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Former President Barack Obama’s signing of the start of the presidency, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was passed with a parliamentary tool called Budget Reconciliation that allows lawmakers to bypass a Senate filibuster.
That could end up being the case for President Biden too, if Democrats continue on their current path.
On Monday afternoon, however, Biden will meet with a few Republican senators in what could be a step to avoid this and pass a bipartisan bill. A group of 10 Republican senators led by Senator Susan Collins, of R-Maine, announced a coronavirus relief proposal on Sunday, which Biden invited them to the White House to discuss on Monday.
Those 10 Republicans, plus 50 Senate Democrats, could overcome the filibuster of other Republicans and allow a coronavirus package to arrive at Biden’s office without needing to go through reconciliation.
Senator Susan Collins, of R-Maine, speaks during a confirmation hearing on President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 in Washington. (Melina Mara / The Washington Post via AP, pool)
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But the gap between Biden’s proposed $ 1.9 trillion package and the Republicans’ offer of just over $ 600 billion makes it clear that there are still significant differences between Biden and even moderate Republicans.
Monday’s meeting, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, is not “a forum where the president can make or accept an offer.”
“[Biden’s] is that the size of the package must be proportional to the scale of the crises we are facing, ”she continued. [the Biden proposal] are the basis of what should garner bipartisan support. “
But even though there are no Republicans who support Biden’s coronavirus plan, the White House still says the bill can be “bipartisan” in gaining public support.
“He faces the deepest problems, but the greatest opportunities for any president probably since FDR,” Biden adviser Anita Dunn told CNN. “Even with narrow majorities in Congress, he has the opportunity to build broad bipartisan support for his agenda – not necessarily in Congress but with the American people.”
President Joe Biden signs a series of healthcare executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, January 28, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo / Evan Vucci)
((AP Photo / Evan Vucci))
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Democrats remember how widespread GOP opposition in Congress hampered some of the Obama administration’s programs early in his term. This ultimately led them to pass the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as ObamaCare, via a budget reconciliation. Notably, the Republicans did the same in an attempt to repeal the ACA under Trump, and they used it successfully to pass the major tax cuts of 2017.
The push for budget reconciliation will begin in earnest this week when Democratic leaders in both chambers present budget resolutions. These will be the vehicles in which the coronavirus assistance plan will later be placed.
This parliamentary bet, which Congress can only use once per fiscal year, limits debate on legislation in the Senate, which is normally unlimited, to 8 p.m. Once this period has elapsed, the other proposed amendments to the bill are quickly dropped without debate. This process, according to the Congressional Research Service, is called a “vote-a-rama”.
Republicans are expected to introduce more than 1,000 amendments in a vote-a-rama on coronavirus relief, according to Punchbowl News.
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There will also be a process in which elements of the bill will be reviewed to see if they have real budgetary implications. They can be removed from the bill if they are considered foreigners, in accordance with what is known as the “Byrd rule”.
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) arrives for the impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill January 30, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP via Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
But even if Democrats move forward with a push for reconciliation, it’s not clear they would actually have the votes in their own caucus to block Biden’s coronavirus plan. Democrats hold a slim 10-vote majority in the House, which could wane if some of Biden’s Cabinet choices who sit in the House are quickly upheld.
And the Senate is said to be divided by 50 to 50 depending on the party, and some moderate Democrats in the Senate are not guaranteed to vote for Biden’s proposal on the coronavirus.
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One sign that the White House recognizes this reality is the fact that Vice President Kamala Harris did interviews last week with local television stations in West Virginia and Arizona, the home states of the moderate senses.
The move came as a surprise at least to Manchin, who has criticized the White House.
“I saw [the interview], I couldn’t believe it. Nobody called me [about it]”Manchin later told the WSAZ.” We will try to find a bipartisan path, but we have to work together. It is not a way of working together. “
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Manchin’s office declined to say whether it would back Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion proposal if Democrats tried to push it through reconciliation.
“Senator Manchin is still engaged in a bipartisan path,” said a spokesperson.
Sinema’s office did not immediately return a request for comment from Fox News.
Chad Pergram of Fox News contributed to this report.
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