WASHINGTON D.C., DC — The U.S. Senate concluded an all-night marathon voting session with a narrowly decided vote on historic legislation Sunday. The 'Inflation Reduction Act', which has been negotiated for nearly a year, cleared the Senate in a 51-50 vote.
Vice President Kamala Harris was the tie-breaking vote as all Democrats and Independents voted 'yes' on the bill, while all Republicans voted 'no'.
The bill aims to address historic investments to combat climate change, reduce energy and health care costs, and add taxes on large corporations.
Maine's Independent Senator Angus King proposed the corporate minimum tax included in the bill which would tax corporations making more than $1 billion in profits each year by 15 percent.
“With all these provisions combined, the Inflation Reduction Act is a huge step to lower healthcare and energy costs, cut carbon emissions, and reduce the deficit for decades," King said in a Sunday release. "It’s a game-changing piece of legislation that addresses today’s challenges and sets Americans up for continued success in the decades ahead.”
On the other side of the vote was Maine's Republican Senator Susan Collins. Collins did propose an amendment to the bill early Sunday morning, in response to a piece of the legislation that would give $80 billion to the IRS to create 87,000 new jobs.
Collin's proposal would have prevented that hiring process from happening until at least 90 percent of the current IRS workforce is back working in person rather than working remotely.
In a statement sent to NEWS CENTER Maine following the Senate vote, Collins said despite the name of this bill, it would do nothing to reduce legislation.
'With inflation at a 40-year high and our economy entering a recession, the last thing Congress should do is levy hundreds of billions of dollars in additional tax and spending increases," she said in the release.
The Inflation Reduction Act will now head to the U.S. House where it is expected to be voted on and passed this week.
