Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, joined with Democrats on the Inflation Reduction Act.

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, joined with Democrats on the Inflation Reduction Act.

(The Center Square) – Sen. Angus King, former governor of Maine and one of two independents in the U.S. Senate, voted for the Inflation Reduction Act on Sunday evening.

And his comments afterward ran counter to what most independent analysts were saying about the $740 billion spending bill.

“Beyond these significant inflation-cutting investments," King said, "the Inflation Reduction Act legislation will also reduce the deficit by an estimated $1.9 trillion over the next two decades by closing tax loopholes long exploited by massive corporations and the wealthiest Americans. This won’t raise taxes one cent on working people – instead, it makes sure a welder at BIW won’t be paying more in income taxes than a giant multinational company.”

King caucuses with Democrats. The 78-year-old, second-term junior senator’s position isn’t supported by the Joint Committee on Taxation, nor Penn Wharton, among others.

According to The Center Square reporting sourcing Utah Sen. Mike Lee, the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation estimated the bill would raise taxes by $313 billion over the next 10 years. Further, Americans in every tax bracket would be hurt.

And, from the Penn Wharton report, "We estimate that the Inflation Reduction Act will produce a very small increase in inflation for the first few years, up to 0.05 percent points in 2024. We estimate a 0.25 percentage point fall in the PCE price index by the late 2020s. These point estimates, however, are not statistically different than zero, thereby indicating a very low level of confidence that the legislation will have any impact on inflation."

Penn Wharton is a widely accepted economic forecasting model used by politically unaligned groups like the Tax Policy Center.

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins didn’t issue a statement, or tweet about it, afterward.

The 755-page spending bill was routed through special procedures – affecting the federal budget, not imposing new policy – so that a simple majority rather than 60 votes were needed for passage.

Initiatives connected to climate change, energy, health and taxes were in the package. Many said it was a scaled-down, or different version, of President Joe Biden’s 10-year, $3.5 trillion plan that included those areas plus paid family leave, universal preschool, child care and tax breaks for families with children. Analysts projected the passed version at one-tenth the size.

“With all these provisions combined, the Inflation Reduction Act is a huge step to lower health care and energy costs, cut carbon emissions, and reduce the deficit for decades," King said. "It’s a game-changing piece of legislation that addresses today’s challenges and set Americans up for continued success in the decades ahead.”

Alan Wooten has been a publisher, general manager and editor. His work has won national or state awards in every decade since the 1980s. He’s a proud graduate of Elon University and Farmville Central High in North Carolina.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.