Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., on Wednesday announced that they have struck a long-awaited deal on legislation that aims to reform the tax code, fight climate change and cut health-care costs.
The reconciliation bill would invest more than $400 billion over 10 years, to be fully paid for by closing tax loopholes on the richest Americans and corporations, the senators said in a joint statement. It would reduce deficits by $300 billion over that decade, the senators said, citing estimates from nonpartisan congressional tax and budget offices.
The package would raise an estimated $739 billion, including:
- $313 billion through a 15% corporate minimum tax
- $288 billion through prescription drug pricing reforms
- $124 billion through the IRS enforcement of a reformed tax code
- $14 billion through closing the carried interest loophole
The bill would also invest a total of $433 billion:
- $369 from a suite of energy and climate-related programs
- $64 billion from extending an expanded Affordable Care Act program for three years, through 2025
The full Senate will consider the bill next week, Schumer and Manchin said. They hope that the legislation will meet the Senate Parliamentarian’s budget reconciliation rules, allowing Democrats to pass it without needing GOP votes.
The package was revealed hours after the Senate passed a bipartisan bill aimed at boosting U.S. competitiveness with China by subsidizing the domestic production of semiconductors.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., had previously warned that Republicans would not back that China competition bill if Democrats continued to pursue unrelated reconciliation legislation.
Schumer and Manchin billed the package as a way to fight runaway inflation while addressing other Democratic agenda items, including cutting down on carbon emissions by 40% by 2030.
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