After 18 months of negotiations, it seems that Joe Biden is going to score a victory with his social and climate reform. The US Congress is scheduled to begin debating a doctored version of the US president’s flagship bill on Saturday.
“This bill is going to radically change things for American households and for our economy,” promised the White House tenant, who came into office with the ambition to make major reforms.
This plan – the result of numerous commitments with the most right wing of his party – includes 370,000 million dollars to meet Biden’s goals on greenhouse gas emissions.
– Solar energy –
If approved, it will be the largest investment in clean energy by the United States, something that Biden has called “historic.”
Despite the fact that the United States suffers from the effects of global warming every year, it is very low on the list of concerns of households, far behind inflation or unemployment.
To ensure that these investments have the support of Americans, the Democrats chose to target their wallet. A portion of these funds will serve to finance tax credits for producers and consumers of wind, solar and nuclear energy.
This budget is also intended to strengthen the restoration capacity of forests in the face of the enormous fires that ravage the west of the country with greater force each year, an effect attributed to global warming.
– Cheaper medicines –
The “Inflation Reduction Act,” as it has been dubbed, seeks both to address the high prices of medicines such as insulin and to erase, in part, the enormous inequalities in access to medical services in the United States.
“The anguish of people who cannot pay for medicine that could save their lives is going to be reduced,” said the leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Chuck Schumer.
The vast reform that will begin to be discussed in the Senate contemplates that the large pharmaceutical groups make discounts on certain medicines whose prices rise more than inflation.
Biden’s co-supporters denounce that the costs of some treatments are too high, reaching up to 10 times more expensive than in other developed countries.
The outrage, however, is far from unanimous in the country, where many think that health is an individual matter, not the State.
The bill also seeks to reduce the federal deficit through a minimum corporate tax of 15% for all companies with profits greater than 1,000 million dollars.
– “Fail” –
These investments, popular among Americans according to several polls, are attacked by Republicans, who accuse Biden of pouring gasoline on the fire to an inflation that reaches figures not seen for a record.
“We’re going to do everything we can to defeat this bill,” influential Republican Senator John Thune promised on Friday.
But his means to block the initiative are limited, since the Democrats do not need the vote of any Republican. The opposition, however, will try to slow down the legislative process by presenting amendments during the debates.
The Senate is scheduled to vote early next week, after which the text will go to the House of Representatives, where Democrats have a narrow majority.
Biden, who urgently needs a political victory ahead of the November legislative elections, urged Congress to pass the law without delay.
