Newsman: President Biden signed Democrats’ hallmark spending bill; climate, health care and tax bill into law.Biden president returned to Washington earlier in the Tuesday interrupting a family vacation in South Carolina to sign the legislation, dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act.
The White House plans to hold a larger celebration on Sept. 6 — part of a plan to promote the law ahead of November elections.
In a speech from the State Dining Room, Biden cast the bill as a historic opportunity to combat climate change and improve Americans’ lives. He ticked off a list of provisions he said would accelerate the nation’s clean energy push, lower health costs and bolster the economy.
“The American people won, and the special interests lost,” Biden said, noting that pharmaceutical companies had lobbied against measures to lower prescription drug costs for people on Medicare.
“Every single Republican in the Congress sided with the special interests in this vote,” Biden said. “That’s the choice we face: we can protect the already-powerful, or show the courage to build the future where everybody has an even shot.”
This legislation has been a year in the making. After West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin nixed earlier talks, citing concerns over approving more spending during record inflation, Democrats struggled to find a path forward.
But fortunes shifted in July, when Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., struck a deal. After a marathon voting session, the Senate passed the legislation through the budget reconciliation process, with every Democrat voting in favor and one tie-breaking vote from Vice President Harris. No Republicans voted for the bill.
Manchin had a spot on the dais for the bill signing and received a round of applause during Biden’s remarks when the president quipped, tongue in cheek: “Joe — I never had a doubt.”
The House cleared the massive bill on a party-line vote on Friday. The package passed the Senate less than a week earlier, with only Democratic support and Vice President Kamala Harris casting the vote that broke the 50-50 tie.
