Kyrsten Sinema says lack of vote on infrastructure is ‘inexcusable’ and erodes trust in Democratic Party

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Sinema’s statement came after a dramatic week in the House when Speaker Nancy Pelosi delayed voting on the infrastructure bill because progressives threatened to withhold support until details were worked out for the separate and massive bill on social benefits and climate spending. President Joe Biden on Friday vowed that Democrats will stick to their agenda as leaders in Congress attempt to resolve divisions within parties that have jeopardized passage of the two bills.
One of the problems, progressives say, is that Arizona’s Sinema, along with fellow West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin, want a lower price for the bill – not the original $ 3.5 trillion. decided by the Democratic leaders. – but will not share details of their position on these negotiations. Manchin made it clear on Thursday that $ 1.5 trillion was the price he was prepared to accept for his party’s plan to expand the social safety net.

In his statement on Saturday, Sinema criticized progressive Democrats in the House who withhold their vote for the bipartisan infrastructure bill.

“I have never accepted and never would accept a deal that holds one law hostage to another,” she said. “Good faith negotiations, however, require trust. During this year, Democratic leaders made conflicting promises that not all could be kept – and sometimes claimed that differences of opinion within of our party did not exist, even when these disagreements were clearly expressed on several occasions, directly and publicly.

She added: “Canceling the infrastructure vote further erodes that trust. More importantly, it betrays the trust the American people have placed in their elected leaders and denies our country critical investments to expand economic opportunities.

CNN previously reported that Sinema left Washington on Friday and was in Phoenix, Arizona, for a medical appointment, according to a statement from his office. Her office said she was continuing negotiations on the economic bill from a distance.

Progressive leaders, including Washington’s House Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, have repeatedly cited Biden’s wishes to explain their stance on passing his platform and advocating for a vote against a bill that ‘he supports and wishes to see adopted.

“We must act for American families. Our members of the Progressive Caucus will stake our votes to send the entire Build Back Better program to President Biden’s office. As he said when he presented this plan:” We can do it. We need to. We will, ”wrote Jayapal, Representative of California, Katie Porter, Deputy Chairman of the CPC, and Omar, its whip, in a CNN editorial published Monday morning.

In a letter to Dear Colleague released Saturday morning, Pelosi reinforced the decision by Democratic leaders this week to delay the vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill in order to work on the economic bill that progressives want.

“Yesterday we extended Legislative Day from Thursday, September 30 to Friday, pushing for the adoption of the bipartite infrastructure framework and the advancement of Build Back Better. But it took longer to reach our goal. pass both bills, which we will do, ”she said. wrote.

Pelosi wrote in the letter that Congress must pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill by Oct. 31 before the extended surface transportation funding runs out.

Why progressives didn't give in in the biggest intra-party fight of the Biden era

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