Biden news – live: President promises Kentucky more aid, calling floods part of ‘dangerous’ climate crisis
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Your support makes all the difference.Fresh out of Covid-19 isolation after a second negative test, President Joe Biden is resuming in-person duties and events. On Monday he visited flood-stricken eastern Kentucky where he and First Lady Jill Biden met with families impacted by the disaster that saw 37 people killed.
During his isolation in the White House due to a rebound case of the coronavirus, the president remained busy, overseeing several legislative victories, the killing of the leader of Al-Qaeda, and an impressive jobs report.
Most importantly, Senate Democrats managed to pass their signature legislation — the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 — which aims to help tackle the climate crisis, reduce the costs of prescription drugs, and create a 15 per cent minimum tax for corporations making over $1bn in income. The bill goes before the House of Representatives late this week.
On Tuesday, Mr Biden will sign CHIPS and Science Act which will make the US less dependent on semiconductor chips made in China and promote manufacturing. The following day he will sign PACT Act into law which expands access to health care for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits during their service.
Biden pledges further federal assistance, says will be back to check on progress
In informal remarks at the site of some of the flood devastation, President Joe Biden vowed continuing federal support and to bring the area not just back to how it was before, but to a better state.
He then joked that the bad news was that he would be coming back to check on progress.
His remarks stressed that the problems of Kentuckians were the problems of Americans and that the country has the capacity for recovery.
HHS secretary: ‘We’ll continue to do all we can'
Echoing President Joe Biden’s remarks, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra tweeted: “As POTUS made clear today, we’ll continue to do all we can to assist Kentucky in its response to the devastating and ongoing impact of recent storms. We are working closely with state and local health authorities to help communities respond and recover.”
House committee to advance Inflation Reduction Act
The Democratic-led House Rules Committee plans to meet on Wednesday to advance the Senate-passed Inflation Reduction Act and send it to the floor for a vote. It is expected to pass.
Federal Government still can’t find parents in 185 migrant families separated at border
The Trump administration’s controversial family separation policy at the US-Mexico border may have ended in 2018, but families and children across the US, Mexico, and Central America are still feeling its effects years later.
Over 1,000 families affected by the policy haven’t been unified, NBC News reported this week.
In 185 cases, the parents who were separated from their children and likely deported haven’t even been located, The Atlantic reports.
Josh Marcus has the story.
Biden admin still can’t find parents in 185 migrant families split at US border
Over 1,000 families remain separated
ICYMI: Bill to tackle climate crisis and lower prescription drug prices passes Senate
Senate Democrats passed their signature legislation tackling the climate crisis and prescription drug prices early on Sunday morning, sending the legislation to the House of Representatives.
The legislation, known as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 would be the biggest step that the US government has taken to cut domestic emissions at a moment when global targets are faltering. It will also allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, cap the cost of insulin for Medicare recipients and continue subsidies for Obamacare.
Democrats pass bill that tackles climate crisis and lowers prescription drug prices
The legislation – which would be the largest investment yet in combating the climate crisis – now heads to the House of Representatives.
McConnell invited but has ‘Senate to run'
As the journey back to the White House begins, the president gaggled briefly with the press who had accompanied him to Kentucky.
Asked if he had invited Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell for this trip he said he’d spoken to the minority leader and didn’t think he needed to come.
“I don’t think so. He’s got a Senate to run,” Mr Biden said adding that he assured Kentuckians they’ll get the help they need.
Biden calls deadly Kentucky floods ‘another sign of dangerous climate change’
President Joe Biden has pledged more financial support for disaster-stricken Kentucky, describing the state’s recent destructive flash flooding as “another sign of dangerous climate change”.
The president and first lady Jill Biden met with first responders and families who had lost homes on Monday after the worst flooding in the state’s history in late July.
Some 38 people died in eastern Kentucky after severe storms dropped between 8 and 10.5 inches of rain in the span of 48 hours. Mr Biden previously visited the state in December after a series of devastating tornadoes whipped through the region, killing 77 people.
Louise Boyle, The Independent’s senior climate correspondent, reports.
Deadly Kentucky floods are ‘sign of dangerous climate change’ says Biden during visit
Some 38 people have died following flash flooding in Kentucky at the end of July
Winners and losers after Senate Democrats pass Inflation Reduction Act
After a marathon series of votes and more than a year of planning and negotiation, Senate Democrats on Sunday passed the Inflation Reduction Act – their signature piece of legislation that would both tackle climate change and work to lower prescription drug costs.
All 50 Democrats and vice president Kamala Harris voted to pass the bill after the marathon series of votes on amendments known as a “vote-a-rama.” The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, where it will likely face a swift passage later this week.
If signed, it will be the largest investment in combating climate change in US history.
With this in mind, here are four big winners and two big losers after this weekend’s vote.
Winners and losers after Democrats pass massive climate and healthcare legislation
Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden get a much-needed victory and Joe Manchin takes a victory lap while Bernie Sanders and Kyrsten Sinema get left in the dust
Biden steps out of the room and finds legacy-defining wins
Over five decades in Washington, Joe Biden knew that the way to influence was to be in the room where it happens. But in the second year of his presidency, some of Biden’s most striking, legacy-defining legislative victories came about by staying out of it.
Biden steps out of the room and finds legacy-defining wins
Over five decades in Washington, Joe Biden knew that the way to influence was to be in the room where it happens
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