Can Americans still have a sensible and friendly political discussion across the partisan divide? The answer is yes, and we prove it every week. Julie Roginsky, a Democrat, and Mike DuHaime, a Republican, are consultants who have worked on opposite teams for their entire careers yet have remained friends throughout. Here, they discuss the week’s events with Editorial Page editor Tom Moran.
Q. It’s been a good week for Joe Biden, with blockbuster agreements on three major issues. Start with the $359 billion deal on climate that Sen. Joe Manchin agreed to support. Will Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, the other Democratic holdout, go along? If so, how big a win is this?
Julie: If this legislation is signed into law, it will be a massive win for both the president and the planet. It will reestablish the United States as a leader in the climate fight and will finally close the carried-interest loophole and make big business pay at least some taxes. Democrats have been campaigning on all this for years and voters expect them to deliver. This legislation delivers.
Mike: I agree this could be a win for Biden if all Democrats go along, in that he can finally tout passing some of what he campaigned on. I still believe the legislation creates a good deal of taxes for not a lot of results but understand the goals. My hope continues to be that we can find balance in our energy policy.
Q. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a centrist Democrat, said he might not support this deal because it does not reverse the Trump-era provision capping deductions for state and local taxes, or SALT. Is he serious? What would the political fallout be for him, or other Democrats, if they oppose a climate bill like this?
Julie: In a state where the average property tax bill is almost $10,000 (and that’s before we get to the state income tax burden), the SALT cap is a massive penalty on middle-class taxpayers. I fully support Rep. Gottheimer’s efforts to get it repealed and I hope he gets a commitment from both House and Senate leadership to get it done. I would not hold up the climate change bill because the fate of humanity literally depends on this legislation passing, but there are other budget priorities coming up where he might get a commitment on SALT in exchange for support.
Mike: I agree. It is smart for Gottheimer to stand up for his constituents. The SALT change was a huge tax hike for many in his district. Other Democrats in NJ would be wise to call for this tax cut as well.
Q. Another big deal: The Senate approved a $280 billion bill aimed at countering China by subsidizing cutting-edge technologies and innovations, especially chip manufacturing. It passed with solid bipartisan support and is likely to be signed into law. What happened to our hopelessly dysfunctional gridlock?
Julie: It’s an election year, which has a tendency to spur members on both sides of the aisle into action.
Mike: Frankly, what has taken so long? New cars are scarce and used cars are selling at top-dollar, all because of a chip shortage, showing how vulnerable we are to China on supply chain issues.
Q. And the third: Manchin also agreed to a bill that will allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, while imposing a minimum tax on corporations and closing the “carried-interest loophole” that lets billionaires like Warren Buffett pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries. Good policies? How much credit goes to Rep. Frank Pallone, who has pushed the Medicare reform hard for years?
Julie: My view is that we need more Frank Pallones in Washington. You don’t see him on cable news every night, pontificating. He doesn’t have a zillion social media followers, so he doesn’t feel the need to lob bombs in exchange for clicks. But pound for pound, he is one of the most effective members of Congress, who is dogged in his pursuit of good public policy. I worked for him nearly thirty years ago and he was trying to get Medicare…