WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Sunday rejected attempts to amend a $430 billion measure sought by President Joe Biden, as Democrats pushed ahead with efforts to pass a bill law aimed at controlling climate change and reducing the costs of prescription drugs for the elderly.
Senators, working over the weekend to pass a bill central to Biden’s domestic agenda, worked into the early hours of the morning in hopes of passing the bill before going into recess. August The bill also seeks to toughen enforcement of tax payments by corporations and the wealthy.
“Now is the time to move forward with a big, bold package for the American people,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said at the start of debate Saturday night.
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He said the legislation contains “the boldest clean energy package in American history” to fight climate change while lowering consumer costs of some drugs and energy.
Democrats have come under fire from Republicans for the legislation’s $430 billion in new spending and more than $740 billion in new revenue. Read more
However, Democrats said their bill has deep support among voters. They hope its passage in the Senate and House of Representatives late next week will help Democratic candidates in the Nov. 8 midterm elections at a time when Biden, the leader of his party, is suffering from anemic ratings. public approval
Democrats are in a battle to maintain their close control of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
After spending several hours Saturday debating the legislation, senators engaged in a “branch vote” in which Democratic and Republican amendments were offered in rapid fire.
Hours into the effort, there were no visible signs that senators were running out of energy or amendments, having defeated more than a dozen of them and passed none so far.
Well into the process, Republicans forced votes on immigration amendments, including one to boost the hiring of more Border Patrol agents while cutting other spending.
Another Republican proposal would have enshrined in law a Trump administration policy stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic that effectively shut down the U.S. asylum system. The Biden administration has been in a legal battle to replace the “Title 42” policy with what it described as a more humane and orderly system for migrants crossing the southwest border with Mexico.
Although the Title 42 amendment was defeated by a 50-50 vote, it is likely to become a campaign issue ahead of the November election, forcing vulnerable Democratic senators in border states, such as Mark Kelly to Arizona, to defend its opposition.
Democrats united in opposition to the amendments, fearing that any significant changes could undo their coalition of 50 senators needed to keep the legislation on track.
On Saturday, Schumer celebrated a House lawmaker’s decision to allow the bill to pass with just a simple majority, bypassing a filibuster rule that requires 60 votes in the 100-seat chamber to advance a majority of legislation . That will allow Democrats to push it over Republican objections.
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, a former Democratic-aligned presidential candidate, was soundly defeated on the first amendment that was offered. It would have greatly expanded the number of prescription drugs on the bill eligible for price negotiation under the government’s Medicare insurance plan for seniors.
The 99-1 vote against the amendment drew only Sanders’ support.
The Senate also overwhelmingly defeated a Sanders bid to expand Medicare coverage for glasses, hearing aids and dental care.
This medical part of the broad bill, negotiated for several months by Democrats, would allow Medicare to begin negotiating in 2026 with the pharmaceutical industry on the prices of a limited number of prescription drugs as a way to reduce costs. It would also put a $2,000 annual cap on out-of-pocket drug costs under a Medicare drug program.
GREEN INCENTIVES
Other parts of the bill would reduce US carbon emissions by 40% by 2030 through federal incentives for the manufacture and purchase of electric vehicles and other “green” energy, with the goal of lowering energy prices by general at a time of high inflation.
The Senate also quickly defeated Republican amendments to reduce a proposed new fee on oil refineries to help pay for cleanup of toxic waste spills and another to immediately expand federal leasing of onshore oil drilling projects.
“Instead of begging dictators in other countries to increase oil and gas production, we should be expanding American production,” Republican Senator John Barrasso pleaded to no avail.
The 755-page bill includes a 15% minimum tax on corporations and closing loopholes the wealthy can use to avoid paying taxes. It would also fund the hiring of more IRS workers to better enforce tax payments and imposes a new excise tax on stock buybacks.
Republicans were expected to try to remove a Democratic provision that imposed a $35-a-month cap on insulin costs, which have skyrocketed.
The American pharmaceutical industry was lobbying against the initiative, which Republicans considered dangerous “socialist price controls.”
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Reporting by Richard Cowan Editing by Robert Birsel, Susan Fenton and Frances Kerry
Our standards: the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.