Ocasio-Cortez says moderate senators ‘don’t really come to the table’ on budget bill

Washington – Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, said on Sunday that moderate Democratic senators “aren’t really coming to the table” to negotiate the details of a massive $ 3.5 trillion social spending program which is the cornerstone of President Biden’s economic program, but has been at the center of infighting among Democrats.

“What we’re seeing here is the dynamic where the progressives are trying to skin this cat in nine different ways, but the moderates don’t really come to the table,” Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview on “Face the Nation. “. “That’s the problem, is we say, ‘OK, we’re going to go from $ 6 trillion to $ 3 trillion, now it’s $ 1 trillion, and we have some of these conservatives that say, “Well, our line is zero, and you’re in luck if you get $ 1. ‘”

The New York Democrat said the fighting within the party was not an “exchange between personalities.”

Democratic leaders have laid out a two-pronged strategy to pass a bipartisan $ 1 trillion infrastructure bill and the larger package, which includes plans for a free community college, universal pre-kindergarten, expanding health insurance, and tackling climate change.

But last week some progressives in the House pulled it off suspended a vote on the narrower infrastructure bill as they pushed the Senate to pass the bigger package first. The progressives’ threat to oppose the infrastructure bill came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi effectively dissociated the two measures after promising moderate Democrats that the House consider that the legislation before September 27.

Ocasio-Cortez, however, said that even though the two bills must pass, they will not authorize Congress if they are decoupled.

“We can’t just come up with new terms halfway through and expect everyone to… hold on,” she said. “I am prepared to hold my end of the bargain by sticking to both and we should expect all of our lawmakers who were part of this deal to stick to this bargain.”

Objections from two key moderate Democratic senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, complicate the effort to send the measures to Mr Biden’s office, with far-reaching legislation, including his price tag. $ 3.5 trillion and the fine print for some of its policies.

Manchin has indicated he would support $ 1.5 trillion in revenue for the social spending program, but progressives believe any negotiation should focus on the programs moderate Democrats are prepared to cut.

“The White House is not asking to exclude universal child care or universal kindergarten. It comes from the more conservative wing of the Democratic Party, but these are the conversations we need to have because the point is that Les Washington’s math is notoriously funny, and you can turn a $ 1 trillion bill into $ 2,000 billion, you can make a $ 3 trillion bill that helps fewer people, “he said. she said, “That’s why we really need to talk about the substance of this.”

One option Democrats are exploring is to shorten the program funding period from 10 to five years, Ocasio-Cortez said.

“The trade-off and the options we have before us are: are we cutting our funding programs? Are you reducing the level of funding? Are you removing programs completely? Said Ocasio-Cortez.

The non-negotiable arrangements for the MP, however, are those that tackle climate change, even if that risks meeting Manchin’s opposition.

While the New York Democrat has said that Mr. Biden, himself a moderate, is a “good faith partner” of the entire Democratic caucus, she slammed Democrats like Manchin and Sinema for pushing their own preferences policies versus those of the party at large.

“For quite some time we’ve seen that some of these party conservatives, it’s not about a team, but about individual preferences, but it’s okay,” she said. “We are going to come together. I believe in our party’s vision and commitment to working people, and the point is, we need to respect all families and all voters.”