Biden signs massive legislation on climate and health care

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed the Democrats’ landmark climate change and health care bill into law Tuesday, delivering what he called the “final piece” of his narrowed domestic agenda as he aims to boost the position of his party with voters less than three months before the midterm elections.

The legislation includes the most substantial federal investment in history to combat climate change (some $375 billion over the decade) and would limit prescription drug costs to $2,000 out-of-pocket annually for Medicare beneficiaries. It would also help an estimated 13 million Americans pay for health care insurance by extending subsidies provided during the coronavirus pandemic.

The measure is paid for with new taxes on large businesses and increased IRS enforcement on wealthy individuals and entities, with additional funds earmarked for reducing the federal deficit.

At a triumphant White House signing event, Biden pointed to the law as proof that democracy, no matter how long or complicated the process, can still deliver for voters in America as he tested a line he’s likely to repeat later. this autumn. before the midterm elections: “The American people won and the special interests lost.”

“In this historic moment, Democrats have sided with the American people, and every Republican in Congress has sided with special interests on this vote,” Biden said, repeatedly drawing on the contrast between his party and the GOP. . “Each”.

The House approved the measure on Friday with a party-line vote of 220-207. Passed the Senate days earlier with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking a 50-50 tie in that chamber.

“In normal times, passing these bills would be a huge accomplishment,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., said during the White House ceremony. “But to do it now, with only 50 Democratic votes in the Senate, over a hard-core Republican minority, is incredible.”

Biden signed the bill into law during a small ceremony in the White House State Dining Room between his return from a six-day beachside vacation in South Carolina and his departure for his home in Wilmington, Delaware. He plans to hold a larger “celebration” for the legislation on Sept. 6 once lawmakers return to Washington.

The signing caps a streak of legislative productivity for Biden and Congress, which in three months passed legislation on veterans benefits, the semiconductor industry and gun controls for young buyers. The president and lawmakers also responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and overwhelmingly supported Swedish and Finnish NATO membership.

With Biden’s approval rating lagging, Democrats hope the string of successes will boost their chances of maintaining control in Washington in the November midterm elections. The 79-year-old president aims to restore his own standing with voters as he contemplates a re-election bid.

The White House announced Monday that it would deploy Biden and members of his cabinet on a “Building a Better America Tour” to promote recent victories. One of Biden’s trips will be to Ohio, where he will see the opening of a semiconductor plant 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 had been planned for the same day he tested positive for COVID-19 last month.

“In the coming weeks, the President will host a Cabinet meeting focused on the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, travel across the country to highlight how the bill will help the American people, and host an event to celebrate its signing into law. of the bill at the White House on September 6,” the White House said in a statement.

Republicans say the legislation’s new business taxes will drive up prices, worsening the nation’s struggle with its highest inflation since 1981. Although Democrats have called the measure the Inflation Reduction Act, nonpartisan analysts they say it will have a barely perceptible impact on prices.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R.S.D., continued those same criticisms Tuesday, though he acknowledged there would be “benefits” through tax credit extensions for renewable energy projects like solar and wind.

“I think it’s too much spending, too many taxes, and, in my opinion, the wrong priorities, and an oversized, supercharged IRS that’s going to go after not just a lot of high-income taxpayers, but a lot of middle-income taxpayers. -revenue contributors,” Thune said, speaking at a Chamber of Commerce event in Sioux Falls. The administration has disputed that anyone except high-income earners will face increased tax scrutiny, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen directing the tax agency to focus solely on businesses and individuals earning more than $ 400,000 per year for new audits.

The measure is a scaled-down version of the more ambitious plan to boost environmental and social programs that Biden and his party unveiled early last year.

Biden’s initial 10-year, $3.5 trillion proposal also provided for free pre-kindergarten, paid family and medical leave, expanded Medicare benefits and easier immigration restrictions. That collapsed after centrist Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., said it was too costly, using the influence each Democrat has in the evenly divided Senate.

During the signing event, Biden turned to Manchin, who struck a critical deal with Schumer on the package last month, saying, “Joe, I never had any doubts” as the crowd chuckled.

Though the law is considerably smaller than their initial ambitions, Biden and Democrats hail the legislation as a once-in-a-generation investment to address the long-term effects of climate change, as well as drought in the western United States.

The bill will direct spending, tax credits and loans to boost technology like solar panels, consumer efforts to improve home energy efficiency, emission-reducing equipment for coal-fired power plants and gas, and air pollution controls for farms, ports, and low-energy plants. income communities.

Another $64 billion would help 13 million people pay premiums over the next three years for privately purchased health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Medicare would gain the power to negotiate its pharmaceutical costs, initially in 2026 for just 10 drugs. Medicare beneficiaries’ prescription costs would be capped at $2,000 a year starting in 2025, and starting next year they would pay no more than $35 a month for insulin, the expensive diabetes drug.

Rep. Jim Clyburn, DS.C., a powerful Biden political ally, noted during the White House ceremony that his late wife, Emily, who battled diabetes for three decades, would be “beyond joy” if was alive today because of the insulin cap.

“Many seem surprised by your successes,” Clyburn told Biden. “I’m not. I know you.”

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Associated Press writers Alan Fram and Darlene Superville in Washington, and Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, contributed to this report.

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