By Tony Romm
,
Sean Sullivan
and
Tyler Pager
Today at 2:05 p.m. EDT
President Biden on Thursday unveiled a new $1.75 trillion package to overhaul the country’s health-care, education, climate and tax laws, muscling through a slew of policy disagreements and internecine political feuds that had stalled his economic agenda for months.
2021 Election: Complete coverage and analysis
The announcement marked a critical moment in Biden’s tenure, prompting the president to pay a visit to Capitol Hill and call on Democrats to adopt the spending along with a second, roughly $1.2 trillion package to improve the country’s roads, bridges, pipes, ports and Internet connections.
“We spent hours and hours and hours over months and months working on this,” Biden said in televised remarks. “No one got everything they wanted, including me, but that’s what compromise is. That’s consensus, and that’s what I ran on.”
Biden’s moves reflected a pivotal decision to assume ownership of the sweeping safety-net proposal in a new way. He is investing enormous political capital in the new plan, following days of intensive, secretive meetings with key lawmakers, and ratcheting up his warnings that gun-shy Democrats risk damaging him and the party if they do not get on board.
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“I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that the [Democratic] House and Senate majorities — and my presidency — will be determined by what happens in the next week,” he told House Democrats in a closed-door meetings, according to one person in the room, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.
The call to action appeared to galvanize some Democrats, and the $1.7 trillion framework soon generated praise — crucially from the party’s moderate and liberal ranks. One of the longtime holdouts, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), quickly praised the deal, but without committing to vote for it.
“After months of productive, good-faith negotiations with President Biden and the White House, we have made significant progress on the proposed budget reconciliation package,” Sinema said in a statement. “I look forward to getting this done, expanding economic opportunities and helping everyday families get ahead.”
Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), the other centrist holdout, would say only, “In the hands of the House” when asked about the new framework in the Capitol on Thursday.
The proposal did contain some longtime Democratic priorities, including universal prekindergarten, new sums to combat climate change and additional taxes on the ultrawealthy. But it jettisoned other items, including a plan to provide paid leave to millions of Americans. The president made the cuts to satisfy Sinema and Manchin, who were concerned about overspending.
With a potential end to the logjam in sight, the framework prompted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to move toward holding a vote on the companion infrastructure bill as soon as Thursday. That plan had been held up by House liberals who insisted on seeing an acceptable version of the safety-net plan first.
Pelosi cited the president’s planned travel to two global summits this week as a reason for swift action, suggesting that Biden’s credibility on the world stage would be undermined if his legislative agenda was mired down.
But forcing a vote on the infrastructure bill appeared politically risky. Liberal-leaning lawmakers reaffirmed an earlier threat that they would not vote for it unless they were satisfied with the safety-net bill, and in a closely divided Congress, their votes are pivotal.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who heads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said she expected liberal lawmakers to “enthusiastically endorse” Biden’s new plan. But without specific legislative language “there are too many ‘no’ votes for the [infrastructure bill] to pass today,” she said.
Vulnerable Democrats worried about what’s being left out of package
The architect of the original $3.5 trillion plan, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), similarly encouraged House Democrats to hold off on voting until “clear language” is finalized on the safety net bill with the support of 50 senators. He said he continues to work to advance issues including a more robust expansion of Medicare, but he also described the $1.75 trillion compromise as transformational, saying it is “the kind of legislation [that hasn’t] passed in Congress since the 1960s.”
,
Sean Sullivan
and
Tyler Pager
Today at 2:05 p.m. EDT
President Biden on Thursday unveiled a new $1.75 trillion package to overhaul the country’s health-care, education, climate and tax laws, muscling through a slew of policy disagreements and internecine political feuds that had stalled his economic agenda for months.
2021 Election: Complete coverage and analysisThe announcement marked a critical moment in Biden’s tenure, prompting the president to pay a visit to Capitol Hill and call on Democrats to adopt the spending along with a second, roughly $1.2 trillion package to improve the country’s roads, bridges, pipes, ports and Internet connections.
“We spent hours and hours and hours over months and months working on this,” Biden said in televised remarks. “No one got everything they wanted, including me, but that’s what compromise is. That’s consensus, and that’s what I ran on.”
Biden’s moves reflected a pivotal decision to assume ownership of the sweeping safety-net proposal in a new way. He is investing enormous political capital in the new plan, following days of intensive, secretive meetings with key lawmakers, and ratcheting up his warnings that gun-shy Democrats risk damaging him and the party if they do not get on board.
ADVERTISING
“I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that the [Democratic] House and Senate majorities — and my presidency — will be determined by what happens in the next week,” he told House Democrats in a closed-door meetings, according to one person in the room, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.
The call to action appeared to galvanize some Democrats, and the $1.7 trillion framework soon generated praise — crucially from the party’s moderate and liberal ranks. One of the longtime holdouts, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), quickly praised the deal, but without committing to vote for it.
“After months of productive, good-faith negotiations with President Biden and the White House, we have made significant progress on the proposed budget reconciliation package,” Sinema said in a statement. “I look forward to getting this done, expanding economic opportunities and helping everyday families get ahead.”
Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), the other centrist holdout, would say only, “In the hands of the House” when asked about the new framework in the Capitol on Thursday.
The proposal did contain some longtime Democratic priorities, including universal prekindergarten, new sums to combat climate change and additional taxes on the ultrawealthy. But it jettisoned other items, including a plan to provide paid leave to millions of Americans. The president made the cuts to satisfy Sinema and Manchin, who were concerned about overspending.
With a potential end to the logjam in sight, the framework prompted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to move toward holding a vote on the companion infrastructure bill as soon as Thursday. That plan had been held up by House liberals who insisted on seeing an acceptable version of the safety-net plan first.
Pelosi cited the president’s planned travel to two global summits this week as a reason for swift action, suggesting that Biden’s credibility on the world stage would be undermined if his legislative agenda was mired down.
But forcing a vote on the infrastructure bill appeared politically risky. Liberal-leaning lawmakers reaffirmed an earlier threat that they would not vote for it unless they were satisfied with the safety-net bill, and in a closely divided Congress, their votes are pivotal.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who heads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said she expected liberal lawmakers to “enthusiastically endorse” Biden’s new plan. But without specific legislative language “there are too many ‘no’ votes for the [infrastructure bill] to pass today,” she said.
Vulnerable Democrats worried about what’s being left out of package
The architect of the original $3.5 trillion plan, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), similarly encouraged House Democrats to hold off on voting until “clear language” is finalized on the safety net bill with the support of 50 senators. He said he continues to work to advance issues including a more robust expansion of Medicare, but he also described the $1.75 trillion compromise as transformational, saying it is “the kind of legislation [that hasn’t] passed in Congress since the 1960s.”
