CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said that he and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have reached an agreement on legislation addressing climate change, health care costs and deficit reduction.
The Inflation Reduction Act is the byproduct of months of discussions between the West Virginia moderate and the Senate’s top Democrat. The announcement followed doubts about the likelihood of Congress passing a large policy plan after Manchin raised concerns regarding inflation and government spending.
Manchin and Schumer submitted the legislative text on the proposal to the Senate Parliamentarian for a review; they hope the full chamber will consider the proposal next week.
The measure would raise revenue by $739 billion over a decade through a 15% corporate minimum tax, Medicare negotiating prescription drug prices, and enforcing existing tax codes. It dedicates $369 billion for energy and climate change efforts, and $64 billion for extending health insurance subsidies. Around $300 billion would go toward deficit reduction.
Democrats have struggled to get Manchin’s support for sweeping policy proposals during the party’s control of Congress. Manchin rejected the Build Back Better framework last December — even after Democrats reduced the plan’s scope — because of questions about inflation and the national debt. Manchin told Schumer earlier this month he did not want to back a measure involving climate change and taxes until the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released inflation data for July.
“I have worked diligently to get input from all sides on the legislation my Democratic colleagues have proposed and listened to the views of my Republican friends to find a path forward that removes inflationary policies so that Congress can respond to Americans’ suffering from high prices,” Manchin said.