US Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York)

This Inflation Reduction Act is literally a grab bag of every Democratic proposal for the past six months. It’s been haggled over, primarily among various factions within the Democratic Party. It was declared to be related to the budgeting process so it could pass with a simple majority. The process of “vote-a-rama” allowed amendments by both sides and ended only when they were both exhausted. That differs from a filibuster, where the opponents must maintain continuous control of the floor. That can only be ended with a 2-thirds majority (60) vote. After lengthy debate, the bill was passed by the Senate. It now goes back to the House for a conference vote to reconcile differences. A vote in the House is expected later this week.

This is a major step for Democrats in the mid-term elections, considering the lack of progress on major legislation other than that related to the pandemic. The so-called Infrastructure Bill won’t pay out for several years since it will take time for the funds to trickle down to state legislatures to fund specific projects through their various departments and/or agencies.

The big bet for the Democrats will be whether the decline in gasoline prices over the past month will continue after Labor Day or if they will reverse and head back up. The Federal Reserve’s increases in interest rates have slowed inflation, but they also may topple the economy into a recession. The Democrats are limited in the extent to which they can control the direction of the economy.

The political wags wisdom of “it’s the economy stupid,” may or may not be the deciding factor in the mid-terms. In my opinion, the backlash against the anti-abortion ruling of the Supremes will have more effect in motivating women and other minority voters. We’re down into the home stretch of less than three months - Thank Heavens. I hate that U.S. elections are dragged out for such long periods of time. It’s no wonder they cost so much for all those TV ads that seem to run forever.

Will all the battles for the mid-term elections be over when the Congress leaves for the August recess? No, it will just be the beginning of the race for the finish line. No one I know is making predictions just yet.

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