Joe Biden hails Democrats’ breakthrough on health, climate spending bill
- In unexpected turnabout, Senate Democrats strike deal for economic and climate package
- For months, Democrat Senator Joe Manchin’s opposition had blocked a larger agreement
US President Joe Biden hailed a breakthrough in getting a major chunk of his seemingly doomed healthcare and climate crisis agenda through Congress after Senate Democrats overcame divisions.
“This is the action the American people have been waiting for. This addresses the problems of today – high healthcare costs and overall inflation – as well as investments in our energy security for the future,” Biden said in a statement on Wednesday.
The bill still has some way to go before becoming law but the multibillion dollar package finally won crucial support from conservative Democratic Senator Joe Manchin. His previous opposition had essentially killed Biden’s ambitious plans, because in the 50-50 Senate, where Republicans rarely back Biden on anything, Democrats can’t afford to lose a single vote.
“I have worked diligently to get input from all sides on the legislation my Democratic colleagues have proposed and listened to the views of my Republican friends to find a path forward that removes inflationary policies so that Congress can respond to Americans’ suffering from high prices,” Manchin said.
For Biden, whose approval ratings hover below 40 per cent, the truce with Manchin comes as a big political boost ahead of November midterms when his Democratic Party is forecast to lose control of Congress to the Republicans.
If passed, the bill will pour some US$369 billion into clean energy and climate initiatives and US$64 billion into state-funded healthcare, including a popular measure meant to lower ruinously high prescription medicine prices.