WASHINGTON (Fwrd Axis) — President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law on Tuesday, cementing a major win for the Democrats ahead of the 2022 midterm elections in the fall.
The bill will fight climate change, raise taxes on big corporations, and expand healthcare coverage for Americans. It is a big win for Biden, who gets a major legislative achievement with his approval rating rising in recent weeks.
“With this law, the American people won, and the special interests lost,” President Joe Biden said at the White House. “We didn’t tear down; we built up. We didn’t look back; we looked forward. And today offers further proof that the soul of America is vibrant.”
The legislation will raise around $700 billion through corporate tax increases and prescription drug savings and spend up to $400 billion on clean energy and health care provisions. The bill’s passage was secured when Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) stripped out safety net items and blocked some tax increases.
The vote was passed along party lines in the House and The legislation passed the Senate on Sunday in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie.
“In this historic moment, Democrats sided with the American people, and every single Republican in the Congress sided with this special interest in this vote,” Biden said. “That’s the choice we face: We can protect the already powerful or show the courage to build a future where everybody has an even shot.”
The bill will provide Extended Affordable Care Act subsidies and a $35-a-month insulin price cap for Medicare enrollees, which all Republicans in the House and Senate voted against.
The White House will now deploy Biden, Harris, and members of his Cabinet to tout the bill’s benefits as part of a “coordinated August recess travel blitz.”
Biden returned from his vacation in South Carolina to sign the bill. He now heads to Wilmington, Delaware, for the rest of his vacation.
