President Joe Biden signs major climate, health care and tax bill into law
President Joe Biden signed into law a Democratic spending bill that seeks to fight climate change, raise taxes on corporations and expand health care coverage.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed into law Tuesday a major Democratic spending bill that seeks to fight climate change, raise taxes on corporations and expand health care coverage.
The bill, dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act, is a major legislative achievement for Democrats ahead of the midterm elections. It passed the House and the Senate last week with the support of every Democrat and no Republicans.
“With this law, the American people won, and the special interests lost,” Biden said in remarks from the White House. “We didn’t tear down; we built up. We didn’t look back; we looked forward. And today offers further proof that the soul of America is vibrant.”
The president signed the measure after he returned to Washington from his vacation in South Carolina, where he monitored the House's passage of the legislation Friday. He now heads to Wilmington, Delaware, for the rest of his vacation.
Inflation Reduction Act invests $369 billion to fight climate changeAug. 11, 202208:40The legislation will raise about $700 billion through corporate tax increases and prescription drug savings, and it will spend about $400 billion on clean energy and health care provisions. The package falls far short of what most Democrats had wanted, however: Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., stripped out safety net items, and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., blocked a slew of tax increases.
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