“I know we have a historic economic framework,” Biden said in a speech from the White House shortly after meeting with Democratic leaders in Congress. “Everyone is on board. It’s a good day, “he told reporters.
Endurance
However, key Democratic lawmakers, whose dispute over the content and costs of the social spending bill threatens to strip Biden of what he claims to be his main political legacy, gave mixed messages. Nancy Pelosi, a key Biden ally and Speaker of the House of Representatives, said she wanted to vote on the infrastructure package right away. The problem is, that’s something the most radical Democrats have been reluctant to do, insisting they won’t back the initiative unless their priorities are secured in the social spending bill.
Two centrist Democratic senators, who consider the social spending component too high, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, sounded positive about Biden’s proposal but did not commit to support the framework he announced. Another top negotiating figure, leftist Senator Bernie Sanders, said he still sees “big gaps” in the plan.
Despite all that, Biden urged that his party finally put aside its divisions and unite.
“We spent hours and hours and hours for months and months working on this,” Biden recalled. “Nobody got everything they wanted, including me, but that is compromise. That is consensus, and that is what I follow ”.
objective
The president hoped to get a vote in Congress before flying to the G20 meeting in Rome and then next week to the UN climate summit in Glasgow. But even though Democrats control both houses of Congress, the margins are so narrow – just one vote up in the Senate and a handful in the Lower House – that it makes it torturous to pass important laws.
Biden has been frustrated many times when Manchin and Sinema limited their aspirations for social spending in the Senate, while left-wing Democrats in the House of Representatives blocked the infrastructure bill.
Biden has downgraded his wishes greatly, cutting his original $ 3.5 trillion social spending plan by nearly half. But even the reduced spending framework would represent a major legislative victory a year after Biden defeated Donald Trump on a promise to heal America’s “soul.”
Despite ongoing Democratic debate, a senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “The president believes this framework will win the support of all 50 Democratic senators and pass the House.”
Agenda
If enacted, Biden’s new proposal would provide universal preschool education for three- and four-year-olds, expand government-supported health care coverage for at least four years, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the United States. country for a decade.
However, key progressive priorities, such as offering 12 weeks of paid family leave, guaranteeing free college studies to members of underserved communities, and lowering the sky-high prices of prescription drugs, were left out of the new framework.
Radical Democrats, including Progressive House Chair Pramila Jayapal and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said they needed to see a finalized piece of legislation before committing.
“We need to keep the promise that was made. We have been very clear, ”added left-wing Minnesota legislator Ilhan Omar.
New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez said he wanted to see more details, expressing disappointment that state and local tax breaks and prescription drug pricing reform appeared to have been phased out.
“I have lived long enough to know that what is in that legislation is of crucial importance. I see the framework as an opportunity to reach the final goal, ”he told MSNBC.
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