saturday night into Sunday during a so-called “vote-a-rama.” Democrats only needed a simple majority to approve the bill due to reconciliation, rather than the customary 60 votes necessary.
“Today, Senate Democrats sided with American families over special interests,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “I ran for President promising to make government work for working families again, and that is what this bill does — period.”
The spending plan includes the largest-ever federal effort to combat climate change to the tune of $400 billion while capping out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors on Medicare to $2,000 annually. It also extends expiring subsidies that would help 13 million people afford health insurance.
The plan would be paid for by raising corporate taxes with around $300 billion in additional revenue to reduce the deficit.
The money would come from a 15% minimum tax on a group of corporations that have annual profits of more than $1 billion and a 1% tax on companies that buy back their own stock. Funds would also come from a strengthened IRS tax collection and government savings from lower drug costs.
Republicans blasted the bill, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) arguing the spending and tax increases would cut jobs and have little effect on inflation and climate change.
“Democrats have already robbed American families once through inflation, and now their solution is to rob American families a second time,” McConnell said.
The package is drastically trimmed down compared to the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better initiative that was championed by President Biden, but failed to get the necessary support in the Senate because Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said the price tag was too hefty and would add to rising inflation months ago.
But it was Manchin and Schumer who struck a deal a couple weeks ago for the most recent domestic agenda. Manchin touted the bill because “it provides a responsible path forward that is laser-focused on solving our nation’s major economic, energy and climate problems.”
Tax credits would be available to buy electric cars and build solar panels and wind turbines. Additionally, funds would be available for home energy rebates and to build factories that focus on clean energy technology.
In a win for Manchin, billions would be funneled to power plants to lower carbon emissions and a requirement for more government auctions for oil drilling on federal land and water.
Still, the package didn’t achieve every goal Democrats hoped for amid widespread GOP opposition.
The bill’s focus on curbing prescription drug prices failed when the Senate’s nonpartisan parliamentarian ruled a provision should fall that would penalize drug makers whose price increases for private insurers go beyond inflation.
Democrats also wanted a $35 cap on insulin per month for private insurers, but due to a parliamentarian rule, the GOP was able to block that. But the $35 cap would still be in place for Medicare patients.
The House, controlled slightly by Democrats, would be next to consider the bill when lawmakers briefly return from summer recess on Friday. If it passes in the House, the bill would head to President Biden where it would be signed into law.
With Post wires