From WWW.FOXNEWS.COM
President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law on Tuesday, saying “the American people won, and the special interests lost” with the new legislation and touting Democratic support while slamming Republicans for not backing the bill.
The president returned to the White House after a week-long vacation in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. Biden was joined by House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer during an event in the State Dining Room at the White House.
“With this law, the American people won, and the special interests lost,” Biden said Tuesday. “This administration began amid a dark time in America … a once-in-a-century pandemic, devastating joblessness, clear and present threats to democracy and the rule of law, doubts about America’s future itself — and yet we’ve not wavered, we’ve not flinched, and we’ve not given in.”
Biden said, instead, the law will “deliver results for the American people.”
“We didn’t tear down. We built up. We didn’t look back. We look forward,” Biden said. “And today, today, offers further proof that the soul of America is vibrant. The future of America is bright, and the promise of America is real. And just beginning.”
The bill, which was passed by the Senate earlier this month and the House of Representatives last week, costs an estimated $437 billion, with $369 billion going toward investments in “Energy Security and Climate Change,” according to a summary by Senate Democrats.
Vice President Kamala Harris cast a tie-breaking vote to allow the legislation to pass, 51-50, in the Senate, and the House passed the legislation a few days later.
“I am confident this bill will endure as one of the greatest legislative feats in decades,” said Schumer, D-N. Y. “In normal times, getting these bills done would be a huge achievement, but to do now, with only 50 Democratic votes in the Senate over an intransigent Republican minority, is nothing short of amazing.”
Schumer thanked Biden for his leadership during the Tuesday event, and he thanked his Democratic colleagues, including Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., for joining together to pass the package, saying it shows “how dedicated and persistent our caucus is.”
Clyburn touted Biden for being a “statesman willing to put people over politics” and called the House of Representatives’ passage of the legislation “one of the few truly historic days in the 30 years I spent in Congress.”
“The bill I’m about to sign is not just about today, it’s about tomorrow,” Biden said. “It’s about delivering progress and prosperity to American families.”
He added: “It’s about showing the American and the American people that democracy still works in America, notwithstanding all the talk of its demise, not just for the privileged few but for all of us.”
Biden said that the “critical duty” of the president is “to defend what is best about America” and to “pursue justice, to ensure fairness, deliver results that create possible these possibilities that all of us, all of us can live a life of consequence and prosperity in a nation that’s safe and secure.”
“That’s the job I’m fulfilling,” Biden said, adding, “And today is part of an extraordinary story that has been written by this administration and our brave allies in the Congress.”
Biden also stressed that the Inflation Reduction Act, consistent with his campaign promise, will not raise taxes on any American making less than $400,000.
Biden, in a swipe at Republicans, said, “Democrats sided with the American people and every single Republican in the Congress sided with the special interests in this, every single one.”
“Remember, every single Republican in Congress voted against this bill — every single Republican in Congress voted against lowering prescription drug prices, against lowering health care costs, against the fairer tax system,” Biden said. “Every single Republican, every single one, voted against tackling the climate crisis against lowering our energy cost, against creating good paying jobs.”… (Read more)
