Joe Biden’s fight to pass a $1.75 trillion package to strengthen social safety nets and fight climate change moves to the thorny terrain of the US Senate, after removal House of Commons.
The house on Friday passed the sweep Build back better The bill, which includes subsidies for early childhood education, a tax credit for families with children, an expansion of community health care for the elderly, and about $550 billion in programs to combat climate change.
The vote comes just days after Biden signed into law with a separate $1.2 billion bipartisan party infrastructure package will fund the repair of bridges, roads, tunnels and other transportation systems.
It’s a remarkable achievement for a president trying to regain momentum after months of declining approval ratings and a disappointing performance for his party in state and local elections. this month.
“We will tell our children and grandchildren that we are here today,” Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House, said after Friday’s vote.
But the Rebuild Better bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where lawmakers are expected to contest the package for several weeks. At the same time, they are facing the potential threat of a government shutdown, a possible federal default, and the need to strike an agreement to continue funding the US military. Chuck Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, has insisted all the problems will be resolved – and Build Back Better will pass the senate – by Christmas.
“Here rubber will have to meet the road. The House added some stuff in and it went back to the Senate,” said Meghan Pennington, a former Democratic Senate aide now with the Washington-based consulting firm Hamilton Place Strategies. “This is the time for Democratic leaders [Schumer] to go to work. “
Build Back Better has passed the Senate sausage machine once before, with the White House and Democratic congressional leaders engaged in protracted negotiations with two senators – Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona – to establish a “framework” to meet their needs. Those negotiations resulted in the bid price being cut from the White House proposal of $3.5 trillion to the current $1.75 trillion.
Manchin and Sinema are the two most conservative companies Democratic Party member in the upper house of Congress, and gain too much influence as the Senate is split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, with US vice president Kamala Harris possibly voting for a breakout. As Republicans staunchly oppose Build Back to Better – which they say wastes public spending at a time of rising inflation – the White House needs the support of all 50 Democratic senators. If the bill becomes law use a procedure known as mediation to bypass the Senate’s filtering rules.
Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said senior administration officials remained “in touch” with key Democratic senators even as they focused on securing spending package approval. in the home.
“We know it’s the next big step here,” Psaki said. “And I’m sure the president will join when [it’s] the right time to do it with them. “
The House version of Build Back Better includes two provisions that potentially affect the upper chamber lane blocks. One is a reversal of tax policy from the Trump era that resulted in higher income taxes for wealthy homeowners in states like New York, New Jersey and California. The other is to introduce four weeks of paid family and medical leave for all workers.
The tax changes, which will allow people to deduct up to $80,000 in state and local taxes — commonly known as Salt — from their federal income taxes, have been claimed by the country’s moderators. House of Representatives includes Josh Gottheimer and Mikie Sherrill of New shirt, a state where Democrats underperformed in state and local elections earlier this month and is worried about fixing the damage in next year’s midterm elections, when control of both houses of Congress was obtained.
But progressive Democrats say the changes are an unnecessary aid to the rich, and budget advocates are wary of how the changes will send the Treasury Department away. how much to pay.
The shadow of rising consumer prices also looms large over the president. When Republican Party member Having largely sought to blame higher inflation on Biden, members of his party have also raised red flags, suggesting the president should do more to lower consumer costs.
Meanwhile, provisions for paid leave were introduced by Pelosi into law after a more ambitious proposal of 12 weeks of paid leave and medical leave by New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was dropped. out of framework after Manchin objected. Unlike other Western economies, the US does not guarantee paid time off for new mothers. Manchin has repeatedly said that he would only be willing to support a program if it was structured like Social Security, in which everyone pays into it.
At the same time, senators from Bernie Sanders – who has pushed for an expansion of Medicare to cover dental and eye care costs for the elderly – and Ron Wyden – who wants to impose new taxes on billionaires – has suggested that they commit to further negotiations on their own legislative priorities.
That sets the stage for several more weeks of negotiations that could extend into the Christmas period. However, Democrats insist that they will not leave the table without a deal.
“It will go on as long as it can go on,” Pennington said. “But success is the only logical outcome.”
Any Senate deal will need to be sent back to the House for one more vote before Biden can sign the package into law – potentially sending Democrats into another internal squabble. .
But Pelosi issued an upbeat note on Friday, saying she would work with the Senate “so we have a deal when it comes back.” [to the House]”.
“90% of bills are written together: House, Senate, White House,” she added. “There are some differences at the end, and we’ll address those as we move on.”
Swamp Notes
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