The U.S. Senate have passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, with Vice President Kamala Harris providing the tiebreaking vote in the 51-50 decision. In addition to creating a 15% corporate minimum tax and provisions aimed at lowering the cost of prescription drugs, the bill allocates nearly USD370bn to climate and energy-focused investments and incentives. The package is a dramatically scaled-back version of a prior bill that was blocked by maverick Senate Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema as too expensive. The party’s ability to pass the legislation had been in question until a recent deal announced between Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and holdout US Senator Joe Manchin to include the climate provisions in the bill, although the compromise needed provided a requirement by the government to lease millions of acres of land and offshore locations for oil and gas development. With the passage in the Senate, the bill will proceed to the House, where it seems likely to be approved.

Source: ESGToday