Biden signs health, tax and climate bill into law
US
President Joe Biden has signed a $700bn (£579bn) bill that aims to fight
healthcare costs and climate change while raising taxes mainly on the rich.
The act includes measures to make good
on decades of congressional promises to curb the price of prescription drugs.
The final version is more modest in
scope than the $3.5tn package first envisaged by Democrats.
A flagship of Mr Biden's agenda, the
bill could provide a boost ahead of the mid-term elections.
Voters casting their ballots in
November will decide whether Mr Biden's Democrats retain control of Congress
for two more years.
The president hailed the bill as he
signed it on Tuesday as the "final piece" of his long-stalled
domestic agenda.
The package invests $375bn to fight
climate change - the most significant federal investment in history in the
issue.
It is projected to lower US emissions
by up to 42% by 2030, compared with the current US trajectory, which would
lower emissions by up to 35%, according to an analysis by the Rhodium Group, a
consultancy.
The bill does not require companies to
reduce their emissions, but includes tax incentives for firms to invest in
renewable energy and rebates for people who buy electric cars or invest in
energy-efficient home improvements.
In a major breakthrough, the package
allows the government to negotiate lower prices for some prescription medicines
provided under its Medicare health insurance programme for those aged over 65.
That is expected to save hundreds of
billions of dollars over the next decade, according to estimates from the
nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
On Tuesday, Mr Biden said the signing
of the bill was a "historic moment", adding: "Every single
Republican in Congress voted against this bill."
But Republican Senate leader Mitch
McConnell said the legislation "means higher taxes, higher energy bills,
and aggressive IRS audits".
Key economic claims about the
legislation have been under scrutiny.
Despite being called the Inflation
Reduction Act (IRA), the package will have zero measurable impact on inflation,
according to an analysis by the Penn Wharton Budget Model, a group of
economists and data scientists at University of Pennsylvania.
The bill sets a minimum 15% tax for
corporations, and Democrats have pledged it will entail no tax hikes for those
with incomes below $400,000 a year.
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