Biden to ‘Rally Support’ for Gridlocked Vast Social Spending Package During Visit to Swing-States
© REUTERS / EVELYN HOCKSTEIN / FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about COVID-19 vaccines at the White House in Washington
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Earlier, House Democrats tried to break an impasse between moderates and progressives on Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure package after the liberals threatened to sink it if the larger “human infrastructure” bill was not passed via budget reconciliation.
Joe Biden is visiting Michigan on 5 October to pitch his "Build Back Better" agenda as investing “in working families, paid for by repealing tax giveaways to the rich,” according to an official White House release.
The ambitious spending plan includes the $1 trillion infrastructure bill currently pending in the US House and approved 69-30 by the Senate in August. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act seeks to funnel hundreds of billions of dollars to states for public works projects, such as rebuilding roads, broadband internet, and water pipes. The agenda also presupposes a massive initially-proposed $3.5 trillion social overhaul spending bill, which could now face cuts as it remains under deliberation and debate in Congress.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks while signing the continuing resolution to avoid a U.S. government shutdown during a bill enrollment ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 30, 2021
© REUTERS / ELIZABETH FRANTZ
The US President will "continue rallying public support" for both initiatives in the battleground state of Michigan that he flipped from the Republicans in the 2020 election. Biden’s schedule will take him to Howell, a city west of Detroit, to visit an International Union of Operating Engineers training facility.
The Democratic POTUS’ spending plan is to be touted as bringing potential benefits to Americans amid continued wrangling over the issue within his own party ranks. Democratic moderates and progressives have been at odds, failing to move ahead with Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure package that forms the backbone of his domestic agenda.
"He wants to go out there and talk about the components and the piece of these bills that will make people's lives better, even as we're having very important conversations about the legislative logistics here," said White House Spokesperson Jen Psaki on Monday.
The larger Build Back Better reconciliation bill proposed by Biden includes childcare, housing and healthcare benefits, free community college tuition and clean energy subsidies, all to be paid for by taxing the wealthy and corporations.
Ahead of the trip, Biden is scheduled to hold a virtual meeting with moderate House Dems about the infrastructure bill and his Build Back Better agenda, White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield was quoted by MSNBC as saying.
This comes as on Monday afternoon the president met with Democratic progressives to discuss a potentially less exorbitant spending tag. The progressive Democratic faction demands that the larger reconciliation bill be green-lighted first, otherwise they will refuse to support the infrastructure proposal.
The moderate Democrats have voiced concern about the huge $3.5 trillion bill. Dems need the vote of all Democratic senators to pass the bill, however, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. have both blasted the price tag of the legislation.
My statement on infrastructure and reconciliation negotiations: https://t.co/ivdAUn9Mdh pic.twitter.com/6Y6ATeH8DR
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) September 29, 2021
Last week, Democratic leaders postponed a vote on the infrastructure measure, which has secured bipartisan Senate support. Biden has acknowledged that the social spending bill will have to be trimmed to between $1.9 trillion and $2.2 trillion in his meeting with progressive lawmakers on Monday, according to CBS News.
"He's reaching out to Democrats all across the spectrum. We're converging on agreement here… We're going to work through the details. We're 99 percent of the way there," added Bedingfield.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Saturday set a new deadline of 31 October for the House to pass the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. “Again, we will and must pass both bills soon. We have the responsibility and the opportunity to do so. People are waiting and want results,” the Speaker wrote in a letter released on Saturday.
