Biden says House progressives’ spending program must be between $ 1.9 trillion and $ 2.2 trillion

The group reiterated to the president that it remained in favor of the “Build Back Better” plan and expressed its desire to have “as strong a plan as possible” adopted by both houses of Congress, a source close to the call said. . Another source told CNN that Democrats agreed they need to reach consensus on a deal and that “something is better than nothing.”

Progressive Congressional Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal thanked Biden for “his leadership” in a statement after the meeting and reiterated that the economic spending program and the bipartisan infrastructure plan should move together.

“Progressives have fought to get Biden’s full agenda back on track, and we are now entering negotiations to get it on to workers, families and our communities,” the Washington state Democrat said. “By making sure that the two bills move forward together, we make sure that no one is left behind.”

But on the other side of the Capitol on Monday, Manchin would not commit to the new timetable set by party leaders to reach a deal on expanding the social safety net by October 31.

He has also resisted calls from progressives and other leading Democrats to raise his price tag by $ 1.5 trillion for the package, which many in his party see as too low to meet key political goals. And he drew a “red line” on the Hyde Amendment, saying the inclusion of the measure banning the use of federal funds for most abortions is necessary for him to support the package – another point of contention. with many progressives.

According to sources during Monday’s call, the Congressional Progressive Caucus group of lawmakers on the call included, among others, Jayapal; Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, Deputy Speaker of the House; Mark Pocan from Wisconsin; Barbara Lee from California; Debbie Dingell of Michigan; Ritchie Torres from New York; Ro Khanna from California; Peter Welch from Vermont; Mondaire Jones of New York; Lisa Blunt Rochester from Delaware; and Peter Aguilar of California, who is not a member of the CPC but is vice-chair of the House Democratic Caucus.

Two members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus leadership – Vice President Katie Porter of California and Whip Ilhan Omar of Minnesota – were not invited to the cal

This story was updated with additional developments on Monday.