Biden poised for a couple of big wins in Congress
Most politically resonant is a bill to let Medicare negotiate drug prices, a hugely popular idea that Democrats have been pursuing for more than 20 years. Even before that — possibly within days — Congress is likely to pass a bill providing $52 billion to the U.S. semiconductor industry, intended to bolster the U.S. economy and cut China’s influence. “We’re close, so let’s get it done,” Biden said of the bill on Monday. “So much depends on it.”
Democrats hope these measures earn a bigger political payoff than, say, Biden’s infrastructure law, which seemed to make little impression on voters.
“Democrats now seem to be hitting a stride where they’re about to rattle off three meaningful victories in a short amount of time, and for really the first time have an open field to politically gain from that,” said Kurt Bardella, a former Republican who now consults for Democrats. “On the health-care bill, this is stuff everybody generally understands. This is not a complex, nuanced policy situation where you may not feel the benefit for 5 to 10 years.”
The legislative wins come at a precarious time for the president and congressional Democrats, who have struggled to overcome poor public views of the economy due to persistent inflation as well as Biden’s low approval ratings. While several recent polls have shown congressional Democrats slightly improving their standing against Republicans, they remain at serious risk of losing their House and Senate majorities in November.
Last-minute glitches could still disrupt the upcoming bills, not least a coronavirus outbreak in the Senate that has temporarily sidelined such key figures as Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). And the semiconductor bill is a whittled-down version of a broader bill intended to boost U.S. competitiveness against China that some Republicans opposed.
The Medicare drug bill is especially notable, despite only covering some medications, since it marks the most significant drug pricing legislation since 2003. Polls show that health care, and the cost of prescription drugs in particular, consistently rank as a top voter concern. The bill would also provide a two-year extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that would prevent health insurance premiums from rising significantly for many people.
The prescription drug legislation has enormous bipartisan support, with more than 90 percent of Americans saying in a March 2022 Kaiser Family Foundation poll that letting the government negotiate with drug companies to get a lower price on Medicare prescription drugs should be an “important…
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