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“It’s time to [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer to bring them in and try to get a number, ”said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Referring to Sinema and Manchin. “Chuck has to do this. He has to bring them in… No one can do it but him, because it doesn’t matter what we agree on.
While a deal remains on hold, Democratic leaders now publicly acknowledge that revenue from the social spending plan will fall below $ 3.5 trillion, and instead approach $ 1.9 trillion to $ 2.3 trillion. dollars, or less than half of the $ 6 trillion that was initially rising. research. It’s a sign that reality is dawning for Democratic majorities as they feel an increased urgency to embrace the main pillars of Biden’s agenda before 2022, when Washington traditionally begins to focus on the midterms. The ruling will also determine how much Democrats need to raise taxes.
Progressives in the Senate are divided over their willingness to accept a smaller package. Although Biden told Democrats about his proposed range last week, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Reiterated that $ 3.5 trillion is already a compromise, while Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) Has noted that the Senate had already accepted an amount of 3.5 trillion dollars. budget plan in August.
“At the moment, I still assume that what we voted on, $ 3.5 trillion, is what we should be negotiating for,” Warren said.
Others, however, have recognized that they will have to rethink their expectations. While some said they were prepared to accept a total cost of less than $ 3.5 trillion, they stressed that they were more concerned with politics – even though the number of new policies is directly affected by the number of new policies. expenses.
“Everyone’s going to have to give and that includes progressives,” said Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). “The premise that we’re going to have to compromise is obvious, but maybe it was worth saying in the Oval Office. “
Schumer and President Nancy Pelosi are expected to meet with White House officials on Monday evening. Hours earlier, Biden had raised the issue of price with a group of about a dozen House progressives, reiterating in a virtual meeting that the overall bill is likely to be in the range of 1.9 to 2.3 trillion. dollars to gain the support of Senate centrists. Manchin offered $ 1.5 trillion and told reporters Monday that Democrats “understand where I am and I have been very clear about it.”
Biden’s mantra in the call was that Democrats should fund whatever programs they could, given the constraints of their knocked out majorities in both chambers, according to several people familiar with the talks. He proposed several ways to reduce the cost of policies, such as reducing the years of running some programs or using “means testing” on programs such as free community college.
While no progressives pushed back on the need to reduce the cost of the bill at the meeting, the Liberals have said privately that means-tested or income-based limits will be difficult to pass. But at the end of the day, they may have to accept Manchin and Sinema’s demands as decisive voices in a tied Democratic-controlled Senate.
Sinema issued a statement on Saturday gutting Democratic leaders for delaying the vote on the physical infrastructure package and making various promises to competing Democratic Party factions. She also revealed that she privately provided more details about her demands for the larger expense bill to Schumer and Biden, although most of her colleagues aren’t sure exactly where she stands.
While Schumer has consistently engaged with moderates over the past few months, it’s unclear when he will meet Sinema and Manchin next – or how involved Biden will be.
Schumer and Pelosi aim to complete both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the social spending program by the end of the month, an ambitious timeline. Whether they can meet it depends heavily on how quickly an agreement between the factions of the party can be reached.
The House will be out of session for up to two weeks, with plans to return whenever party leaders come to an agreement to either pass the sweeping spending plan or deal with the looming debt crisis. But Pelosi and other high-ranking Democrats continued the private discussions behind the scenes, soliciting the must-see priorities from members as they narrow the scope of the bill.
The White House has also scheduled calls with several groups of House members, including a Tuesday morning with the swing district Democrats, the most vulnerable members of the caucus, according to several people familiar with the plans.
Sinema and Manchin met with Biden last week, along with White House staff, as the administration tried to reach agreement on a framework for the broader spending bill ahead of a planned vote on the bipartisan package. on physical infrastructure. But it soon became clear that a deal would not be done, and Pelosi delayed the vote she had originally promised to hold until September 27.
Democratic senators, however, pointed out that many of the deadlines are contrived and self-imposed. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) Predicted that it would be “very difficult” to wrap the whole package before October 31. And Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) put it this way: “It’s so huge, it’s so transformational, it’s done when it’s done.” It took weeks for the Senate to draft and land a bipartisan infrastructure package much smaller than the Reconciliation Bill.
But before they can write anything on this larger package, Democrats need at least one framework that everyone can agree on. And that’s the main focus of the party right now.
“I’ve spoken to a number of progressive folks in our caucus, and depending on how the money is spent, they would agree. They wouldn’t love it, but they would agree with a figure of $ 2 trillion, $ 2.5 trillion. Something in there, ”Tester said. “There is a number to be obtained. “
Nicholas Wu contributed to this report
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