US President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed the&nbsp;Inflation Reduction Act, a much toned-down version of his election manifesto promise of the Build Back Better plan. Biden signed the bill with&nbsp;West Virginia Democrat senator Joe Manchin III by his side, whose decisive vote led to the passing of the legislation.&nbsp;

"The Inflation Reduction Act will help save money on prescription drugs, cut health care premiums, cut energy costs, take aggressive action on climate, and make large corporations pay their fair share in taxes. We got it done," the US president tweeted.

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The Inflation Reduction Act will help save money on prescription drugs, cut health care premiums, cut energy costs, take aggressive action on climate, and make large corporations pay their fair share in taxes. 
 
We got it done. <a href="https://t.co/XjdkNkOpov">pic.twitter.com/XjdkNkOpov</a>
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1559631898619641857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2022</a></blockquote>
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“I’m keeping my campaign commitment. No one...let me emphasize this, no one earning less than $400,000 a year will pay a penny more federal tax,” said Biden after signing the bill and handing the pen to Manchin.&nbsp;

Biden also took the opportunity to target the GOP lawmakers who were not in favour of the bill.&nbsp;

"In this historic moment, Democrats sided with the American people and every single Republican sided with the special interests.&nbsp;Every single Republican in Congress voted against this bill." said the US President.

Timeline and significance of the Act

As <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/democrat-senator-joe-manchin-takes-a-volta-face-supports-bidens-build-back-better-plan-501491">reported </a>by WION extensively, the Inflation reduction Act is being touted as the biggest financial package when it comes to tackling climate change, lowering prescription drug prices and high inflation.

By hiking the corporate minimum tax on big companies to 15 per cent, the new tax policy&nbsp;is expected to generate&nbsp;$739 billion by the end of the decade. Moreover,&nbsp;$369 billion will be spent on climate and energy reforms while $64 billion will be used to beef up the Affordable Care Act.&nbsp;&nbsp;

However, for a long time, the bill and its previous iterations lingered in nothingness as the&nbsp;West Virginia senator continued to harangue the Biden administration.&nbsp;With the Democrats having a razor-thin majority in the Senate, Manchin's vote became all the more necessary.&nbsp;

Manchin had applied brakes on the new tax and healthcare reforms&nbsp;by stating that he will wait for the July inflation numbers to come up first.&nbsp;

Such was Biden's helplessness that he was <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/joe-biden-mulls-declaring-climate-change-emergency-but-can-he-fight-off-his-colleagues-498760">mulling </a>bringing a climate emergency plan. However, the President backtracked at the last minute and unveiled a $2.3 billion&nbsp;plan to fight climate change.&nbsp;

However, after Manchin received the nod to several of his demands, including a gas pipeline in his home state of West Virginia, he agreed to the passing of the law.&nbsp;

Read More:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/democrat-senator-joe-manchin-takes-a-volta-face-supports-bidens-build-back-better-plan-501491">Democrat Senator Joe Manchin takes a volta-face; supports Biden's 'Build Back Better' plan</a>

Ahead of the November midterm election, Biden is looking to use the passing of the act to woo the voters. The Democrats have not fared well in approval ratings and Biden is staring at an uphill task, in the backdrop of historic inflation rates and a contracting economy.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies) 
 
WATCH WION LIVE HERE:&nbsp;

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US President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed the Inflation Reduction Act, a much toned-down version of his election manifesto promise of the Build Back Better plan. Biden signed the bill with West Virginia Democrat senator Joe Manchin III by his side, whose decisive vote led to the passing of the legislation.

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed the Inflation Reduction Act, a much toned-down version of his election manifesto promise of the Build Back Better plan. Biden signed the bill with West Virginia Democrat senator Joe Manchin III by his side, whose decisive vote led to the passing of the legislation. "The Inflation Reduction Act will help save money on prescription drugs, cut health care premiums, cut energy costs, take aggressive action on climate, and make large corporations pay their fair share in taxes. We got it done," the US president tweeted. The Inflation Reduction Act will help save money on prescription drugs, cut health care premiums, cut energy costs, take aggressive action on climate, and make large corporations pay their fair share in taxes. We got it done. pic.twitter.com/XjdkNkOpov — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 16, 2022 × “I’m keeping my campaign commitment. No one...let me emphasize this, no one earning less than $400,000 a year will pay a penny more federal tax,” said Biden after signing the bill and handing the pen to Manchin. Biden also took the opportunity to target the GOP lawmakers who were not in favour of the bill. "In this historic moment, Democrats sided with the American people and every single Republican sided with the special interests. Every single Republican in Congress voted against this bill." said the US President. Timeline and significance of the Act As reported by WION extensively, the Inflation reduction Act is being touted as the biggest financial package when it comes to tackling climate change, lowering prescription drug prices and high inflation. By hiking the corporate minimum tax on big companies to 15 per cent, the new tax policy is expected to generate $739 billion by the end of the decade. Moreover, $369 billion will be spent on climate and energy reforms while $64 billion will be used to beef up the Affordable Care Act. However, for a long time, the bill and its previous iterations lingered in nothingness as the West Virginia senator continued to harangue the Biden administration. With the Democrats having a razor-thin majority in the Senate, Manchin's vote became all the more necessary. Manchin had applied brakes on the new tax and healthcare reforms by stating that he will wait for the July inflation numbers to come up first. Such was Biden's helplessness that he was mulling bringing a climate emergency plan. However, the President backtracked at the last minute and unveiled a $2.3 billion plan to fight climate change. However, after Manchin received the nod to several of his demands, including a gas pipeline in his home state of West Virginia, he agreed to the passing of the law. Read More: Democrat Senator Joe Manchin takes a volta-face; supports Biden's 'Build Back Better' plan Ahead of the November midterm election, Biden is looking to use the passing of the act to woo the voters. The Democrats have not fared well in approval ratings and Biden is staring at an uphill task, in the backdrop of historic inflation rates and a contracting economy. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Biden signs the Inflation Reduction Act, a toned down version of his Build Back Better plan

A coalition of conservative religious groups is waging an intensive lobbying effort to remove a nondiscrimination provision from President Joe Biden’s ambitious prekindergarten and child care plans, fearing it would disqualify their programs from receiving a huge new infusion of federal money.

The fight could have major consequences for a central component of Biden’s $1.85 trillion social policy bill, which the House is to consider as soon as this week. It could go a long way toward determining which programs, neighbourhoods and families can benefit from the landmark early-childhood benefits established in the legislation, given that child care centres and preschools affiliated with religious organisations make up a substantial share of those offered in the United States — serving as many as 53 per cent of families, according to a survey last year by the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/liberals-dig-in-against-infrastructure-bill-as-party-divisions-persist-416842">Liberals dig in against infrastructure bill as party divisions persist</a>

The provision at issue is a standard one in many federal laws, which would mandate that all providers comply with federal nondiscrimination statutes. Religious organisations, whose child care programs are currently exempt from some such laws, argue that it would effectively block many of their providers from participating, while civil rights advocates contend it is long past time for such institutions to comply.

Some of the faith groups are pressing lawmakers to scrap or modify the nondiscrimination language, asserting that it would essentially shut them out of the new federal program unless they made major changes to the way they operate. For instance, it could bar federal funds from going to programs that refused to hire a gay employee, gave preference to applicants of their faith or failed to renovate their facilities to accommodate students with disabilities.

The organisations argue that the rules would force them to choose between participating in the child care initiative and continuing to teach religious content, convene all-boys or all-girls programs, or give preferences in hiring or admissions to people of their religion. Congressional staff members working on the bill do not believe it prohibits religious organisations from teaching religious content.

The groups — including the US&nbsp;leaders of the Catholic Church and one of the country’s largest Orthodox Jewish groups — contend that unless the bill is rewritten, they will be forced to turn away families that want to use benefits from the bill to send children to their centres.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/key-to-bidens-climate-agenda-likely-to-be-cut-because-of-manchin-opposition-421381">Key to Biden’s climate agenda likely to be cut because of Manchin opposition</a>

“It will be detrimental to our ability to participate,” said Jennifer Daniels, the associate director for public policy at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. “It would impact our ability to stick with our Catholic mission in a variety of ways. We’ve worked really hard to make our concerns known.”

Their efforts appear to have gained some traction in the Senate, where Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a key swing vote on the social policy bill, has privately told Democrats, he wants to ensure that religious programs can fully participate in the child care initiative.

But in the House, Democrats are just as adamant that the provision be retained in order to prevent federal money from flowing to any organisation that discriminates. Defenders include the Congressional Black Caucus and Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-Va. and the chair of the Education and Labor Committee, who wrote it into the social policy legislation.

The fight over preschool and child care programs is among the major conflicts that remain to be resolved before the social policy legislation can clear Congress and be signed into law by Biden.

“The Build Back Better Act must not allow government-funded discrimination — in employment or in the provision of services to participants — in publicly funded programs,” Scott and Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio and the chair of the Black Caucus wrote in a previously undisclosed letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“We believe that allowing such discrimination financed with public funds collected from all taxpayers is wrong,” the lawmakers wrote. “We are asking you to oppose any effort to remove or change the nondiscrimination provisions included in the child care and universal preschool provisions of the Build Back Better Act.”

The bill would provide nearly $400 billion to help states build universal prekindergarten and affordable child care programs over six years. It is intended to ensure that the vast majority of families — those with four-person households earning up to $300,000 — spend no more than 7 per cent of their income on child care. Families that earn less than 75 per cent of the state’s median income would pay nothing.

It explicitly includes religious organisations.

“Nothing in this section shall preclude the use of such certificates for sectarian child care services if freely chosen by the parent,” it says. “For the purposes of this section, child care certificates shall be considered federal financial assistance to the provider.”

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/gaffe-prone-us-leaders-do-it-again-house-speaker-nancy-pelosi-mistakes-obama-for-biden-416891">Gaffe-prone US leaders do it again: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi mistakes Obama for Biden</a>

At issue is what’s arguably a major change the bill would make in how the federal government treats institutions that receive aid for the care of small children. For decades, low-income families have received funds from the Child Care and Development Block Grant program that they may use at a variety of child care centres. But since those centres are not necessarily considered direct recipients of federal funds, they are not bound by some nondiscrimination laws.

A similar situation exists for religious elementary schools that receive money through local school systems to educate low-income students.

Scott’s legislation would categorize any prekindergarten or child care centre that participates in the new program as a federal financial recipient, requiring it to either comply with nondiscrimination laws or turn away families, the conservative religious organisations argue.

“Religious providers are absolutely eligible to participate in the program — including receiving certificate funding, which is not considered direct federal financial assistance,” an aide to the Senate’s education committee said. “We are working with concerned organisations to ensure this distinction is clear.”

The bill would also prohibit any child care provider from using the funds to perform work on “buildings or facilities that are used primarily for sectarian instruction or religious worship.”

Senate Democrats say they are working to accommodate the religious organisations that object but will not agree to anything that would allow religious providers to discriminate against families that want to enrol children in their facilities. They note that some religious organisations — particularly those with a less conservative worldview — have no problem with the bill, including a few that signed a letter urging its passage.

And civil rights groups have pushed back hard at the efforts to remove the nondiscrimination provision, saying that any institution that wants to receive federal funds must submit to such laws.

“Who do they want to shut out? Is it the lesbian mom you want to shut out?” said Liz King, the director of the Education Equity Program at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “Is it the children with autism you want to shut out? Since at least 1964, the law and basic principle has been that federal funds cannot be used to discriminate. No one should have to subsidize their own discrimination.”

But religious organisations that have spent decades successfully steering clear of federal mandates say the legislation could be crippling to their educational programs.

“As a general rule, Catholic schools and most nonpublic schools purposefully avoid federal financial recipient status, because it triggers a whole host of federal regulatory obligations with which nonpublic schools are not currently required to comply,” Michael B. Sheedy, the executive director of the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, wrote in a letter last week to Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. “The provisions of most obvious concern include nondiscrimination provisions related to sexual orientation and gender identity that could create religious freedom issues for religious providers.”

Manchin raised the issue at a recent closed-door meeting with Senate Democrats, emphasizing that the church and other faith-based organisations play a crucial role in helping care for many families in West Virginia, according to a person familiar with his comments.

Watch |&nbsp;US House expected to vote on Biden's social spending &amp; climate change bill

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Manchin argued that a little bit of funding would go a long way in helping religiously affiliated institutions provide a quality education for pre-K children, the person said, and he insisted they be eligible for any funds that are available. His position found widespread agreement among the other Democratic senators in the room, said two people familiar with the private discussion who described it on the condition of anonymity. Democrats did not get into the finer details of the dispute during their discussion, they said.

The debate is the latest skirmish in the battle over the role of religious organisations in participating in government programs — and how to include them while ensuring federal nondiscrimination protections that may conflict with their practices and beliefs.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against someone because of the “individual’s race, color, religion, sex or national origin.” It exempted church groups and faith-based organisations, but the act made no mention of whether such provisions could be applied if the groups were to accept federal funding.

Former President George W. Bush, through a series of executive orders, made it easier for churches and other faith-based organisations to receive federal money while circumventing certain anti-discrimination laws.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Orthodox Union want those practices to stay in place. In recent days, they have made the case to members of Congress that they could not accept money to run preschool or child care programs unless the bill expressly exempts them from anti-discrimination laws, such as Title IX, which protects against discrimination by sex, and the Americans With Disabilities Act, which they argue could require costly upgrades to old buildings, including houses of worship.

“We appreciate that key Senate Democrats have told us that they agree that churches and synagogues must be included, but the devil is indeed in the details,” said Nathan J. Diament, the public policy director at the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. “Right now, the way the bill text is drafted, there are details that will deter, if not make it impossible for, faith-based providers to participate.”

A coalition of conservative religious groups is waging an intensive lobbying effort to remove a nondiscrimination provision from President Joe Biden’s ambitious prekindergarten and child care plans, fearing it would disqualify their programs from receiving a huge new infusion of federal money.

A coalition of conservative religious groups is waging an intensive lobbying effort to remove a nondiscrimination provision from President Joe Biden’s ambitious prekindergarten and child care plans, fearing it would disqualify their programs from receiving a huge new infusion of federal money. The fight could have major consequences for a central component of Biden’s $1.85 trillion social policy bill, which the House is to consider as soon as this week. It could go a long way toward determining which programs, neighbourhoods and families can benefit from the landmark early-childhood benefits established in the legislation, given that child care centres and preschools affiliated with religious organisations make up a substantial share of those offered in the United States — serving as many as 53 per cent of families, according to a survey last year by the Bipartisan Policy Center. Also read | Liberals dig in against infrastructure bill as party divisions persist The provision at issue is a standard one in many federal laws, which would mandate that all providers comply with federal nondiscrimination statutes. Religious organisations, whose child care programs are currently exempt from some such laws, argue that it would effectively block many of their providers from participating, while civil rights advocates contend it is long past time for such institutions to comply. Some of the faith groups are pressing lawmakers to scrap or modify the nondiscrimination language, asserting that it would essentially shut them out of the new federal program unless they made major changes to the way they operate. For instance, it could bar federal funds from going to programs that refused to hire a gay employee, gave preference to applicants of their faith or failed to renovate their facilities to accommodate students with disabilities. The organisations argue that the rules would force them to choose between participating in the child care initiative and continuing to teach religious content, convene all-boys or all-girls programs, or give preferences in hiring or admissions to people of their religion. Congressional staff members working on the bill do not believe it prohibits religious organisations from teaching religious content. The groups — including the US leaders of the Catholic Church and one of the country’s largest Orthodox Jewish groups — contend that unless the bill is rewritten, they will be forced to turn away families that want to use benefits from the bill to send children to their centres. Also read | Key to Biden’s climate agenda likely to be cut because of Manchin opposition “It will be detrimental to our ability to participate,” said Jennifer Daniels, the associate director for public policy at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. “It would impact our ability to stick with our Catholic mission in a variety of ways. We’ve worked really hard to make our concerns known.” Their efforts appear to have gained some traction in the Senate, where Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a key swing vote on the social policy bill, has privately told Democrats, he wants to ensure that religious programs can fully participate in the child care initiative. But in the House, Democrats are just as adamant that the provision be retained in order to prevent federal money from flowing to any organisation that discriminates. Defenders include the Congressional Black Caucus and Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-Va. and the chair of the Education and Labor Committee, who wrote it into the social policy legislation. The fight over preschool and child care programs is among the major conflicts that remain to be resolved before the social policy legislation can clear Congress and be signed into law by Biden. “The Build Back Better Act must not allow government-funded discrimination — in employment or in the provision of services to participants — in publicly funded programs,” Scott and Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio and the chair of the Black Caucus wrote in a previously undisclosed letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “We believe that allowing such discrimination financed with public funds collected from all taxpayers is wrong,” the lawmakers wrote. “We are asking you to oppose any effort to remove or change the nondiscrimination provisions included in the child care and universal preschool provisions of the Build Back Better Act.” The bill would provide nearly $400 billion to help states build universal prekindergarten and affordable child care programs over six years. It is intended to ensure that the vast majority of families — those with four-person households earning up to $300,000 — spend no more than 7 per cent of their income on child care. Families that earn less than 75 per cent of the state’s median income would pay nothing. It explicitly includes religious organisations. “Nothing in this section shall preclude the use of such certificates for sectarian child care services if freely chosen by the parent,” it says. “For the purposes of this section, child care certificates shall be considered federal financial assistance to the provider.” Also read | Gaffe-prone US leaders do it again: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi mistakes Obama for Biden At issue is what’s arguably a major change the bill would make in how the federal government treats institutions that receive aid for the care of small children. For decades, low-income families have received funds from the Child Care and Development Block Grant program that they may use at a variety of child care centres. But since those centres are not necessarily considered direct recipients of federal funds, they are not bound by some nondiscrimination laws. A similar situation exists for religious elementary schools that receive money through local school systems to educate low-income students. Scott’s legislation would categorize any prekindergarten or child care centre that participates in the new program as a federal financial recipient, requiring it to either comply with nondiscrimination laws or turn away families, the conservative religious organisations argue. “Religious providers are absolutely eligible to participate in the program — including receiving certificate funding, which is not considered direct federal financial assistance,” an aide to the Senate’s education committee said. “We are working with concerned organisations to ensure this distinction is clear.” The bill would also prohibit any child care provider from using the funds to perform work on “buildings or facilities that are used primarily for sectarian instruction or religious worship.” Senate Democrats say they are working to accommodate the religious organisations that object but will not agree to anything that would allow religious providers to discriminate against families that want to enrol children in their facilities. They note that some religious organisations — particularly those with a less conservative worldview — have no problem with the bill, including a few that signed a letter urging its passage. And civil rights groups have pushed back hard at the efforts to remove the nondiscrimination provision, saying that any institution that wants to receive federal funds must submit to such laws. “Who do they want to shut out? Is it the lesbian mom you want to shut out?” said Liz King, the director of the Education Equity Program at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “Is it the children with autism you want to shut out? Since at least 1964, the law and basic principle has been that federal funds cannot be used to discriminate. No one should have to subsidize their own discrimination.” But religious organisations that have spent decades successfully steering clear of federal mandates say the legislation could be crippling to their educational programs. “As a general rule, Catholic schools and most nonpublic schools purposefully avoid federal financial recipient status, because it triggers a whole host of federal regulatory obligations with which nonpublic schools are not currently required to comply,” Michael B. Sheedy, the executive director of the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, wrote in a letter last week to Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. “The provisions of most obvious concern include nondiscrimination provisions related to sexual orientation and gender identity that could create religious freedom issues for religious providers.” Manchin raised the issue at a recent closed-door meeting with Senate Democrats, emphasizing that the church and other faith-based organisations play a crucial role in helping care for many families in West Virginia, according to a person familiar with his comments. Watch | US House expected to vote on Biden's social spending & climate change bill Manchin argued that a little bit of funding would go a long way in helping religiously affiliated institutions provide a quality education for pre-K children, the person said, and he insisted they be eligible for any funds that are available. His position found widespread agreement among the other Democratic senators in the room, said two people familiar with the private discussion who described it on the condition of anonymity. Democrats did not get into the finer details of the dispute during their discussion, they said. The debate is the latest skirmish in the battle over the role of religious organisations in participating in government programs — and how to include them while ensuring federal nondiscrimination protections that may conflict with their practices and beliefs. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against someone because of the “individual’s race, color, religion, sex or national origin.” It exempted church groups and faith-based organisations, but the act made no mention of whether such provisions could be applied if the groups were to accept federal funding. Former President George W. Bush, through a series of executive orders, made it easier for churches and other faith-based organisations to receive federal money while circumventing certain anti-discrimination laws. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Orthodox Union want those practices to stay in place. In recent days, they have made the case to members of Congress that they could not accept money to run preschool or child care programs unless the bill expressly exempts them from anti-discrimination laws, such as Title IX, which protects against discrimination by sex, and the Americans With Disabilities Act, which they argue could require costly upgrades to old buildings, including houses of worship. “We appreciate that key Senate Democrats have told us that they agree that churches and synagogues must be included, but the devil is indeed in the details,” said Nathan J. Diament, the public policy director at the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. “Right now, the way the bill text is drafted, there are details that will deter, if not make it impossible for, faith-based providers to participate.”

Faith groups push to scrap mandates in Biden’s child care plan

The US House of Representatives is expected to vote on Friday on the President Joe Biden's 'Build Back Better Act'. The reconciliation bill devoted to climate change and social programs, and the bipartisan infrastructure bill has been already passed in the Senate in August.

US House expected to vote on Biden's social spending & climate change bill