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Here's what to watch this week

08.08.2022

President Biden prepares to sign a bill Tuesday that invests $52 billion into the semiconductor chip manufacturing sector as lawmakers race toward the August recess.

The House is expected to vote this week on a $430 billion spending package that will improve health care, address climate change and make corporations pay their fair share of taxes. The measure was approved by the Senate over the weekend.

We're going to see new inflation data on Wednesday, as U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney makes a final sprint in her campaign to keep her Republican seat in a race against a Donald Trump-backed opponent.

Here's more on the three big politics stories we're watching this week:

The House is expected to vote on Friday on a spending package that Democrats say will help curb inflation. It was after Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote on Sunday in a party line 51 -- 50 vote. The package, which was brokenred by centrist Senator Joe Manchin D-W. Va. and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, is one of the most significant spending bills to be passed through the upper chamber since the start of the epidemic.

The bill contains $390 billion for combating climate change, while encouraging consumers to switch to electric vehicles. The legislation will reduce carbon emissions by 40% by the year 2030, according to Democrats. The corporate minimum tax rate is set at 15% for companies with profits of more than $1 billion but use various deductions to pay less than the legal corporate tax rate of 21%. The bill approves $430 billion in new spending, and its proponents say it will create $740 in revenue.

According to an ABC News Ipsos poll released Sunday, President Biden is facing low approval ratings for his handling of the economy. Only 29% of voters said they approve of Biden's handling of inflation and 69% think the economy is getting worse.

The Consumer Price Index is set to be released on Wednesday, revealing whether inflation has eased last month. Inflation hit 9.1 in the month of June, a new 40 year high. The report comes as the White House is trying to seize on the momentum of Friday's jobs report — a whopping 528,000 jobs added to the U.S. economy in the month of July.

It's the final sprint to the primary for U.S. Liz Cheney R-Wyo. The primary challenger is Trump backed by Harriet Hageman next week. A Casper-Star Tribune poll performed from July 7 to July 11 had Hageman, an energy attorney, beating Cheney 52% to 30%.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney posted an ad for his daughter, who has built a national profile for herself, given her position on the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. A loss for Cheney would be a victory for Trump's political machine, as it would defeat one of the most prominent Republicans in Congress. The primary is on Tuesday, Aug. 16.

Kevin Cirilli is a contributor to Yahoo Finance and a visiting media fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub.