House Democrats passed their sweeping tax, climate and health care bill on Friday, sending the $740 billion legislation to President Biden’s desk and giving Democrats a significant victory less than three months before the midterm elections.
The bill, titled the Inflation Reduction Act, passed the House on a party-line vote of 220-207. Four Republicans abstained, while every Democrat voted in favor.
House Democrats erupted in cheers and applause as the bill officially passed
The House’s passage came four days after the Senate approved the bill on a party-line vote, with Vice President Harris casting the deciding vote.
President Biden tweeted Friday afternoon that he would sign the bill into law next week.
Details from The Hill: Here’s what’s in the Deflation Act, from climate to health care to tax changes
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) touted the bill on the floor during a debate Friday, claiming it “saves the planet while keeping more money in your pockets.”
“This bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, a package for the people, increases the influence of the public interest over special interests and expands health and financial security now and for generations to come,” she added.
The passage in Congress marks the culmination of more than a year of negotiations between Senate Democrats over a spending package.
The legislation would raise corporate taxes, address climate change and lower prescription drug prices while reducing the deficit.
The package specifically includes $369 billion for energy security and climate investments and $64 billion to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies over two years.
The bill offers incentives for businesses and consumers to make cleaner energy choices, including using lower-carbon and carbon-free energy, and creates new programs that will encourage climate investments.
On health care, the measure would allow Medicare to negotiate lower prices for 10 high-cost drugs starting in 2026. By 2029, that number is expected to grow to 20 drugs. The measure also allows caps to be placed on some drug costs, but mainly for Medicare.
To pay for the legislation, Democrats introduced a 15 percent minimum income tax that large corporations report to their shareholders. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, only about 150 businesses will be affected.
The bill also allocates $80 billion to increase enforcement at the Internal Revenue Service and ensure that wealthy individuals and corporations do not evade taxes. Additionally, a 1% excise tax on share buybacks is included in the bill.
The bill’s passage ends more than a year of negotiations between Senate Democrats, who worked to reach a consensus on the spending package but failed in a number of cases due to intra-party disagreements.
But the Senate finally got a breakthrough late last month when Majority Leader Charles Schumer (DN.Y.) and centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (DW.Va.) announced a deal on the tax-and-spending package. The Senate ultimately approved that bill Sunday through budget reconciliation, a process that allowed Democrats to pass the measure with a simple majority, bypassing what likely would have been a Republican vote.
Every House Democrat supported the bill, including Congressman Jared Golden (Maine), the only member of his party to oppose an earlier, more sweeping measure passed by the House that was blocked by Manchin in the Senate.
Golden called the final Inflation Reduction Act “common sense legislation” and “fiscally responsible” in a statement before the vote.
Some progressive lawmakers grumbled that the bill was not as sweeping as they had hoped, but the entire group eventually came together to support the measure.
House lawmakers cut short their summer break to return to Washington to finish work on the bill and send it to Biden.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) began opposing the bill Tuesday, challenging the bill — which his office described as the “Inflation, Recession and IRS Army Act — in a memo to GOP offices in the Chamber.
In a roughly 50-minute speech Friday in the House of Representatives, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) called the legislation a “misguided, dead bill,” criticizing it for inflation concerns and pointing to rising U.S. prices
During the debate, Republicans also challenged the provision that gives $80 billion to the IRS to strengthen law enforcement.
“Democrats more than any other majority in history are addicted to spending foreign money regardless of what we as a country can afford,” McCarthy told the chamber.
“Today, they are now choosing to end the session by spending half a trillion dollars more of your money, raising taxes on the middle class and handing out handouts to their liberal allies,” he added.
Updated at 6:51 p.m
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