The legislation includes the most significant federal investment in history to fight climate change — about $375 billion over the decade — and would cap prescription drug costs at $2,000 a year out of pocket for Medicare recipients. It will also help about 13 million Americans pay for health care insurance by expanding subsidies provided during the coronavirus pandemic. The measure is being paid for by new taxes on large corporations and increased IRS enforcement of wealthy individuals and entities, with additional funds to reduce the federal deficit. At a triumphant White House signing event, Biden held up the law as proof that democracy — no matter how long or convoluted the process — can still deliver for America’s voters, as he tested a line he will likely repeat later that in the fall before the midterm elections: “The American people won and special interests lost.” “In this historic moment, Democrats stood with the American people and every Republican in Congress stood with the special interests in this vote,” Biden said, repeatedly picking up on the opposition between his party and the GOP. “Every one”. The House on Friday approved the measure by a 220-207 vote against the party. It 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 tremendous accomplishment,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said during the White House ceremony. “But to do it now, with only 50 Democratic votes in the Senate, against an intransigent Republican minority, is nothing short of amazing.” Biden signed the bill during a small ceremony in the White House State Dining Room between his return from a six-day beach 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 flurry of legislative productivity for Biden and Congress, who in three months have passed legislation on veterans benefits, the semiconductor industry and gun controls for young buyers. The president and lawmakers also hit back at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and overwhelmingly supported Sweden and Finland joining NATO. As Biden’s approval rating lags, Democrats are hoping the string of victories will boost their chances of retaining control of Washington in the November midterms. The 79-year-old president is aiming to restore his own standing with voters as he considers a re-election bid. The White House announced Monday that it was to deploy Biden and members of his cabinet on a “Building a Better America Tour” to promote the recent victories. One of Biden’s trips will be to Ohio, where he will see the groundbreaking of a semiconductor factory that will take advantage of 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 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 implementing the Inflation Reduction Act, travel across the country to highlight how the bill will help the American people, and host an event on celebration of the bill’s passage at the White House on September 6,” the White House said in a statement. Republicans say the legislation’s new business taxes will raise prices, exacerbating the nation’s run of the highest inflation since 1981. Although Democrats have called the measure an inflation-reducing law, nonpartisan analysts say it will do little noticeable effect on prices. Senate Whip John Thune, RS.D., on Tuesday continued the same criticisms, though he acknowledged there would be “benefit” through expanding tax credits for renewable energy projects like solar and wind. “I think it’s too much spending, too much taxation, and in my view the wrong priorities, and an overburdened, over-sized IRS that’s going to ruin a lot of taxpayers, not just high-income, but a lot of middle-income taxpayers,” Thune said, speaking at a Chamber of Commerce event in Sioux Falls. The administration has disputed that anyone but high earners will face an increased tax audit, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen directing the IRS to focus solely on businesses and individuals earning more than $400,000 a year for the new audits. The measure is a scaled back version of the more ambitious plan to boost environmental and social programs that Biden and his party unveiled early last year. Biden’s original, 10-year, $3.5 trillion proposal also included free preschool, paid family and medical leave, expanded Medicare benefits and eased immigration restrictions. That collapsed after centrist Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., said it was too costly, using the leverage that every Democrat has in the evenly divided Senate. During the signing event, Biden addressed Manchin, who sealed the crucial deal with Schumer on the package last month, saying, “Joe, I never had a doubt” as the crowd laughed. Although the law falls far short of their original ambitions, Biden and Democrats are hailing the legislation as a once-in-a-generation investment to address the long-term effects of climate change, as well as drought in the nation’s West. The bill would direct spending, tax credits and loans to boost technology like solar panels, consumer efforts to improve home energy efficiency, emissions-reduction equipment for coal- and natural-gas-fired power plants and air pollution controls for farms, ports and low-income communities. Another $64 billion will help 13 million people pay premiums over the next three years for private health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Medicare would gain the power to negotiate its drug costs, initially in 2026 for just 10 drugs. Medicare beneficiaries’ prescription costs will be capped at $2,000 a year starting in 2025, and starting next year they will pay no more than $35 a month for insulin, the costly diabetes drug. Rep. Jim Clyburn, DS.C., a strong political ally of Biden, noted during the White House ceremony that his late wife, Emily, who battled diabetes for three decades, would be “beyond happy.” if he lived today because of the insulin cap. “A lot of people seem surprised at your successes,” Clyburn told Biden. “I’m not. I know you.”
Associated Press writers Alan Fram and Darlene Superville in Washington, D.C., and Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, SD, contributed to this report.
