By
Sahil Kapur
-
NBC News
The House of Representatives will vote this Friday on the approval of the broad bill promoted by the president, Joe Bien, to combat the climate emergency and extend medical coverage, which was already approved by the Senate last week and would thus remain pending his signature at the White House.
Passage by the House Democratic majority of the Inflation Reduction Act will deliver a major victory for Biden and his party with less than three months to go before the November midterm elections, capping a year of negotiations in the that many times the bill was considered dead.
“This unparalleled legislation increases the influence of the public interest over the private interest,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a letter. American families,” he added.
Pelosi, in Washington DC on August 10, 2022. Mariam Zuhaib / AP
Pelosi highlighted four key aspects of the bill: allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, to lower them;
extend Affordable Care Act funding for three more years;
promulgate a series of provisions on energy and climate;
and reduce the public deficit.
The legislation will raise nearly $700 billion through tax increases for large corporations and savings on prescription drugs, and direct $400 billion toward clean energy and other health care provisions.
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Democrats have a slim majority in the House and no hope of gaining support from Republicans, meaning they cannot afford to lose more than four votes from their fellow party members.
On Sunday, the Senate approved the package after a 51-50 vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tiebreaking vote.
“After more than a year of hard work, the Senate is making history.
This law will endure as one of the defining legislative feats of the 21st century,” said Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York.
Republicans have criticized the new taxes included in the bill, as well as increased funding from the IRS, the agency tasked with collecting them.
Democrats argue it will help go after the most sophisticated tax evaders and strengthen refund processing.
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House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., called the bill "a half-trillion-dollar spending spree that would raise taxes during a recession."