Not the New Deal, but a big deal
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 10 August 2022
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, Democrats had a surprise victory in the Senate, passing a $700 billion bill to fight climate change and lower health-care costs. This legislation is a big deal - but it’s not exactly what many Democrats were hoping for.
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The Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act on Sunday, and it’s expected to pass the House and become law. The landmark legislation contains climate measures, major changes to health care, tax hikes on corporations and dozens of other provisions. White House economics reporter Jeff Stein says that when the process started, “Democrats were hoping the bill would signal a New Deal-style era, where fundamental parts of the country’s economy and social fabric would change.” Those aspirations may not have been fulfilled, after compromises Democrats made to get the bill passed. But, Stein says, “it’s pretty much bigger than almost any other legislative efforts we’ve seen.” Stein breaks down what’s in the Inflation Reduction Act and how it could affect you as a consumer.
The legislation has a provision that would offer rebates to subsidize the installation of a little-known, energy-efficient solution for cooling homes: heat pumps. The two-way air conditioners keep spaces cool in hot months and warm in cold months – and they’re much better for the environment than using traditional energy sources.Innovations reporter Pranshu Verma fills us in on why heat pumps are worth our attention.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Madam President, it's been a long, tough and winding road, but at last, at last, we have |
| 0:10.9 | arrived. |
| 0:11.9 | I know it's been a long day and a long night, but we've gotten it done. |
| 0:19.5 | Today, after more than a year of hard work, the Senate is making history. |
| 0:25.6 | I am confident the inflation reduction act will endure as one of the defining legislative |
| 0:31.1 | feats of the 21st century. |
| 0:35.0 | After about 15 months from when President Biden initially unveiled his domestic economic |
| 0:40.4 | programs, the Senate finally passed a roughly $700 billion climate energy tax and health |
| 0:46.8 | care bill that will reshape key sectors of the American economy, do more to decarbonize |
| 0:52.1 | the American economy than any other bill passed in the US history and make enormous changes |
| 0:57.1 | to other parts of the country. |
| 0:59.8 | That's Jeff Stein. |
| 1:00.8 | He's the White House economics reporter. |
| 1:03.0 | He says that this Land Mark legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, is expected to pass |
| 1:07.9 | the House this week. |
| 1:09.7 | Then President Biden will sign it into law. |
| 1:13.0 | Jeff says this bill is a huge deal, but for Democrats, it's also kind of a disappointment. |
| 1:20.1 | During this process started, Democrats were hoping that they would be on the cusp of entering |
| 1:26.3 | a sort of new deal style era in which we would change fundamental parts of the country's |
| 1:32.8 | economy and social fabric. |
| 1:34.8 | Those aspirations really were not fulfilled. |
| 1:38.9 | From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports. |
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