Voice of America
05 Aug 2022, 16:05 GMT+10
WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats have reached an accord on eleventh-hour changes to their top-priority economic legislation, they announced late Thursday, clearing their major hurdle to moving the measure through the chamber in coming days.
Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a centrist who was seen as the pivotal vote, said in a statement that she had agreed to changes in the measure's tax and energy provisions and was ready to 'move forward' on the bill.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said lawmakers had achieved a compromise 'that I believe will receive the support' of all Democrats in the chamber. His party needs unanimity to move the measure through the 50-50 Senate, along with Vice President Kamala Harris' tie-breaking vote.
Schumer has said he hopes the Senate can begin voting on the energy, environment, health and tax measure on Saturday. Passage by the House, which Democrats control narrowly, could come next week.
Final congressional approval of the election-year measure would be a marquee achievement for President Joe Biden and his party, notching an accomplishment they could tout to voters as November approaches.
Sinema said Democrats had agreed to remove a provision raising taxes on 'carried interest,' or profits that go to executives of private equity firms. That's been a proposal she has long opposed, though it is a favorite of other Democrats, including conservative West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, an architect of the overall bill.
The carried interest provision was estimated to produce $13 billion for the government over the coming decade, a small portion of the measure's $739 billion in total revenue.
It will be replaced by a new excise tax on stock buybacks, which will bring in more revenue than that, said one Democrat familiar with the agreement who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the deal publicly.
The official provided no other details.
The Senate won't be in session Friday as Democrats continue their talks. That pause will also provide time for the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, to decide if any of the bill's provisions violate the chamber's rules and should be removed.
Get a daily dose of Mexico Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Mexico Star.
More InformationNew York [US], August 19 (ANI): UN chief Antonio Guterres on Friday expressed his deep concern over a series of ...
cairo - Algeria's civil protection authority said Thursday that the death toll from forest fires raging in at least 26 ...
Your education has a huge effect on your life chances. As well as being likely to lead to better wages, ...
Faced with the winds of social change, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) redefined family reunification to include same-sex couples ...
algiers, algeria - Wildfires raging in the forests of eastern Algeria have killed at least 37 people and wounded 161 ...
Siliguri [Assam], August 18, (ANI): Defence minister Rajnath Singh paid homage to the military personnel who lost their lives, during ...
DHAKA, Bangladesh - Michelle Bachelet has urged the Bangladesh government to establish an independent investigation into allegations of enforced disappearances. ...
LONDON, England: Despite a legal challenge in London's High Court in early September, the UK government is continuing to pursue ...
NEW DELHI, India: During his national day address this week, Prime Minister NarendraModi said India will seek to become a ...
LONDON, England: The cap on flight departures from London's Heathrow Airport will beextended until October 29, airport officials announced.Heathrow capped ...
BERLIN, Germany: Highlighting Berlin's increasing focus on assisting in the Indo-Pacific region amidst rising tensions with China over Taiwan, Germany ...
PARIS, France: French firefighters have stopped the spread of a "monster" wildfire in the country's southwest, allowing the reopening of ...