BREAKING:
Manchin, in a Reversal, Agrees to Climate and Tax
Package
The West Virginia Democrat, a holdout on his party’s
domestic agenda, said the package would reduce inflation, a concern he had
cited in rejecting it just weeks ago.
“This bill will cut the inflation taxes Americans are
paying, lower the cost of health insurance and prescription drugs, and ensure
our country invests in the energy security and climate change solutions we need
to remain a global superpower,” Senator Joe Manchin III said in a statement on
Wednesday.
Emily
Cochrane
By Emily
Cochrane
July 27,
2022, 5:26 p.m. ET
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/27/us/politics/manchin-climate-tax-bill.html
WASHINGTON
— Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, announced on Wednesday
that he had struck a deal with Democratic leaders on a domestic spending
package that includes climate and energy programs and tax increases, less than
two weeks after abruptly upending hopes for such a deal this summer.
In a
statement, Mr. Manchin, who had been his party’s main holdout on an expansive
social policy, climate and tax package, confirmed his support for the measure
in a statement that did not provide detail on its precise elements. But in the
statement, he signaled support for climate and energy programs, as well as some
tax provisions, all of which he had previously suggested he could not support
because of concerns about inflation.
It was not
clear what had changed his mind about the plan, which only weeks ago he had
said he could not back until he saw more economic data next month.
“Rather
than risking more inflation with trillions in new spending, this bill will cut
the inflation taxes Americans are paying, lower the cost of health insurance
and prescription drugs, and ensure our country invests in the energy security
and climate change solutions we need to remain a global superpower through
innovation rather than elimination,” Mr. Manchin said in a statement.
Mr. Manchin
pointedly christened the bill the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, making a
clear distinction between it and the ambitious multi-trillion-dollar domestic
policy plan President Biden proposed and Democrats in Congress spent most of
last year toiling to pass.
“Build Back
Better is dead, and instead we have the opportunity to make our country
stronger by bringing Americans together,” Mr. Manchin said. “I will do
everything I can to usher in a new era of compromise and common sense that will
make America more energy secure, financially sound and a more united country
for this generation and the next.”
Democrats
had resigned themselves to passing a narrow package aimed at lowering the cost
of prescription drugs and extending expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies
before leaving for the August recess, after Mr. Manchin privately told party
leaders this month that he would not support any climate or tax proposals in
the short term.
Emily
Cochrane is a reporter in the Washington bureau, covering Congress. She was
raised in Miami and graduated from the University of Florida. @ESCochrane
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