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Manchin and Schumer strike a deal on a climate, health care and inflation bill : NPR


Senator Joe Manchin, DW.Va., speaks with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of NY, on March 15, 2022.

Patrick Semansky / AP


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Patrick Semansky / AP


Senator Joe Manchin, DW.Va., speaks with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of NY, on March 15, 2022.

Patrick Semansky / AP

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. and Senator Joe Manchin, DW.Va., released preliminary details of the bill addressing climate change, taxes, health care and inflation.

The deal is a major reversal for Democrats, who have scaled back their ambitions for the package to address shortcomings in the Affordable Care Act and changes to prescription drug prices. petition after Manchin raised concerns about approving more spending during a period of record inflation.

After months of negotiationsWe have finalized legislation that will invest approximately $300 billion in Deficit Reduction and $369.75 billion in Energy security and climate change programs for the next 10 years,” the senators said in a joint statement. The investments will be paid out in full by closing tax loopholes for wealthy individuals and corporations. “

Law – called The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 – will also further extend the Affordable Care Act passed during the pandemic to 2025 and allow Medicare to pursue reduce drug costs by negotiating directly with drug companies. Democrats say plan avoid any new taxes for families earning $400,000 or less and does not include any new taxes on small businesses.

Read bill here.

According to documents released by Schumer and Manchin, the new agreement aims to “reduce carbon emissions by about 40% by 2030” and tackle inflation while reducing the deficit. Schumer had planned to submit the bill to Senate congressmen for consideration Wednesday night to begin voting on the bill next week. Democrats plan to pass the bill using a budget process known as mediation to avoid Republican disagreements, provided the legislation has unanimous cross-party support. Democrat in the Senate.

Manchin and Schumer said they’ve also reached an agreement with House Speakers Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and President Biden to pass a permitting reform bill later this year, with the goal of loosening permits. domestic energy production and transmission.

The deal is a significant expansion of the narrow bill that Democrats had hoped to pass mediation before the midterm elections, although it still falls short of the broader Build Back Better plan. larger than that they began negotiating last year. That proposal initially included massive domestic spending to tackle climate, taxes, health care and social programs.

Manchin became a leading voice against big spending as fears of rising inflation in the country. He was able to single-handedly steer the negotiations because Democrats needed unanimous support to pass the bill in the equally divided Senate.

The deal came hours after the Senate passed a major bipartisan bill to expand domestic production of critical semiconductor chips that are in short supply, leading to delays in new vehicle deliveries and supply chain problems for smartphones, computers and medical devices. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has threatened to block the semiconductor bill, known as CHIPS, if Democrats continue to pursue climate and tax legislation.

Completing the CHIPS invoice paved the way for Democrats to reach a deal without risking losing support for a semiconductor bill they see as a significant economic and political achievement.

The next step will be for the Senator to assess whether the proposals meet the strict Senate budget rules that govern the mediation process. When that is done, it will go through a voting process, a process that will serve to pass the 60-vote threshold that conventional bills must pass to pass. The House must then pass a similar bill before President Biden signs it into law.

In a statement after the deal was announced, Biden hailed it as “the action the American people have been waiting for.”

“This addresses the problems of today – high healthcare costs and overall inflation – as well as investing in our energy security for the future,” he said.



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