Democrats issue $ 3.5 trillion budget resolution, which does not include an increase in the debt ceiling

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The budget resolution is priced at $ 3.5 trillion, and includes a series of tax increases and other offsets to help fund the overall plan, though the majority of legislation implementing the plan should be written because a dozen committees have instructions to start writing. legislation. The adoption of the budget resolution is only the first step, then it is up to the committees to draft the reconciliation bill.

The budget resolution sets a target date of September 15 for committees to submit their reconciliation legislation. “We will work towards this goal and we will meet, as a caucus, during the week of the 15th to consider the bill,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote in a letter to a dear colleague Monday morning.

The resolution notably does not include lifting the country’s borrowing limit, which would mean raising the debt ceiling separately and requiring Republican votes to break an obstruction, which GOP leaders – including the leader of the Senatorial Minority Mitch McConnell – warned they would not.

Schumer sent the text of the budget resolution in his letter Monday morning to members of his caucus to help them “prepare for consideration of the budget resolution in the Senate and drafting of the reconciliation bill this summer.”

The summary of the budget resolution sets out the Democrats’ plan to invest in four main areas: families, climate, health care and infrastructure and jobs.

“By making education, health care, child care and housing more affordable, we can help tens of millions of families. By investing more in infrastructure, we can create tens of thousands of well-paying jobs. fighting climate change, we can spare our country and our planet from the most devastating effects of global warming, ”Schumer wrote in the letter.

Schumer added, “This legislation will deliver the biggest tax cut for American families in a generation, while making the rich pay their fair share. In all phases, we will focus on communities that have too often been overlooked. , including communities of color and native Americans. “

It comes as the Senate passed the final procedural hurdle before the final passage of the bipartisan infrastructure package, which immediately afterwards said Schumer that the Senate would look to the Democrats’ budget resolution with reconciliation instructions.

McConnell said last week that Democrats should not expect any help from Republicans in their efforts to raise the debt ceiling.

“They won’t get our help,” continued the Kentucky Republican. “They won’t get our help with increasing the debt limit as recklessly as these reckless plans will require. I couldn’t be clearer. They have the capacity. They control the White House, they control the House, they control the Senate. They can raise the debt ceiling and if it is raised, they will. “

The Republican opposition to providing votes to raise the debt ceiling is not the only challenge facing the legislation. Its $ 3.5 trillion price tag has also raised concerns among moderate Democrats. Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema said late last month that she was not supporting the bill at its current cost, although she signaled she was ready to negotiate.

“I have also made it clear that while I will support the initiation of this process, I do not support a bill that costs $ 3.5 trillion – and in the months to come I will work in good faith to develop this legislation. with my colleagues and the administration to strengthen Arizona’s economy and help ordinary Arizona families move forward, ”Sinema said in a statement.

CNN’s Ryan Nobles and Devan Cole contributed to this report.

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