When Democrats outfox Republicans you know the world has gone bonkers. But, welcome to another BradCast from Bonkers World! [Audio link to full show is posted below this summary.]
With weeks of unprecedented global heat records around the world and here in the U.S., and more deadly flash flooding — today it was Kentucky’s turn, sadly — a major deal to finally take on climate change among Democrats comes not a moment too soon.
Surprising apparently everyone in D.C., corrupt coal-state Senator Joe Manchin and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a deal on Wednesday night to raise taxes on huge corporations and allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices in order to help pay for pharmaceutical subsidies for the elderly, expansion of subsidies for individuals who purchased health care on the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) exchanges and…wait for it…to make the federal government’s largest-ever investment to fight climate change and decrease carbon emissions that cause it by 40% by 2030.
It’s not saying much, of course, to say “largest-ever investment” to fight climate change, given how little the U.S. government has ever spent on it, thanks to fossil fuel-funded Congressional denial and obstruction. And whether this measure can actually curb that much of the deadly emissions causing our climate emergency remains to be seen. But the agreement struck, in apparent complete secret by Manchin and Schumer for what is now called the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (nee: Build Back Better Act), is set to raise $739 billion in revenues and spend some $433 billion on long-overdue investments (including at least $369 billion for climate) over the next decade. It will also decrease the deficit by hundreds of billions and will keep Joe Biden‘s long promise to not raise taxes on individuals or companies making less than $400,000 a year. (Shumer/Manchin’s one-page summary is here. Full 725-page bill is here. Both PDFs.)
Yes, the new proposal is smaller than Biden and the Democrats had originally hoped, and leaves out some critical stuff for another day. It also includes some pretty outrageous fossil fuel-friendly provisions to win over Manchin. But, all told, this bill is nothing to sneeze at.
The question, of course, is whether all Dems in the Senate (including Manchin, who has a habit of changing his mind, if you haven’t heard) and enough Dems in the House can agree to pass the bill. No Republican votes will be needed to pass the spending measure under the Senate’s special reconciliation rule.
Schumer says the bill will be put up for a vote next week. That, after he outfoxed Mitch McConnell to broker the deal in the first place. McConnell is so hopping mad about it all that he’s now, foolishly, actually taking it out on combat veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits. We explain how all of this happened on today’s show, along with details on what is actually in the bill — both good and bad — and what is not.
If it’s passed successfully — still a big “if” — it could prove to be a breakthrough for Dems in advance of the November elections which, as we’ve discussed, may not play out with a Dem shellacking as pundits citing “Conventional Wisdom” have long told you. We’ve been arguing in recent weeks and months that these are decidedly UNconventional times and — along with the potential…hopeful…maybe passage of this major new bill and its revival of a Joe Biden/Democratic Party agenda — there are additional reasons this week to remain skeptical of the “Conventional Wisdom” from TV pundits and op-ed geniuses about this year’s midterm elections.
Desi Doyen is along for the ride as usual today, with keen insight and smart explanation of the climate portions of the new Dem deal and our latest Green News Report…
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