AFP

The US Congress approved in a final vote on Friday Joe Biden's massive plan to invest in climate and health, in a major political victory for the Democratic president, less than three months before a crucial legislative election. The Democrats, with their slim majority in the House of Representatives, allowed the approval of the plan, which is worth more than 430 billion dollars, after a similar vote in the Senate a few days ago. Biden announced in a tweet that he will issue the text next week, to become an effective law aimed at putting the country on the right track to achieving its goals in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. “Today the American people have won,” Biden wrote, adding that with this plan, “families will see lower prices for medicine, health care, and energy costs.” The plan, which won the support of most organizations fighting climate change, provides for allocating 370 billion dollars to the environment and 64 billion dollars to health. At the same time, the plan, dubbed the "Inflation Reduction Act", aims to reduce the public budget deficit by imposing a new tax of 15% as a minimum on companies that reap profits of more than one billion dollars. "Today is a day of celebration," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said before the vote, stressing that this law would allow American families "to thrive and our planet to survive." On the other hand, the Republican camp considers that the text will generate unnecessary public expenditures, denouncing the use of taxes to finance it. Former President Donald Trump, on his social network, Truth Social, called on all Republicans to stand against the plan. - Biggest investment in climate - Biden, who came to the White House on plans for massive reforms, was essentially calling for a broader investment plan. However, the Democratic members of Congress had to gradually reduce their ambitions to obtain the endorsement, in particular, of Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a state known for coal-mining, whose support was essential to the passage of the plan in the Senate. The text, however, remains the largest climate investment the United States has made to date. It will allow for a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Biden had set a goal of reducing at least 50% by that date, but experts believe that other measures, especially at the regulatory level, may allow to partially overcome the difference. "This law is transforming the situation and is a source of hope," said Joanna Chow-Crylic, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists. Dan Lashoff, director of the World Resources Institute in the United States, also saw Friday that the measures provided for in the plan "will encourage other countries to intensify their commitments." He declared this week that "by creating strong incentives to invest in solar and wind energy, (the text) will dry up the coal-fired electricity market over the next decade." Under this reform, an American citizen gets about $7,500 in tax credits when he buys an electric car. It also gets financing that covers 30% of the costs when installing solar panels on its roof. The text also allocates investments to develop carbon dioxide capture capabilities, strengthen forest protection against fires, and restore housing for lower-income families. The plan grants billions of dollars in tax credits to the most polluting industries to help them transition into energy, a measure that drew heavy criticism from the Democratic left before it endorsed the text despite its reservations. - Low-priced drugs - The investment plan, in its second phase, aims to correct the stark disparity in access to medical care in the United States, particularly by lowering drug prices. For the first time, Medicare, the health insurance system that benefits people over 65, will be able to directly negotiate prices for some drugs with laboratories to obtain more competitive prices