Jul 29, 2022 3 min read Politics

With Joe Manchin Reversal, Democrats Move to Pass Most Ambitious Climate Legislation in US History

The new agreement includes America's largest investment to fight climate change in the country's history while also lowering healthcare costs.

Two weeks after upending talks around his own party’s economic agenda, Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) said Thursday he had found renewed cause to change course, having now secured Democratic leaders’ support for fossil fuels along with assurances that their spending package would not contribute to inflation, reports The Washington Post.

Manchin says he ‘never walked away’ as Democrats push spending deal (The Washington Post)

Excerpt from The Washington Post: Now in possession of 725 pages of legislative text, Democrats eagerly began digesting the size and scope of the measure, which amounts to far less than the more ambitious, roughly $2 trillion proposal that the House adopted last year. But a wide array of party lawmakers appeared ready to embrace the new agreement anyway, having seemingly put months of acrimonious bickering with Manchin finally behind them. The bill includes the largest investment in fighting climate change in U.S. history, aiming to boost clean-energy technology even as it delivers some of the support Manchin sought for fossil fuels. It also aims to lower health-care costs, particularly through changes to Medicare that could reduce some prescription drug prices for seniors.

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According to The Guardian, Joe Biden hailed the Inflation Reduction Act as "the most significant legislation in history to tackle the climate crisis" in a White House address welcoming the wide-ranging legislative package.

"This bill will be the most significant legislation in history to tackle the climate crisis and improve our energy security right away, and give us a tool to meet the climate goals... we’ve agreed to by cutting emissions and accelerating clean energy. It’s a huge step forward," said Biden.

Biden hails ‘most significant legislation to tackle climate crisis’ after Manchin says yes (The Guardian)

Excerpt from The Guardian: This bill has won the support of climate leaders like former vice-president Al Gore, who said the bill is, quote, long overdue and a necessary step to ensure the United States takes decisive action on the climate crisis that helps our economy and provides leadership for the world. Climate activists have broadly welcomed the bill which, if passed by Congress, would give Biden a massive victory ahead of November’s midterms. Inflation at 40-year highs and soaring prices in supermarkets and at gas pumps have contributed to the president’s low approval ratings.

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The agreement, which Senate Democrats hope to pass as early as next week, shocked even some who had been involved in the sputtering negotiations over climate legislation during the past year. The announcement of a deal, after many activists had given up hope, almost instantly reset the role of the United States in the global effort to fight climate change, writes The New York Times.

"By a wide margin, this legislation will be the greatest pro-climate legislation that has ever been passed by Congress," Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic majority leader, said in announcing the deal with Mr. Manchin.

Surprise Deal Would Be Most Ambitious Climate Action Undertaken by U.S. (The New York Times)

Excerpt from The New York Times: The bill aims to tackle global warming by using billions of dollars in tax incentives to ramp up wind, solar, geothermal, battery and other clean energy industries over the next decade. Companies would receive financial incentives to keep open nuclear plants that might have closed, or to capture emissions from industrial facilities and bury them underground before they can warm the planet. Car buyers with incomes below a certain level would receive a $7,500 tax credit to purchase a new electric vehicle and $4,000 for a used one. Americans would receive rebates to install heat pumps and make their homes more energy-efficient.

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