Biden to sign health and climate bill on Tuesday

President Biden will sign into law the sweeping climate, health care and tax legislation that has been Democrats’ priority for more than a year during a ceremony at the White House on Tuesday.  

The signing will represent a major milestone for Biden and his domestic economic agenda. The prospects of his climate proposal appeared hopeless a month ago but were dramatically revived in an agreement between Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) at the end of July.  

Biden, fresh off a family vacation in South Carolina, will sign the legislation and deliver a speech in the State Dining Room on Tuesday, according to a White House advisory. With Congress currently on recess, Biden is expected to host a larger celebratory event in September.  

“This historic bill will lower the cost of energy, prescription drugs, and other health care for American families, combat the climate crisis, reduce the deficit, and make the largest corporations pay their fair share of taxes,” the White House advisory said. 

“In the coming weeks, the President will host a Cabinet meeting focused on implementing the Inflation Reduction Act, will travel across the country to highlight how the bill will help the American people, and will host an event to celebrate the enactment of the bill at the White House on September 6th,” it added.  

The legislation, called the Inflation Reduction Act, passed the House in a party-line vote Friday, about a week after passing the Senate with only Democratic votes through a process known as budget reconciliation. Vice President Harris cast the tiebreaking vote.  

The legislation contains provisions to lower prescription drug costs, offer clean energy tax credits to Americans and companies, and establish a 15 percent corporate minimum tax and a 1 percent excise tax on stock buybacks.  

Biden administration officials are preparing to traverse the country to promote the bill in the coming weeks, making the case to voters that Democrats can deliver on their promises in the critical three months before the November midterm elections.

Cabinet members plan to visit 23 states to speak about the bill between now and the end of August, according to a White House memo released Monday morning.