(Video Credit: Forbes Breaking News)
Sen. Chuck Schumer has effectively pulled a fast one on Sen. Mitch McConnell, collaborating with Sen. Joe Manchin to resurrect the “Build Back Broke” deal in the name of reducing inflation and promoting President Joe Biden’s climate change agenda.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) came to an agreement on Wednesday after a year of negotiations on the tax and climate deal. In a surprise announcement, Manchin did an about-face and reentered the Democratic fold on the issue. The Senate is set to take up the text of the bill next week, according to NBC News.
The move by Manchin looks duplicitous and dishonest, considering that the Senate passed the CHIPS Act, a $280 billion bill focused on strengthening U.S. semiconductor manufacturing in order to counter Chinese dominance, prior to his announcement.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) agreed that his caucus would not block the CHIPS Act as long as Democrats halted their efforts to pass a major tax and climate bill – the one that Schumer and Manchin just brought back to life.
Earlier in July, it was thought the bill was permanently dead after Manchin reportedly told Democratic leaders that he wouldn’t support a bill addressing taxes and climate change until after the August recess, or, in fact, ever, according to Bloomberg. Now, he has reversed course in what looks like a planned bait and switch tactic that took McConnell by surprise. It also appears that Schumer engineered the whole ruse. Over a dozen Democrats huddled with him after his political coup.
Build Back Broke is going to bankrupt America.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) July 27, 2022
Ironically, the Schumer-Manchin bill is called the Inflation Reduction Act. It is 725 pages long.
The bill calls for $433 billion in new spending. Most of that will go toward clean energy and climate change. The legislation will also allegedly raise $739 billion in taxes by closing loopholes in the tax code that ostensibly benefit the wealthiest Americans and businesses.
The bill contains a minimum 15% tax on companies worth more than $1 billion and will also have investments in energy, which include nuclear, renewables, and fossil fuels. Democrats are practically drooling over it.
Update on Inflation Reduction Act: This will be the biggest climate action in human history. $370B for investments in clean energy, clean transportation, energy storage, farming, home electrification, and clean tech. The planet is on fire. Let’s get it done.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) July 27, 2022
“I now propose and will vote for the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Rather than risking more inflation with trillions in new spending, this bill will cut the inflation taxes Americans are paying, lower the cost of health insurance and prescription drugs, and ensure our country invests in energy security and climate change solutions,” Manchin said in a statement. “President Biden, Leader Schumer, and Speaker Pelosi have committed to advancing a suite of commonsense permitting reforms this fall.”
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi declared that the reconciliation package is “welcome news for House Democrats.”
“It is welcome news for House Democrats, who have fought relentlessly to lower the cost of health care, combat the climate crisis, and ensure that the biggest corporations and the wealthiest few pay their fair share,” Pelosi said in a letter sent to Democratic lawmakers. “This agreement is a victory for America’s families and for protecting our planet. In light of the discussions of the past year, this agreement is a remarkable achievement. We will continue to fight for priorities not contained in this legislation — because more must be done on behalf of America’s working families and to save the planet.”
“Democrats have already crushed American families with historic inflation,” a betrayed McConnell angrily tweeted Wednesday night. “Now they want to pile on giant tax hikes that will hammer workers and kill many thousands of American jobs. First they killed your family’s budget. Now they want to kill your job too.”
Democrats have already crushed American families with historic inflation.
Now they want to pile on giant tax hikes that will hammer workers and kill many thousands of American jobs.
First they killed your family's budget. Now they want to kill your job too.— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) July 27, 2022
Not everyone on the left thinks the bill will come to fruition, however.
“I think it’s not a sure thing yet,” Mark Penn, who is the former chief strategist for Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, told Fox News Digital. “I don’t think it will affect the midterms one way or the other — midterms being driven by inflation, not congressional action.”
It is highly doubtful that the bill will get any Republican support. To pass the bill, 60 votes are required to begin and end debate on legislation. That means 10 Republicans would have to support the bill which is not likely. However, using the budget reconciliation process, bills can pass with a simple majority, which means that as a tie-breaker, Vice President Kamala Harris can push the bill through.
Before that can happen though, the Senate parliamentarian has to approve the major provisions in the bill as being relevant to the budget. The parliamentarian may rule that certain provisions must be removed from the bill.
The seemingly endless sequels of @POTUS’s Build Back Broke agenda aren’t getting any better for the American people.
More taxing & spending + another Green New Deal will only put our economy further off track. https://t.co/C55D36NHfU
— Senator Roger Wicker (@SenatorWicker) July 27, 2022
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) is still a wildcard in the matter. She has spoken out against a number of the tax provisions in the bill. It is unclear if she has been convinced to reverse course as Manchin did.
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