When the Inflation Reduction Act passed the Senate Sunday afternoon at 3:18 after more than 24 hours of a continuous session that began at noon on Saturday and required 39 separate roll call votes, Chuck Schumer read a long list of his staff that the majority leader said were instrumental in getting the bill (a smaller but still potent reincarnation of Build Back Better) done.
The name left off, of course, belongs to a graduate of Brooklyn's James Madison High School, and we don't mean Bernie Sanders, who prolonged the long night with five failed roll call votes on his pet causes.
Without Schumer, there would be no last-minute, back-from-the-dead deal with Joe Manchin, which survived Kyrsten Sinema's insistence on defending the indefensible carried interest loophole for hedge fund swells.
With Schumer keeping the other 49 Democrats in agreement and on the floor, 26 Republican amendments were rejected as the vote-a-rama went on hour after hour. The nation will benefit from investments in clean energy and affordable health care, along with a fairer tax code and meaningful deficit reduction measures.
Well done, Chuck. You were the picture of perseverance.
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