Republicans on social media praised Sen. Bernie Sanders for criticizing Democrats’ proposed climate and spending legislation that would have little effect on inflation.
Independent socialists from Vermont voted in the Senate on a motion to move forward with their proposed legislation called the Reduced Inflation Act. Mr Sanders spoke as Vice President Kamala Harris arrived to break the tie to start the debate.
Mr. Sanders spent minutes alone in the Senate voting before pointing to the Congressional Budget Office downplaying the impact of Democrats’ proposed legislation on rising seats.
“I wanted to take a moment to say a few words about the so-called Inflation Reduction Act that we’re debating tonight,” he said. “And I’m just passing on the so-called because according to the CBO and other economic groups that have studied the bill. , it actually has a negligible impact on inflation.”
Sanders, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, called on Democrats to change the legislation.
“But if all 50 members of the Democratic caucus stand together today, we can pass some very important amendments that will have a profound impact on improving the lives of our working people and can begin to restore confidence in our democracy,” he said on the floor.
In response, multiple Republicans echoed his statement.
David Pope, communications director for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, tweeted a GIF of Mr McConnell looking up and smiling.
Many Republicans have said the same thing, said Kate Cooksey Noyes, communications director for the Senate Republican Conference.
“Well, yes. That’s what we’ve been talking about,” she tweeted. “Especially regarding the lack of inflationary impact mentioned in this tweet.”
The Republican National Committee’s research Twitter account also tweeted a video of Mr. Sanders’ speech.
Democrats hope to pass the legislation through a process known as budget settlement so they can pass it with only a simple majority and avoid Republican obstruction.
But with only 50 seats in the Senate, they need every member of the conference to be involved, with Ms Harris in the tiebreaker.Mr Sanders previously told reporters he was frustrated with legislation ahead of his speech
“And I don’t think anyone can deny that this legislation is not addressing a major crisis facing working families,” he said Saturday. Specifically, he criticized the fact that Medicare can only negotiate 10 prescription drugs. In turn, he introduced legislation that would allow it to negotiate drug prices for all medicines.
“Instead of spending four years negotiating 10 drugs, we should be doing exactly what the Veterans Administration has been doing for 30 years,” he said.
Likewise, he criticized the fact that legislation allows lease sales for additional drilling in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico.
“I’m obviously deeply concerned about the wisdom of opening up millions of acres of water to fossil fuel drilling, which is the exact opposite of what we have to do,” he told reporters. “If we’re going to deal effectively with climate change.”
Mr. Sanders defends Republicans independent after leaving the Senate.
“It’s good that the tweets they retweeted are accurate,” he said. “Look, facts are facts.”
