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What's in, and out, of Democrats' inflation-fighting package
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. Sen. Joe Manchin announced Wednesday, July 27, that he had reached an expansive agreement with Schumer which had eluded them for months on health care costs, energy and climate issues, taxing higher earners and large corporations and reducing federal debt. - photo by AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File
WASHINGTON (AP) — What started as a $4 trillion effort during President Joe Biden's first months in office to rebuild America's public infrastructure and family support systems has ended up a much slimmer, but not unsubstantial, compromise package of inflation-fighting health care, climate change and deficit reduction strategies that appears headed toward quick votes in Congress. Lawmakers are pouring over the $739 billion proposal struck by two top negotiators, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and holdout Sen. Joe Manchin, the conservative West Virginia Democrat who rejected Biden's earlier drafts but surprised colleagues late Wednesday with a new one. What's in, and out, of the Democrats' 725-page “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022” as it stands now: LOWER PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS Launching a long-sought goal, the bill would allow the Medicare program to negotiate prescription drug prices with pharmaceutical companies, saving the federal government some $288 billion over the 10-year budget window.