Keystone Today

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 advanced in the Senate following a vote this week.

The vote split along party lines, with all Democratic senators, including Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), voting in favor , and all Republican senators voting against. Vice President Kamala Harris served as the tiebreaker in the Democrats' favor.

The bill, spearheaded by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), includes $433 billion of new spending for energy, electric vehicle credits and health insurance; a New York Post report said. It will also raise minimum taxes for large companies and enforce pre-existing tax laws, raising taxes by approximately $739 billion.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina attacked the Inflation Reduction Act, saying it will worsen the alleged current recession instead of actually reducing inflation.

"It says it would reduce the deficit by $100 billion; we're going to spend almost a trillion dollars," Graham told FOX News recently. He labeled attempts to advertise the bill as deficit-reducing as a "gimmick."

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) voted alongside Democrats in favor of the bill but criticized it while on the Senate floor.

"The so-called Inflation Reduction Act that we are debating this evening, and I say so-called by the way, because according to the CBO and other economic organizations that have studied this bill, it will, in fact, have a minimal impact on inflation," Sanders said.

Online financial advice resource SmartAsset said increased federal government spending is believed by economists to be a prime cause of inflation; a sentiment shared by Paige Terryberry, John Locke Foundation senior analyst for Fiscal Policy.

"In 2020 and 2021, the government spent the equivalent of 27% of GDP on 'COVID-19 relief' and 'stimulus,' the second-largest fiscal response as a percentage of GDP of any industrialized nation," Terryberry said in a foundation report. "And this spending was largely paid for by newly created money from the Federal Reserve."

The Inflation Reduction Act is set to be voted on Friday by the House. If the measure advances it is expected to be signed into law by President Joe Biden.