The Inflation Reduction Act ― while substantially narrowed from prior versions ― is now poised to give President Joe Biden another major legislative victory ahead of November’s midterm elections. Its given name is a reflection of the shaky politics for his party at the moment, with rising costs of food, gasoline and energy at the top of voters’ minds.
The bill would also enact a change Democrats have sought for more than a decade ― to allow Medicare to negotiate with drug companies over the prices of prescription drugs. That kind of haggling was outlawed in the 2003 Part D prescription drug benefit bill passed by Republicans.
Democrats had initially hoped to pass a much broader social policy bill, but couldn’t get Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on board with things like paid leave, affordable housing and child care. After months of stalled talks that left progressives steaming, Manchin shocked Washington by agreeing to a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on a narrower package, and angering Republicans who believed he had driven the final nail in the coffin.
Democrats eventually won over Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), their last holdout, by agreeing to make several changes to the bill, including eliminating a provision that would have tightened a tax loophole associated with hedge fund managers and private equity executives. That measure was replaced with a new excise tax on stock buybacks slated to begin in 2023.
Other proposed Republican amendments aimed to put in place proposals that Democrats said they supported but that were not included in the bill, like a revamp of environmental permitting requirements and opening up Outer Continental Shelf areas for energy exploration. They were defeated by a 49-50 procedural vote and a 50-50 tally, respectively.
“My R[epublican] friends have made clear they’re completely unwilling to support this bill under any condition. None of their amendments would change that. For this reason, I’ll vote to protect the integrity of the IRA regardless of the substance of their fake amendments,” Manchin tweeted Saturday, pledging to stick with Democrats in brushing back the GOP’s efforts.
Not all of the defeated amendments were from Republicans, though. Senate Democrats stuck to their plan to avoid upsetting the bill’s delicate balance with any on-the-fly changes ― meaning that proposed amendments offered by Senate Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), which would have expanded health care benefits, were defeated on 1-99, 3-97 and 1-98 votes.
“Senator Sanders is right,” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said after Sanders proposed an amendment to extend a monthly child allowance. “But I ask my colleagues to vote no, because this would bring the bill down.”
Democratic attempts to introduce a $35 cap on insulin prices also failed, because the Senate parliamentarian concluded that the provision violated the complex rules that govern legislation moving through the reconciliation process. Democrats sought to include the measure in the bill anyway, but Republicans voted to strip it out.
