(Washington Insider Magazine)-A massive Democratic funding bill that aims to combat climate change, increase access to healthcare, and increase taxes on companies will be signed by President Joe Biden on Tuesday.
Around 3:30 p.m. ET, Biden is scheduled to make a speech from the State Dining Room of the White House for the signing of the bill known as the Inflation Reduction Act. After more than a year of trying to reach a compromise that pleased both moderates and progressives in the party, the package marks a significant legislative accomplishment for Democrats before the midterm elections.
The president, who was on vacation in South Carolina and had followed the House’s approval of the bill on Friday, is returning in the morning. He will continue his holiday in Wilmington, Delaware, after signing the bill. All Republicans opposed the bill, which was approved by the House on a party-line vote of 220-207. The legislation was approved by the Senate earlier this week on a 51–50 vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the deadlock.
According to NBC NEWS, the bill will spend approximately $400 billion on health care and renewable energy initiatives while raising nearly $700 billion through corporate tax hikes and savings on prescription drugs. The safety net provisions were removed by Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and a number of tax hikes were rejected by Senator Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., so the bill falls well short of what many Democrats had hoped for.
Within the framework of a “coordinated August recess travel blitz,” as characterized by White House officials, Biden intends to rely on his Cabinet members to highlight the advantages of the bill for Americans.
The legislation will be discussed during a conference in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, one of nine gatherings that nine members of the Cabinet have already scheduled throughout the nation.
A number of elements in the law are targeted at assisting consumers, including tax breaks on electric cars and clean energy household products as well as discounts on prescription pharmaceuticals and health insurance premiums.
On September 6, more people will be invited to a larger “celebration,” according to White House officials.