Well, they did it. For the second time in two years, democrats in the Senate held together to pass a fiscal package via a process known as budget reconciliation. The climate, tax, and health care bill—dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—received its deciding vote (51-50) from Vice-President Harris on Sunday afternoon. Every republican voted against it. Now it’s over to the House, where it is expected to pass later this week, and then on to President Biden for his signature....The Lens
They Did It
Stephanie Kelton | Professor of Public Policy and Economics at Stony Brook University, formerly Democrats' chief economist on the staff of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, and an economic adviser to the 2016 presidential campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders
https://stephaniekelton.substack.com/p/they-did-it
Goodies for Big Oil helped them do it.
ReplyDeleteClimate Bill A Huge Giveaway For Oil Industry Admits Joe Manchin - Jimmy Dore Show
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/_BK-o8K4nGs
It’s unfortunate that it took so long for democrats to coalesce around a bill that makes important investments in climate and health care, and it’s unfortunate that the deal would have been impossible without making painful concessions to the fossil fuel industry. But, to paraphrase Don Rumsfeld, ‘you go to climate war with the senate you have, not the senate you might want or wish to have at a later time.’
ReplyDeleteAlthough it is but a shadow of its former Build Back Better self, there is still a lot to celebrate in this bill. Even Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who was visibly frustrated heading into Sunday’s vote-a-rama, described it as “a major step forward in addressing the enormous climate crisis the planet faces.” He pushed for amendments that would have restored many of the provisions that were once considered within reach, but none of them were adopted. To build some of these things back into future legislation, Democrats will need to expand their majorities.
My respect for Stephanie Kelton has dropped to zero. How unfortunate.