President Joe Biden signed a $430 billion climate spending bill on Tuesday, insisting it would fight inflation.
“We’re cutting deficits to fight inflation by having the wealthy and big corporations finally pay their fair share,” Biden said at the signing ceremony at the White House.
The bill raises the corporate minimum tax to 15 percent and spends more money on bolstering the ability of the IRS to enforce taxes.
Biden admitted he had waited a long time to finally sign the bill that began as his multi-trillion dollar “Build Back Better” agenda before senators in his own party rejected it.
The bill spends $386 billion on green energy subsidies and tax credits and spends $98 billion on propping up Medicare.
“Now I’m going to take action that I’ve been looking forward to doing for eighteen months,” he said after his speech, moving to the signing table.
The president pointedly gave his signing pen to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and shook his hand, despite the early role the West Virginia senator had in blocking his proposals.
Biden promoted the bill as a major success and even implicitly criticized the media for their skepticism about getting his agenda passed. He said:
Today, too often we confuse noise with substance. Too often, we confuse setbacks with defeat, too often we hand the biggest microphones to the critics and the cynics, who delight in declaring failure while those committed to real progress do the hard work of governing.
The president tried to sell his recent legislative successes as “part of an extraordinary story” that Democrats were crafting in Washington, DC, during his presidency.
“We are in a season of substance,” he boasted, pointing to the “choice” that Americans would make in November.
During his speech, Biden mistakenly criticized the “big Trump companies” for opposing his bill, but corrected himself to say “big drug companies.”
“Today proves the soul of America is vibrant,” he said.