Harris breaks 50-50 deadlock to advance landmark climate, tax, health bill | The Hill
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
by Alexander Bolton - 08/06/22 7:39 PM ET
AP-Evan Vucci
The Senate voted along party lines Saturday afternoon to advance a sweeping bill to reform the tax code, tackle climate change and lower the cost of prescription drugs, taking a big step closer to giving President Biden a major victory before the November midterm elections.
The Senate voted 51 to 50to proceed to the 755-page bill , after Vice President Kamala Harris arrived at the Capitol to cast the tie-breaking vote.
The vote puts the bill on a trajectory to pass the Senate sometime Sunday, barring an unexpected setback, such as the sudden absence of a Democratic senator.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) hailed the bill's impending passage as a major achievement.
"The time has come for the Senate to begin debate on this historic piece of legislation. The Inflation Reduction Act is a groundbreaking bill for the American people, for families struggling to pay the bills, for seniors struggling to pay for medication, for kids struggling with asthma," Schumer said on the floor moments before the vote.
"This is one of the most comprehensive and impactful bills Congress has seen in decades," he declared promising it would reduce inflation, lower drug costs, fight climate change and close tax loopholes.
The procedural vote sets up 20 hours of debate to be divided evenly between Democrats and Republicans followed by an open-ended series of amendment votes, known as a vote-a-rama.
Members of both parties, however, predict they will yield most of the time back to move more quickly to considering amendments.
Senate Republicans expect votes on between 40 and 50 amendments.
A final vote will happen sometime Sunday.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) argued the legislation "will kill American jobs and hammer our manufacturing sector" and "have no meaningful impact on global temperatures whatsoever."
He warned that empowering Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices will hurt research and development in the pharmaceutical industry.
"The policy would bring about a world where many fewer drugs and treatments get invented in the first place," he said.
Republicans want to inflict as much political damage on vulnerable Democratic incumbents such Sens. Mark Kelly (Ariz.) and Raphael Warnock (Ga.) by forcing votes on border security, domestic energy production, inflation and crime.
Democrats have their own plan to force Republicans to take a tough vote on capping the out-of-pocket costs of insulin bills at $35 a month.
They expect to challenge a ruling by the Senate parliamentarian against a provision sponsored by Warnock to cap insulin prices. Democrats say Republicans who vote to sustain an objection to the insulin provision are undermining an effort to fight inflation and help Americans with diabetes.
The broader legislation will raise approximately $740 billion in revenue by implementing a 15 percent corporate minimum tax, empowering Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices and imposing a 1 percent excise tax on stock buybacks.
The Senate voted Saturday to begin debate on the Inflation Reduction Act after receiving an updated analysis of the bill from the Congressional Budget Office. CBO estimates the bill will reduce the deficit by $100 billion over the next decade.
Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who negotiated the bill, say it will shrink the deficit by more than $300 billion over ten years.
The corporate minimum tax will raise $258 billion in revenue but will exempt full expensing deductions for businesses across all sectors — a change that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) negotiated with Schumer.
Giving Medicare authority to negotiate lower drug prices is projected to save the government $288 billion over ten years and the excise tax on stock buybacks will raise $74 billion.
Another $124 billion in revenue will come from improving operations at the IRS and beefing up enforcement of tax compliance.
It would spend $369 billion on energy security and climate change programs estimated to reduce global warming emissions by 40 percent by 2030.
It would provide money for consumer home energy rebates, grants to make affordable housing more energy efficient and tax credits to accelerate domestic manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines and batteries.
It would provide generous tax credits to buy new and used electric vehicles, though critics of the bill say those credits couldn't be used immediately as they don't apply to vehicles with batteries produced in China or dependent on Chinese minerals.
It would extend expiring health insurance premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act another three years at a cost of $64 billion.
A group of Senate Democrats worked Saturday afternoon to persuade Democratic colleagues to vote against supporting any amendments to the bill, as it could upset the delicate compromise negotiated by Schumer and the two centrists who held out for months: Manchin and Sinema.
"I'm not voting for amendments. I'm trying to keep this bill clean and get it out of here. It's too important."
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) says he plans to offer an amendment to dramatically expand Medicare's authority to negotiate lower drug prices, which he says would raise $900 billion over ten years.
He wants to use the money to expand Medicare by lowering the eligibility age to 60 and extending adding comprehensive dental, vision and hearing benefits.
Excellent!
"This is one of the most comprehensive and impactful bills Congress has seen in decades," he declared promising it would reduce inflation, lower drug costs, fight climate change and close tax loopholes."
It will do none of that
All but insuring double digit inflation into the near future.
Not good, not good at all.
Instead of supporting legislation that will greatly benefit the American people, the Republicans want the American people to suffer in the hope that will help them win an election. As always, the EVIL Republicans put party first.
Like most liberals I know. You’ve got the cart way ahead of the horse ..... obtusely hoping the cart still gets you there.
Sad.
Like every reactionary I know. You are making your argument based on propaganda instead of facts.
Sad.
You are in denial my friend but don’t take my word for it. The tanking economy will do it for you as this latest handout accelerates inflation even faster. Of course, you’ll likely be in denial about that as well.
Such a sad state of affairs .....
You are very confused. YOU are in total denial, living in a world where reactionary propaganda and your feelings are in control.
I don't ever take your word for anything. To do otherwise, I would have to be divorced from reality.
The sad state of affairs is the reactionaries constant touting of false narratives hoping they can convince the ignorant and uneducated with their dissembling and propaganda. There is a reason the reactionaries' god, trump, declared: "I love the poorly educated."
Lol .....
And where is this legislation? Keep in mind that we haven't seen a single piece of legislation from the Democrats that will "greatly benefit the American people" in decades.
Sorry, but your propaganda doesn't sell here. Maybe you'll have better luck in Hungary.
Thanks for proving my point. Thanks for showing there isn't any legislation from the Democrats that will "greatly benefit the American people".
Your only "point" is a loser propaganda talking point, and you're digging your hole even deeper.
Oh what's wrong? Did I make you cry and that's why you resorted to name calling?
You're as confused as your cohort. I'm laughing at your loser comments
That's what I'm thinking as well. But then again, with the left, when they have nothing they resort to childish behavior. And then they wonder why nobody takes them seriously.
Like the PPACA? Now your turn, example of a republican piece of legislation that will benefit the average American.
The ACA benefits some people, at the expense of others.
Small businesses pay far more for health insurance than they did. Young people are forced to subsidize Baby Boomers. Drug companies have run amok at the expense of working families who have to pay all or part of their own premiums.
It's actually a really poorly written law.
Your contribution to the "discussion":
It's pretty funny that you're complaining about me not responding to that childish nonsense.
No one with more than half a brain (that leaves out the reactionary types) would take anything you have said on here seriously.
Better for you to play with your reactionary cohorts. I treat trolling comments with all the respect they deserve, none.
[deleted]
I guess you missed the part where I sad "greatly benefit the American people".
I guess you missed the part where I said, "now it's your turn".
I can't find anything from the democrats that "greatly benefit the American people". It appears you can't find anything either.
You simply need to open your eyes.
New Reports Show Record 35 Million People Enrolled in Coverage Related to the Affordable Care Act, with Historic 21 Million People Enrolled in Medicaid Expansion Coverage
35 million Americans have benefitted from PPACA. Like I said, YOUR TURN .
Still waiting on your legislation that would "greatly benefit the American People". Once you provide that, I'll respond.
So the 35 million Americans that benefitted from the PPACA don't count to you? This means 2 things.
Still waiting on your legislation that would "greatly benefit the American People".
Go away troll, I will not be replying after this point.
Oh look. Another one who can't answer a question so they resort to name calling.
How do Americans benefit from higher gas prices, inflation? I'm sure corporations like solyndra will enjoy the billion dollar subsides taken from waitresses and landscapers by invasive audits, but how will ordinary Americans benefit from having less money?
40 years of right-wing "trickle-down" policies has devastated the American economy and eviscerated the middle class. Your question is best directed at the proponents of the "trickle-down" farce.
“How do Americans benefit from higher gas prices, inflation?”
The real question, so conveniently ignored, is what exactly is an ‘American’ these daze?
One bent upon looking back, or one acknowledging the hope of looking forward?
We have had a Dem President for 18 of those 40 years, a Dem led House for 22 and a Dem led Senate for 20 years. Dems hit the trifecta for 6 of those years, so why has Reagan's policies lasted so long?
We ain't got no citizenship papers, we don't need to show you no stinkin papers.
By far the biggest "trickle-down" perpetrator in your lifetime was Barack Obama.
Three things eviscerated the American middle-class.
“The conclusion I come to is that Democrats can not…
…fill in the blank for us, tex…just to confirm the oh so obvious bias.
Go on, as you must……
So will the House pass the bill as written or will the Progressives in the House demand changes? What will the final outcome be and how will it impact November? We can be assured that both sides will use it in their campaigning.
No, because it can't, but they didn't want to call it BBB(-).
For those who are incapable of doing research into the deflationary effect of the Inflation Reduction Act (and, unfortunately, would likely not understand it if they did):
By research, you mean like the CBO?
Or the Penn Wharton Budget Model
The sources I cited address the Penn Wharton argument and effectively counter the CBO's finding.
Uh-huh.
You have to understand, that opinion, like rising inflation months ago, is just transitionary.
Until, like 40 year high inflation, it is not.
The report from the Committee on Finance estimates a deficit reduction, but fails to include all funding, credits and subsidies that would most definitely chisel away at any estimated "reduction." Hell, the bill proposes some 80 billion in additional IRS funding...but the COF doesn't even consider that in its numbers, because it is allegedly waiting on numbers from the CBO. Also fails to include the impact from prescription drug and ACA subsidies. In all, it is bullshit, because it does not include the increased funding, credits and subsidies that will be seen in the first few years of this thing, and their bottom line is relying on those first few years of "deficit reduction" for which they are not accounting for everything.