President Biden signed on Tuesday to enact the Inflation Reduction Act, an ambitious measure aimed at reducing inflation, lowering prescription drug prices, addressing climate change, reducing the deficit and imposing a minimum tax on the profits of large corporations . At a bill-signing ceremony in the White House State Dining Room, Biden praised the legislation as one of the most important measures in the country’s history. “Let me say from the beginning: With this law, the American people won and the special interests lost,” Biden said. His administration had begun amid a “dark time in America,” Biden added, citing the coronavirus pandemic, unemployment and threats to democracy. “And yet we didn’t waver, we didn’t flinch and we didn’t back down,” Biden said. “Instead, we deliver results for the American people. We didn’t break down. We created. We didn’t look back. We are looking forward. And today — today offers further proof that America’s soul is alive, America’s future is bright, and America’s promise is real.” The House approved the bill on Friday by a vote of 220-207, days after the Senate narrowly passed it on a party-line vote, with Vice President Harris the tiebreaker. The bill’s passage marked one of the most successful legislative efforts by congressional Democrats this session ahead of the contentious midterm elections — and also one that has looked increasingly unlikely for about a year and a half. The House on August 12 passed a bill aimed at reducing health care costs, fighting climate change, raising taxes on some large corporations and reducing the deficit. (Video: The Washington Post) Last year, a larger $2 trillion spending package known as the Build Back Better Act stalled in Congress after opposition from moderate Democratic senators. After weeks of negotiations with the White House, Sen. Joe Manchin III (W.Va.) said in December that he could not move forward with the bill. But last month, Manchin announced he had reached a surprise deal with Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (DN.Y.) on what would become known as the Deflation Act. Although smaller than the Build Back Better plan, the new legislation aimed to achieve many of the same goals, including spending about $370 billion on climate change and clean energy production. On Tuesday, Biden said signing the bill was something he had been waiting to do for 18 months. At one point, he glanced at Manchin and said with a laugh, “Joe, I never had a doubt.” After Biden signed his signature — and Schumer declared, “It’s now law!” — the president handed the pen he used to Manchin and shook his hand. On Tuesday, Schumer personally thanked Manchin “for working hard to make this happen” and credited Biden and the Democratic caucus for their persistence. The president, Schumer added, knew exactly when to step in and when to let negotiations take place. “I am confident that this bill will stand as one of the greatest legislative achievements of decades: it will lower costs, create millions of good-paying jobs, and is the boldest climate law ever,” Schumer said. “Now in normal times, getting these bills through would be a huge accomplishment, but to do it now, with only 50 Democratic votes in the Senate, against an intransigent Republican minority, is nothing short of amazing.” In a dig at former President Donald Trump, Schumer also thanked Biden for restoring “dignity, respect and a sense of action back to the Oval Office.” “After four years of a president who reveled in creating chaos, Americans are seeing what it’s like to have a president and a Congress focused on delivering results that make their lives better,” Schumer said. According to the White House, Biden will hold a cabinet meeting in the coming weeks that will focus on implementing the deflation law, as well as travel around the country to promote the ways the new law expected to help Americans. The White House is also planning an event on September 6 to celebrate the passage of the bill. How the Deflation Act Could Affect You — and Change the US The Inflation Reduction Act would provide about $370 billion to fight climate change and boost U.S. energy production, using incentives for private companies to produce more renewable energy and for households to transform their energy use and consumption . The bill would also allow Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs and expand health insurance subsidies for millions of Americans. To pay for the spending, the bill would raise hundreds of billions in revenue through new tax provisions — the biggest of which would hit the nation’s biggest corporations. It would also give the grossly underfunded Internal Revenue Service its largest budget increase in history — a provision criticized by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as resulting in “an army of IRS agents snooping on your bank accounts.” As White House officials have said repeatedly over the past week, Biden reiterated Tuesday that no one making less than $400,000 a year would pay “a penny more” in taxes. He also made a tacit suggestion for Democrats in the November midterm elections, noting that no Republicans voted for the deflationary bill. “Let’s be clear: In this historic moment, Democrats have sided with the American people and every Republican in Congress has sided with special interests,” Biden said. “Every Republican in Congress voted against lowering prescription drug prices, against lowering health care costs, against a fair tax system. Every Republican, every single one, voted against addressing the climate crisis, against lowering our energy costs, against creating good-paying jobs. “My fellow Americans, this is the choice we face,” he added. “We can protect the already powerful or show the courage to build a future where everyone has an equal shot.” At a sign-up ceremony for the Inflation Reduction Act on Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) called it “a glorious day” and noted that the bill’s passage came as Biden signed several other key bills into law , including one aimed at expanding aid to veterans exposed to toxic burn pits during their military service. He also criticized Republicans for rallying against the bill and said Democrats would continue to fight for provisions that had been rejected as compromises, such as Medicare expansion and free Catholic daycare. “This legislation is historic, it’s transformative, and it’s truly a cause for celebration,” Pelosi said. Jeff Stein, Maxine Joselow, Rachel Roubein and John Wagner contributed to this report.
