Conservative Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Silena (Arizona), announced that she will support Inflation Reduction Act. It was created after Democratic leaders agreed to raise taxes on wealthy and businesses to fund the bill.
Sinema said in a statement that, after the Senate parliamentarian reviews the budget package, she will “move forward” with the bill. With Sinema’s support, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) says that the Senate now has all 50 Democrats on board to pass the bill via a simple majority vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris’s vote being the 51st.
Sinema’s opposition was likely the last roadblock Democrats needed to clear after they announced the bill last week following negotiations with conservative Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia). Among the Many large concessionsMade to appease Manchin Giveaways to the fossil fuel industrya host of proposals to help middle- and low-income Americans were omitted. In order to get Sinema’s support, Democrats also had to nix plans to close a tax loophole that allows the wealthy to dodge millions of dollars in taxes.
The Carry interest loopholeThis allows hedge fund managers and private equity investors to pay lower taxes due to lower capital gains taxes. was slated toOver the next decade, raise $14 billion in funds
However, lobbyists have been lobbying against the closing of the loophole for many years. have targetedSinema, particularly on the IRA and taking out ads in Arizona in order to sway the lawmaker in opposition to the proposal. Democrats voted against the carried interest proposal. have added a 1 percent excise tax on companies’ stock buyback plans to raise funds, according to CNN.
Sinema had also raised concerns regarding the 15% corporate minimum income tax proposal, which is the main revenue generating component of the bill. In fact, lobbyists said that she had directly asked business groups in private calls if the proposal was “written in a way that’s bad” for the businesses. But nixing the minimum tax would weaken Manchin’s goal of reducing the deficit, and it’s unclear if the proposal is still in the bill.
More proposals may be taken out after the Senate parliamentarian reviews the budget reconciliation bill, in which all of the proposals must have an impact on the nation’s budget. It’s unclear if the parliamentarian will rule against any parts of the bill.
The bill is currently in effect This contains about$433 billion in new spending. $369 billion will go towards climate initiatives. is estimated willThe bill will reduce greenhouse gas emissions up to 40% by the end of the decade. But the bill also includes major giveaways to the fossil fuel industry — giveaways so significant thatExxon executives have pledged their support for the package.
Another proposal to allow Medicare to negotiate a limited number of prescription drug prices made it into the bill, which is a mere shadow of last year’s Build Back Better Act. The smallest version of the bill. That bill was well worth it$1.75 trillion and included a wide variety of proposals that are currently off the table like guaranteed paid family leaves.
Republicans are colluding to get the drug price proposal nixed by the parliamentarian — and, though the parliamentarian’s opinion is merely a suggestion and there is no legal mandate to follow it, Democrats Had allowedAfter the parliamentarian opposed it, the bill that would have raised the federal minimum wage by $15 was thrown out.
Schumer announced on ThursdayWhen the chamber reconvenes on Sunday, the Senate will take the first steps in passing the bill. If it passes with all 50 Democratic votes, the chamber will begin a “vote-a-rama,” an often cumbersome process during which lawmakers can introduce an unlimited number of amendments to the bill. The bill will then move to the House.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) will propose some of these amendments. Because Democrats have made significant concessions for Manchin and his corporate and fossil fuel donorsThe bill is now far weaker than what progressives have proposed. Originally wanted to last year. On Wednesday, Sanders declared that he would be introducing provisional legislation. To removeProposals to expand the oil & gas industry from the bill, to expand Medicare and expand the drug price plan, and encouraged other to introduce amendments that would strengthen the package.
