At a news conference Thursday, the conservative Democrat told reporters: “People are up in arms, saying they can help the Democrats, so I’m a Republican, I have to be against it. Come on guys, we’re Americans. View the bill. This is a good account. It’s a bill for Democrats and Republicans.” The agreement includes some of the most important climate legislation in US history. It comes after Manchin, a senator from West Virginia — and a frequent critic of the Biden administration — refused to support previous iterations of the president’s flagship economic and social plans. Manchin’s support is crucial because the Senate is split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, giving Biden’s party the narrowest majority with Vice President Kamala Harris tied. Many Democrats also fear they will lose further ground in November’s midterm elections. Manchin said Wednesday that the new bill would not be called “Build Better” — the Biden administration’s name for its ill-fated multitrillion-dollar spending spree — but rather the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.” He added that he would address “record inflation by paying down our national debt, reducing energy costs and reducing health care costs.” The bill includes $300 billion in deficit reduction, paid for by a new minimum corporate tax of 15 percent and closing the tax loophole on carried interest — the share of investment profits hedge fund and private equity managers are paid as an incentive to achieve higher yields. The minimum corporate tax in the legislation could also amount to U.S. ratification of an important aspect of a global tax deal struck by more than 130 nations last year. The new tax revenue, which will be raised over a decade, will be accompanied by $369 billion in spending on climate and energy reforms and $64 billion to support the Affordable Care Act. On Thursday, Manchin defended the move to raise taxes, saying, “If anybody is upset, they weren’t paying anything, come forward and tell us why you were able to have this great country protect you and give you these opportunities [without] you [having] to pay anything to it. I didn’t think it was fair.” The legislation would allow Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, reducing annual health insurance costs for about 13 million Americans by an average of $800 a year. Manchin also cited investments in new technologies to reduce domestic methane and carbon emissions. The bill provides $9 billion to help people make their homes energy efficient and 10 years of tax credits designed to convert homes to clean energy. Includes $7,500 in tax credits for buying new “clean” vehicles and $4,000 for buying used. About $10 billion in investment tax credits will be issued to clean technology manufacturing facilities, including factories that make electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels. The deal could be approved as early as next week before the Senate goes on recess in August, provided it receives enough support from lawmakers. If that happens, it would represent an eleventh-hour victory for the Biden administration, which has been criticized by Democrats for failing to deliver on some of the president’s central campaign promises. “This is the action the American people have been waiting for,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House. “This addresses the problems of today – high health care costs and overall inflation – as well as investing in our energy security for the future.” Senate Democrats and climate activists expressed surprise at the last-minute deal, which had been all but blocked. “Holy shit,” tweeted Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minnesota. “Amazing, but in a good way.” Manchin said his deal included a commitment from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to advance “a common-sense suite of reforms,” ​​smoothing the way for natural gas pipeline projects.

The commitment to fossil fuel infrastructure is likely to draw opposition from environmental and climate groups, which broadly welcomed the announcement but called on Democrats to oppose such an expansion. “Political pressure has finally brought Senator Manchin back to the climate table,” said Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth. “Now, political pressure must protect our fundamental environmental laws.” Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Action, said the deal promoted “false climate solutions”. “Streamlining permits for gas pipelines and exports is not climate action, it’s the opposite,” he added. But the US climate group Sierra Club said it was “encouraged” by the possibility the Senate could pass bold climate action. Lori Lodes, executive director of the environmental group Climate Power, said the bill, if passed, “would put the United States on a path to cut emissions in half by 2030.” “Congress must take advantage of this opening and pass the strongest clean energy and climate provisions as soon as possible.”

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