Drug Pricing Initiatives: The Senate is expected to vote on a revised version of H.R. 5376 (the Build Back Better Act, or BBBA), now styled as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). The House originally passed H.R. 5376 in November 2021. Senator Joe Manchin, one of the Democratic senators whose previous opposition to the BBBA had derailed earlier efforts at Senate passage, now has indicated that he will support the IRA.

Democrats intend to adopt the IRA as part of the budget reconciliation process, which allows passage in the Senate by a simple majority, avoiding a Republican filibuster. Passage would require all 50 Democratic and independent senators’ votes, which has given individual senators disproportionate leverage.