The United States Senate has given the green light to the Democrats’ grand climate and fiscal plan

The United States Senate managed to pass this Sunday the The Democrats’ ambitious plan on climate, health and taxeswhich plans to invest billions of dollars in clean energy over the next ten years, in a vote that required all the progressive votes of the Upper House plus the playoff of its president, the country’s vice president, kamala harris.

The Law on the reduction of inflationthe official name of the project, it went ahead thanks to the voting discipline of the Democratic senators, which resisted a marathon session of over 20 hours of debate and the amendments in which Republicans tried to force politically difficult votes in an attempt to sink progressive consensus.

It is a great triumph for President Joe Biden, who has left his isolation due to the coronavirus.

“It has been a long and difficult road, but we are finally at the end,” Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer said triumphantly, moments before voting began.

The project went ahead despite the passage of one of the latest Republican amendments, aimed at limiting the collection of a minimum tax of 15% to companies that earn more than a billion dollars, thanks to the support of the rebellious Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who raised fears about the future of the agreement.

There were also some amendments by Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders to try to skew some of the climate and health aspects of the program. further to the leftbut all were rejected to keep the project as intact as possible and thus ensure the support of all progressives.

Despite the complicated process, the parliamentary group managed to stick together and voted in unison for the plan, including contentious Senators Sinema and Joe Manchin, whose recent support for the proposal has revived a plan believed dead to little more than a year. year ago.

The project required the affirmative vote of all Democratic representatives to move forward, since all Republicans were against it.

Currently the Senate is split 50-50 between progressives and conservatives, although Democrats have the casting vote of the United States Vice President, who serves as the House Speaker.

The law on reducing inflation and a multimillion dollar investment

The law on reducing inflation it contemplates over 400,000 million dollars in new investmentsalmost all of them focused on boosting the green energy sector in the country and on reducing emissions of polluting gases.

It would represent the largest public investment against climate change in US history. Its supporters believe it it will serve to reduce polluting emissions by 40% of the country between now and 2030.

To finance it, the Democrats propose a Minimum tax of 15% for companies with profits over a billion dollarsand strengthen the tax collection agency to make it more difficult to avoid payments, among other things.

In addition, the plan would allow Medicare, a health coverage program for people over the age of 65, to negotiate the prices of prescription drugs.

The White House he hopes this will lower drug prices and contribute in part to reducing the pressures of high inflation, 9.1% in June, as well as helping to reduce the government deficit.

“This is legislation for families who cannot make ends meet, for the elderly who cannot afford drugs and for children with asthma,” Schumer defended as he presented the proposal on Saturday afternoon.

Republicans have argued, however, that the plan will only increase inflation and that tax increases will end up hurting the middle and working classes more than large corporations.

The law on reducing inflation now it must pass through the House of Representativeswhere the Democrats have a large majority before they are finally approved.

This Saturday’s vote in the Senate is a big win for Biden and for his party, a few months before the November legislative elections, in which many predict a loss of power for progressives against conservatives.