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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is staring at the nine centrist lawmakers demanding an immediate vote on the bipartisan infrastructure package – anything but daring them to sink President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.
Driving the news: White House officials and congressional leaders pressured the Nine over the weekend to withdraw their threat to vote against the review of the $ 3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package, but legislators do not budge.
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“At the moment, the position of the nine is that we are not going to vote for the budget resolution until we have completed the BIF,” Representative Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.) Told Axios, referring to to the bipartite infrastructure bill.
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“When you eat an apple, you eat it one bite at a time,” she said. “We have to take the first bite, chew it and digest it and move on to the next bite.”
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White House and Congress officials are confident they will eventually force the Nine to back down on this week’s procedural vote, despite some of them aiming to spend an additional $ 3.5 trillion.
The big picture: All nine lawmakers want the House to vote first on the $ 1.2 trillion bipartisan bill, which includes $ 550 billion in new spending on roads, bridges and broadband.
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The senses. Joe Manchin (DW.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) Privately advised House centrists – led by Representative Josh Gottheimer (DN.J.), head of the Problem Solvers Caucus – on how to negotiate with the White House and congressional leaders.
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The House comes out of a seven-week recess on Monday to consider spending plans. On Saturday, Pelosi reiterated her two-way approach in a “Dear Colleague” letter, stating that she would not blink.
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“The House is working hard to enact both the Build Back Better plan and the bipartisan infrastructure bill by October 1, when the BIF would come into effect,” she wrote.
Go further: Prominent economists – led by Austan Goolsbee, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers – are trying to give momentum to Biden’s plans. They insist that the new spending will not increase inflation.
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“The bipartisan infrastructure deal and Build Back Better program could ease some inflationary pressures by introducing significant supply-side measures into the economy,” more than 70 economists write to congressional leaders, Axios has learned. .
Between the lines: Outside groups are running dual advertising campaigns, targeting the nine lawmakers.
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The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and Climate Power are encouraging voters in their districts to urge lawmakers to seize the “once in a lifetime opportunity” to tackle climate change and create clean energy jobs.
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The non-partisan group No Labels is launching a six-figure ad buy on national cable to support and encourage them.
The bottom line: Biden, Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) have a number of legislative hurdles to overcome but are united in strategy and plan to work in close coordination.
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