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Transcript/ScriptWashington Week Ahead (TV)
HEADLINE: Senate to Vote on Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
TEASER: Republicans call plan “reckless spending and growth-killing regulation”
PUBLISHED: 8/7/2022 2:10p
BYLINE: Arash Arabasadi
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: AP/ ABC “THIS WEEK”/ US SENATE TV/ SENATE TV/ WHITEHOUSE.GOV/ AL JAZEERA
SCRIPT EDITORS: caw SR
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP/ ABC “THIS WEEK”/ US SENATE TV/ SENATE TV/ WHITEHOUSE.GOV/ AL JAZEERA
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __
TRT: 2:20
NOTE:
VID APPROVED BY: MPage
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE: ))
((UDPDATE INTRO AS NEEDED WITH NEWS OF VOTE))
((INTRO)) [[ The evenly split U.S. Senate appears ready for a vote (has voted) on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. With Vice President Kamala Harris as the tiebreaking vote and all Democrats seemingly on board, lawmakers worked late Saturday into Sunday debating the measure. As VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports, Senate Republicans – unified in opposition – warn passage of the legislation will lead to reckless spending.]]
((NARRATOR))
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 includes more than 300 billion dollars’ worth of investment in clean energy and climate reform, the largest such investment in U.S. history.
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((NARRATOR))
Saturday night in Washington, the Senate voted to start debate on the measure. As expected, all Democrats approved. All Republicans were opposed. And Vice President Kamala Harris cast the decisive vote.
[RADIO TRACK: The Vice President speaking on US Senate TV as carried by the AP.]
((Vice President Kamala Harris))
“On this vote the yays are 50, ((and)) the nays are 50. The Senate being equally divided, the vice president votes in the affirmative, and the motion to proceed is agreed to. The clerk will report the bill.”
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((NARRATOR))
The development follows more than a week of back and forth from Democrats and Republicans with accusations of reckless spending by the latter and obstructionist tactics by the former. Those public debates led to an all-night “vote-a-rama” in the Senate.
[RADIO TRACK: Senate Democrat Chris Coons speaking after that session Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”]
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((Sen. Chris Coons, Democrat))
“This is going to reduce the costs that hit American families in their pocketbook. Prescription drug costs, health care costs, energy costs. It’s going to make for a more secure, and stable, and cleaner, and more affordable future for American families, and while we may not see huge impacts on inflation in the first or second year, treasury secretaries who’ve served in both Democratic and Republican administrations support this bill.”
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((NARRATOR))
Senator Coons went on to say passage of this act follows a string of victories by Democrats and President Joe Biden, including a veterans’ bill, a semiconductor bill that would see a boost in U.S. manufacturing, and the recent killing of al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. Senate Democrats say they would fund the Inflation Reduction Act through corporate tax increases, a move Republicans call a mistake.
[RADIO TRACK: Senate Republican Mike Rounds speaking Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”]
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((Sen. Mike Rounds, Republican))
“What you’re going to see are normal American families actually see the impact of what happens whenever you put new taxes on our economy. Now, they talk about it being on big corporations, but big corporations raise prices. They do pass it all down. So, from our perspective, we will see those tax increases coming down the line, and Americans are going to feel it.”
((NARRATOR))
Senator Rounds added that this was not the right time to experiment in addressing climate change.
((NARRATOR))
This all follows a jobs report that exceeded expectations, as American employers added 528-thousand positions last month, restoring the workforce to pre-pandemic numbers with some of the lowest unemployment in half a century.
((Arash Arabasadi, VOA News))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Washington D.C.
Embargo DateAugust 7, 2022 14:45 EDT
Byline((Arash Arabasadi, VOA News))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English