By The FirstDemocrat Senator Joe Manchin has reportedly reached a deal with Chuck Schumer that will allocate new spending on green energy and healthcare just hours before a critical economic report is released.
From CNN:
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin on Wednesday announced a deal on an energy and health care bill, representing a breakthrough after more than a year of negotiations that have collapsed time and again.
But it will face furious GOP opposition.
With a deal in hand, the health and climate bill stands a serious chance of becoming law as soon as August – assuming Democrats can pass the bill in the House and that it passes muster with the Senate parliamentarian to allow it to be approved along straight party lines in the budget process.
While Manchin scuttled President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill, the final deal includes a number of provisions the moderate from West Virginia had privately scoffed at. That includes provisions addressing the climate crisis.
The agreement contains a number of Democrats’ goals. While many details have not been disclosed, the measure would invest $369 billion into energy and climate change programs, with the goal of reducing carbon emissions by 40% by 2030, according to a one-page fact sheet. For the first time, Medicare would be empowered to negotiate the prices of certain medications, something Democrats say would raise $288 billion, and it would cap out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 for those enrolled in Medicare drug plans. It would extend expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act for three years.
