US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Joe Manchin announced on Wednesday that they had finally reached an agreement on a bill that addresses healthcare, energy and climate issues. The initiative also regulates taxes on higher earners and corporations and federal debt trimming.

The bill is a major boost for US President Joe Biden whose attempts to address healthcare and the climate crisis have been stymied by opposition from within his own party, particularly Manchin.

Manchin has said in the past that he was wary that government spending could increase instead of fighting inflation.

"This is the action the American people have been waiting for. This addresses the problems of today — high healthcare costs and overall inflation — as well as investments in our energy security for the future," Biden said in a statement.

Bill aims to help lower-income Americans

While the bill still has some way to go before it becomes a law, it aims to spend $369 billion (€361.6 billion ) on energy and climate initiatives and $64 billion into state-funded healthcare. Over $300 billion in the bill has been earmarked to reduce the federal deficit over the decade.

The bill would be paid for by raising $739 billion, with the biggest chunk coming from a 15% corporate tax rate. The bill looks to raise minimum taxes for big companies and enforce existing tax laws, Schumer and Manchin said in a statement.

The two senators also said that the bill would lower carbon emissions by about 40% by the year 2030 and allow the government's Medicare health plan to negotiate prescription drug prices. It also aims to boost electric vehicle makers and green energy companies.

The bill would especially benefit older and lower-income Americans.

Top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell criticized the bill on Wednesday, saying it would "kill many thousands of American jobs."

Manchin turnaround

Manchin's support for the latest bill represents a significant step forward for Biden's policy agenda ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections where the Democrats are expected to struggle to maintain control of the Congress. With Biden's approval ratings hovering below 40%, Republicans have seemed strongly poised to capture control of the House of Representatives and possibly a secure a majority in the Senate as well.

Schumer plans to pass the measure through a Senate maneuver called reconciliation that allows him to proceed with just a 51-vote majority, bypassing normal rules that require 60 of the 100 senators to agree to most legislation.

This makes Manchin's support all the more necessary, because every Democrat will need to be on board in order to pass the bill with only Democratic votes.

Senator Manchin has often been a roadblock to President Biden's policy goals. In December, his resistance disrupted a $3.5 trillion, 10-year social and environment bill, a top domestic priority for Biden.

ss/dj (Reuters, AP, AFP)