How Inflation Reduction Act Affects American Families, Who Benefits From New Legislation

In a big win for the Biden Administration, the House has officially passed a sweeping piece of legislation to address taxes, healthcare and climate change, sending the package, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, to the President's desk to sign as he and Congress prepare for the up0coming November Midterm Elections.

The $430 billion package passed by a 220-207 margin, with all Republicans opposing, includes $369 billion in spending on climate and energy policies, as well as $64 billion to extend a program from the Affordable Care Act that is set to reduce insurance costs.

Other provisions include allowing Medicare to negotiate prices on 100 different prescription drugs over the next decade. A 15% corporate alternative minimum tax aimed at wealthy corporations is also included, as is $80 billion to boost tax enforcement and compliance capabilities in the Internal Revenue Service. An excise tax on stock buybacks is also included and expected to bring in $74 billion.

Democrats say the bill will raise $737 billion over 10 years and reduce the deficit by more than $300 billion. Climate change is also expected to slash the United States carbon emissions by 40% by 2030.

The lack of support from Republicans in the House comes as no surprise, as the bill was also met with staunch opposition from the other side of the aisle in the Senate. It was able to get through that chamber after Democrats worked for over a year to woo holdout Senators from their side—such as Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) and Krysten Sinema (D-Ariz.). The Senate, which is currently split evenly by party, passed the bill with Vice President Kamala Harris' tiebreaking vote.

While it's unclear how Americans will see the effects of the bill thus far, programs included in it could provide some relief for those who have struggled, particularly as inflation has soared. Whether the bill will be enough to woo voters for the Midterms remains to be seen as well.

Traditionally, whichever party has control of the White House tends to lose control of one or both houses during the Midterms, and was faced by both of Biden's predecessors, Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Obama lost the House to Republicans in 2010, and both chambers in 2012. During Trump's midterms in 2018, Republicans managed to hold the Senate but lost the House.

As of now, predictions show Biden likely losing the lower chamber and just barely holding onto the upper one. According to FiveThirtyEight, Republicans win control of the house 79% of the time in their forecast models, while Democrats win only 21% of the time. For the Senate, Democrats win 61% of the time, while Republicans win 39% of the time.

The most highly anticipated races during the midterms include Senate races in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.