Democrats refine the price of the climate package and fight against poverty

“Discussions lasted almost 24 hours a day,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D., Oregon), also a member of the Budget Committee, said on Monday. When he was in Oregon during the break, with fires and intense heat sweeping through the state, “everyone wants to know what’s going to be done about this,” he said. “There are a lot of problems to be solved. “

If Democrats can stay united, it would allow them to pass legislation with a simple simple Senate majority of 50-50, rather than the 60-vote threshold most bills face. But more centrist and liberal Democrats are still divided over the size of the budget package, as well as how much should be paid for from other income, including tax increases.

After a weekend of talks, lawmakers had yet to settle on an overall price, but said they made progress after a two-hour meeting with White House officials on Monday evening. Mr Schumer told the Senate on Monday that Democrats on the Budget Committee were “close to finalizing” a budget resolution, which some aides said expected to be around $ 3 trillion to 4 trillion. of dollars.

But Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) Said after meeting with President Biden at the White House on Monday afternoon that he continued to push for a package as close to the plan as possible. $ 6 trillion he had previously proposed.

“There are 50 Democrats in the caucus, and I suspect there are 50 different views,” he told reporters as he left the White House. “As you know, I put forward a $ 6 trillion proposal, so I will fight to make this proposal as strong as possible.”

Democrats on the Budget Committee said they plan to continue their talks on Tuesday, with the aim of reaching a deal by Thursday so they can move the reconciliation process forward.

“Well, we’re just in a situation where so much has to go down this path, so many steps you have to go through,” said panel member Sen. Jeff Merkley (D., Oregon).

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday that the administration was leaving Democrats in the Senate to strike a deal they could all support. “We expect these negotiations to have their ups and downs. We are ready for this, ”she said. Mr Biden is expected to meet with lawmakers this week, she said.

On the budget committee, Senator Mark Warner (D., Virginia), who represents the most moderate Democrats, has not yet committed to a global amount, according to a person familiar with the talks. Mr Warner has expressed hesitation over some of the tax increases President Biden has proposed to pay for his collection of child care, education and other anti-poverty proposals known as American. Families Plan.

Democrats are considering a number of tax increases, including increasing the corporate tax rate by 21%, tightening the net on foreign profits of U.S. companies, and increasing the rate of capital appreciation. Mr Wyden said the finance committee was preparing “a menu of options so that the caucus can have a range of policies to consider.”

The budget package is just one piece of a complicated legislative puzzle that Democratic leaders are trying to sort out this summer and fall. Last month, President Biden and a bipartisan group of senators reached an agreement on the framework of a package of approximately $ 1 trillion of physical infrastructure improvements of roads, bridges, water and high-speed Internet access, among other things.

The bipartisan group has yet to release details of its proposal that would fully spell out how she would be paid, and GOP leaders have warned that analysis showing it added to the federal budget deficit could siphon Republican support.

“We borrowed a lot of money during the Covid crisis, and we shouldn’t borrow for non-urgent items anymore,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas), noting that he expected this is a fundamental problem for Republicans considering the bipartisan bill.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrats in the Senate have said they will only support the infrastructure deal if they are confident that a larger budget-linked package will have enough support to pass many of their others. priorities, including provisions to tackle climate change and tackle affordable housing, paid time off and subsidized child care.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) Has said she will not put the infrastructure bill to a vote until the budget is passed by the Senate. Some centrist Democrats grew angry at the time, arguing that the infrastructure bill should be passed more quickly, without waiting for other agreements to merge.

“Let’s take advantage of the fact that we have a victory in hand and do it before August,” said Rep. Kurt Schrader (D., Ore.) “It’s the one piece of the puzzle, if you will, of all things the president’s proposal which seems to have some juice right now, which has bipartisan support.

But progressive Democrats in both chambers have said they will refuse to back the infrastructure proposal unless they have concrete assurances that both packages will be enacted.

—Tarini Parti contributed to this article.

Write to Kristina Peterson at [email protected] and Andrew Duehren at [email protected]