Asian Americans applaud Senate approval of the 'Inflation Reduction Act'

Vice President Kamala Harris cast the deciding vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act.

After 24 hours of Republican attempts to sabotage the "Inflation Reduction Act," the Senate passed a historic budget reconciliation package after rejecting a series of harsh immigration enforcement provisions.

The "IRA," boosted by the White House, includes a myriad of federal programs affecting climate change, tax enforcement, and healthcare.

The Sunday (August 7) vote was strictly along party lines, 51-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the deciding vote. "This afternoon I cast the tie-breaking vote on the Inflation Reduction Act," she said. "This bill will help lower inflation and the cost of living for millions of American families—lowering the cost of health care, prescription drugs, and everyday energy costs."

 

Some of the "poison pills" introduced by the GOP included amendments worsening the immigration system. “Efforts to dismantle the asylum system, restrict family migration, unjustly target and surveil immigrant communities, and increase enforcement or militarize the border, are immoral, extreme, and run counter to American values. Senators should remember that their constituents want economic opportunities, not amendments that would harm immigrant families who make our communities stronger,” said Martin Kim, Associate Director of Immigration Advocacy at Advancing Justice – AAJC.

Although Democrats were able to fight off the poison pills introduced by the GOP senators, the version of the bill that was introduced did not include any positive immigration provisions either, despite previous hopes last year a reconciliation bill might include immigration.

Senate Democrats held firm on voting against a mandatory extension of Title 42, as well as several other harmful immigration amendments. Title 42, as enforced by the Trump Administration designated hundreds of thousands of migrants for “expulsion,” arguing that allowing these migrants to enter the U.S. may increase the spread of COVID-19.

One immigration amendment introduced by GOP Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma would have given the Department of Homeland Security a symbolic $1,000,000 to continue Title 42 indefinitely until 120 days after the COVID-19 public health emergency is terminated, something that is not likely to happen for years. Democrats managed to hold firm against this amendment and defeated it 50-50 by offering a second option for vulnerable members who have previously supported more modest extension of Title 42. That option was a vote for a modified version of a bipartisan bill Lankford had previously put forward with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and other Senate moderates. That vote ultimately failed as well, because it required a 60-vote threshold, allowing six vulnerable Democratic senators to join with the Republican caucus and vote in favor, while knowing the amendment would not pass.

Some Republican amendments were defeated without requiring Democrats to offer an alternative for their more vulnerable members to be able to vote for instead. For example, GOP Sen. Rick Scott of Florida offered an amendment which would block the hiring of any new Internal Revenue Service agents until the Border Patrol hired an additional 18,000 agents “over the top” of the agency’s current total of nearly 20,000 agents. That amendment was defeated on a 50-50 vote.

Although anti-immigrant measures were rejected throughout the night, many immigration advocates and affected community members expressed concerns about the lack of positive immigration amendments in the final bill, such as visa recapture and other legislative priorities. The next chance for many of those provisions is an upcoming vote on the National Defense Authorization Act. The version of that bill that passed out of the House of Representatives contained protections for so-called “documented dreamers,” as well as increased support for Afghan evacuees and their families.

Other amendments aimed to strip out climate-related funding to DHS and replace it with funds for immigration enforcement. An amendment offered by GOP Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee would have eliminated $500 million to DHS for climate resiliency and climate-change-related disaster relief and replaced it with a $440 million slush fund for Immigration and Customs Enforcement that had to be spent in the next two months on deporting and arresting individuals who committed felonies. Another amendment would have stripped out the same climate funding and instead redirected that money to building new border wall. Each of those amendments was defeated in turn.

“The Inflation Reduction Act will lower the cost of health care coverage for millions of Americans by extending Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years, which impacts nearly 200,000 Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, and an estimated 50,000 will continue to be eligible for zero-premium Marketplace plans with these subsidies," said Juliet K. Choi, president and CEO of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF).

“For the first time ever, this bill allows Medicare to negotiate the prices of medicines directly and caps out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000 per year. By reining in health care costs, this legislation will provide better access to affordable health care for underserved families, particularly for families of color.

The House is expected to vote on the Senate revisions this week where it will likely receive a warm reception.

The Chairs of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) applauded the recent Senate passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. CAPAC Chair Rep. Judy Chu, CBC Chair Rep. Joyce Beatty and CHC Chair Rep. Raul Ruiz released the following statement:

“The Inflation Reduction Act is a historic piece of legislation that will lower the cost of prescription drugs and health insurance, reduce everyday energy costs, invest in working families, create millions of well-paid union jobs, and will take big action to address the climate crisis. It has an equity lens to ensure that no community is left behind and that those impacted most by climate change and rising health care costs will significantly benefit. The Senate’s passage of this bill is a major step forward that will benefit rural communities and communities of color across the nation."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.