2 years ago
President Joe Biden touted a Democratic deal for climate, tax and health policy Thursday as "a historic agreement to fight inflation" and "the most significant legislation in history to tackle the climate crisis."
"With this legislation, we're facing up to some of our biggest problems and taking a giant step forward as a nation," Biden said.
Biden's remarks came one day after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the lawmaker who had been Democrats' sticking point in striking a deal on the marquee legislation, found agreement with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on the bill the duo have dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act.
Senate Democrats are looking to pass the fresh deal next week, though they face obstacles: The party needs all 50 members to be in favor of the deal and present to vote, and they must ensure the bill complies with strict parliamentarian rules allowing Democrats to pass it with a simple majority — plus the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), another Democrat who party leaders have struggled at times to get on board with legislation, has not taken a public stance on the bill yet.
Still, Biden took the opportunity Thursday to acknowledge the breakthrough in negotiations, which has appeared to stall out multiple times over the past year, most recently last month.
"The work of the government can be slow, and frustrating, and sometimes even infuriating," Biden said. "Then the hard work of hours and days and months of people who refuse to give up pays off. History is made. Lives are changed."
The agreement was a surprise to many Democrats, who were broadly outraged when Manchin said two weeks ago he would only approve a limited health care deal — appearing to deadlock the fight for climate, energy and tax provisions. The West Virginia senator is one of the most conservative Democrats in the chamber, and holds a crucial vote under his party's slim majority.
Manchin also killed an even larger Biden agenda item in December, the $1.7 trillion climate and social safety net package dubbed Build Back Better.
Included in the proposed deal is $370 billion for energy and climate, $300 billion in deficit reduction and three years of subsidies for Affordable Care Act premiums. It also includes prescription drug reform and a 15 percent minimum tax on large corporations, among other tax reforms.
"It'll literally be a godsend for many families," Biden said of a specific provision limiting the cost of prescription drugs for people on Medicare.
Following criticisms of his administration on inflation, Biden said the bill would "reduce inflationary pressures on the economy" and cut the cost of living for Americans, through provisions including lower drug costs and subsidies on clean energy.
However, he disputed the assessment that the country is headed toward a recession, citing a strong job market and ongoing manufacturing investments: "That doesn't sound like a recession to me," Biden said.
The president also praised the Senate for passing a separate bill investing in semiconductors and research Wednesday, and asked the House to follow suit.
"My plea is: Put politics aside. Get it done," Biden said. "We should pass this today and get moving."
The climate spending package would be the largest in U.S. history, outspending former President Barack Obama's 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by some $280 billion.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), for his part, called the proposal "an absolute monstrosity," and said Republicans will "be really aggressively in opposition."
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