Biden to sign major climate and health care spending bill

• Biden is expected to deliver remarks from the White House’s State Dining Room.
• The bill seeks to fight climate change, raise taxes on corporations and expand health care coverage.
• The package falls far short of what most Democrats had wanted in exchange for safety net items.

A comprehensive Democratic spending measure that aims to combat climate change, increase taxes on corporations, and increase access to healthcare will be signed into law by President Joe Biden on Tuesday.

Around 3:30 p.m. ET, Biden is scheduled to make a speech from the State Dining Room of the White House for the signing of the bill known as the Inflation Reduction Act.

After more than a year of trying to reach a compromise that pleased both progressives and moderates in the party, the package marks a significant legislative accomplishment for Democrats ahead of the midterm elections.

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The president, who was on vacation in South Carolina and had followed the House’s passage of the bill on Friday, will return in the morning. After he signs the measure, he’ll continue his vacation in Wilmington, Delaware.

The bill was approved by the House on a party-line vote of 220-207, with no Republicans voting in favour. The legislation was approved by the Senate earlier this week on a 51–50 vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the deadlock.

Through corporate tax increases and prescription medication cost cuts, the measure will earn roughly $700 billion, and it will spend about $400 billion on provisions for clean energy and healthcare.

The safety net provisions were removed by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and a number of tax increases were rejected by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., so the package falls far short of what most Democrats had hoped for.

Within the framework of a “planned August recess travel blitz,” as described by White House officials, Biden intends to rely on members of his Cabinet to highlight the advantages of the bill for Americans.

Including Tuesday, nine members of the Cabinet have already scheduled 18 appearances across the nation, with Michael Regan, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, scheduled to speak about the legislation at a conference in Oklahoma City.

A number of provisions in the law are targeted at assisting consumers, including tax credits for electric cars and clean energy home goods as well as discounts on prescription medications and health insurance rates.

On September 6, more people will be invited to a larger “celebration,” according to White House officials.

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