In Biden's big bill: Climate, health care, deficit reduction

WASHINGTON (AP) — The biggest investment ever in the U.S. to fight climate change. A hard-fought cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for seniors in the Medicare program. A new corporate minimum tax to ensure big businesses pay their share.

And billions left over to pay down federal deficits.

All told, the Democrats' “Inflation Reduction Act” may not do much to immediately tame inflationary price hikes. But the package heading toward final passage in Congress and to the White House for President Joe Biden's signature will touch countless American lives with longtime party proposals.

Not as robust as Biden's initial ideas to rebuild America's public infrastructure and family support systems, the compromise of health care, climate change and deficit-reduction strategies is also a stunning election year turnaround, a smaller but not unsubstantial product brought back to political life after having collapsed last year.

Democrats alone support the package, with all Republicans expected to vote against it. Republicans deride the 730-page bill as big government overreach and point particular criticism at its $80 billion investment in the Internal Revenue Service to hire new employees and go after tax scofflaws.

Voters will be left to sort it out in the November elections, when control of Congress will be decided.

Here's what's in the estimated $740 billion package — made up of $440 billion in new spending and $300 billion toward easing deficits— that is up for final approval Friday in the House.

LOWER PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS

Launching a long-sought goal, the bill would allow the Medicare program to negotiate prescription some drug prices with pharmaceutical companies, saving the federal government some $288 billion over the 10-year budget window.

The result is...