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Washington – The House delayed its scheduled vote on a bipartisan infrastructure bill late Thursday evening, as negotiations continued on another measure – a broader social safety net – but failed to reach a deal.
As President Nancy Pelosi left Capitol Hill early Friday morning, she continued to say there would be a vote “today”, and she told reporters that progressives and moderates are “not separate from billions of dollars”.
The House intended to pass the $ 1.2 trillion infrastructure measure on Thursday, but a majority of progressives threatened to vote against the legislation without a deal on the larger $ 3.5 trillion package , and they could have enough votes in the tightly divided House to defeat the bill. . The infrastructure bill, known as the Biparty Infrastructure Framework, would make the biggest investment in the country’s roads, bridges, railways and ports in decades, and it also contains funds for modern infrastructure, such as electric vehicle charging stations and broadband.
The costliest bill, called the Build Back Better Act, would tackle climate change and strengthen the economic safety net by giving Americans two years of free community college, child care assistance, expansion of Medicare and lower prices for prescription drugs, among other provisions.
The Build Back Better Act must have the support of every Democrat in the equally divided Senate in order to pass. Currently, this is not the case. Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema oppose its high price tag. They spent the evening meeting with senior White House officials, but were unable to come to an agreement.
Earlier today, Manchin revealed he would support up to $ 1.5 trillion in the larger bill, a number well below the $ 3.5 trillion sought by Democratic leaders and President Biden. At the end of the evening, Manchin said his position had not changed.
This is not a new figure for Manchin – he gave the figure of $ 1.5 trillion to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a memo in July, as first reported. Politics.
“The $ 1.5 trillion has always been made with my heart, basically what we can do and not jeopardize our economy,” Manchin told reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday.
In his memo, Manchin included suggestions on what expenses and revenues he could support, including increasing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 25%, which is lower than the law’s 26.5%. Build Back Better Act. His argument for the personal tax rate for the highest incomes corresponds to that of the most expensive proposal: 39.6%.
Manchin also told reporters on Thursday that testing and work requirements must be added to any new spending schedule. The West Virginia senator pushed back on climate change provisions he said could hurt his constituents, many of whom depend on fossil fuels for their livelihoods. If the bill offers and extends tax credits for solar and wind power, it must do so without repealing the credits for fossil fuels, Manchin wrote to Schumer.
The social spending plan, a key part of Mr. Biden’s legislative agenda, is based on a budget process known as reconciliation. That means 50 votes – plus the vice president’s deciding vote – will get the bill through, rather than the 60 usually required in the Senate.
John LaBombard, spokesperson for Sinema, said in a statement that Sinema briefed Biden and Schumer on his priorities and concerns, including a dollar amount, in August.
Like our bipartisan infrastructure bill, the proposed budget reconciliation package reflects a proposal by President Biden – and President Biden and his team, as well as Senator Schumer and his team, are fully aware of the priorities, concerns and ideas from Senator Sinema, “said LaBombard. in a report. He added that he is still engaged in discussions with Schumer and Mr Biden “to find common ground”.
Manchin, who called for a “strategic break” on the massive social spending proposal this summer, reiterated Thursday that he still thinks it was the best approach, and suggested he was unlikely to rally to the progressives’ point of view.
“I have never been a liberal in any way,” Manchin said. “No one ever thought I was. I was Governor, I was Secretary of State, I was in the State Legislature, I was a United States Senator and I have voted pretty consistently all my life. I don’t blame any of them who believe they are much more progressive and much more liberal. God bless them. And all they have to do is get us have to elect more i guess they get theirs elect more liberals but i am not asking them to change i am willing to go from zero to $ 1.5 [trillion]. ”
– Ed O’Keefe of CBS News, Weijia Jiang and Zachary Hudak contributed to this report.
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