“Having been left with a take-it-or-leave-it offer from Senate Democrats, with no opportunity to provide input or amend the bill, I am disappointed that the majority is once again choosing to just pass it,” said Rep. Tom Cole. of Oklahoma, the top Republican on the House Rules Committee, said at a hearing Wednesday. He added: “It should come as no surprise that not a single Republican will vote for this bill, just as not a single Republican voted for the last reconciliation bill.” Republicans have trained their anger in part on a proposal to invest $80 billion in the Internal Revenue Service. Democrats say it will bolster the historically underfunded agency and help crack down on wealthy tax dodgers and corporations, but Republicans have called it a heavy-handed attack on lower- and middle-class taxpayers. In response to the criticism, Janet L. Yellen, the Treasury secretary, instructed the agency this week to ensure there would be no increase in checks for small businesses or families making less than $400,000. Others scoffed at the fact that the entire House would not be present to vote on the legislation. As of Friday morning, more than a third of House members had filed the necessary documents required to vote by proxy — a practice established to prevent the spread of the coronavirus that it cites as “an ongoing public health emergency ” as a reason for not being able to vote in person. “This proxy ‘vote’ — due to lies from most involved (signing that it’s related to COVID) will be used (illegally) to approve tax increases, harmful energy regulations, funding for IRS agents to harass citizens, and massively raise ” great health care philosophy,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said on Twitter. The package will help the Biden administration meet its pledge to cut emissions by about half by 2030, although scientists and climate activists warn that more congressional and executive action will be needed to meet that goal. It aims to use the tax code to incentivize consumers and companies to buy and invest in electric vehicles, solar panels and other renewable energy sources such as wind or solar power, as well as the facilities needed to build more than these items inside.
