Unexpected support for President Joe Biden’s top agenda item was announced by a US Democratic senator who has been a political thorn in the White House’s side, Senator Joe Manchin.
Joe Manchin claims he is now in favor of a package that will increase corporate taxes, combat climate change, and cut healthcare costs.
The West Virginians previously opposed the idea, expressing worries that increased spending may make inflation worse.
If the bill were to pass, Mr. Biden would have won a significant legislative win.
Salvaging a crucial aspect of his domestic agenda might also provide his fellow Democrats, who are vying to keep control of Congress as midterm elections approach in November, a much-needed electoral boost.
“If enacted, this legislation will be historic,” said the president.
What precipitated the senator’s abrupt change of heart to support the new bill is unknown. He represents a conservative state that heavily backed the previous president Donald Trump, making him somewhat of a political outlier.
The 74-year-Covid old’s test result was positive earlier this week. He tweeted that he was having slight symptoms despite being properly immunized.
In a statement issued in tandem with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday night, Mr. Manchin gave a few details behind his shift in stance on the plan, which:
- Is said to be much more modest than the $3.5tn (£2.9tn) version Democrats originally put forward
- Would arguably help the US lower its carbon emissions by about 40% by the year 2030
- Would devote $369bn to climate policies such as tax credits for solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles, and to tackling the impact of pollution on low-income communities.
The measure, according to Mr. Manchin and Mr. Schumer, would raise $739 billion (£608 billion) over a decade by increasing the corporate minimum tax on large corporations to 15%, strengthening Internal Revenue Service tax enforcement, and allowing the government to bargain for lower prices on prescription drugs.
To pass the bill through the Senate and deliver it to the House of Representatives, where Democrats hold a narrow majority, President Biden needs the backing of all 50 Democratic senators as well as Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking vote.
If passed, the legislation would be a significant victory for the president because it would formalize many of his major policy objectives and offer to revive the domestic economic agenda that has recently stalled due to broken negotiations.
