Biden to announce reconciliation bill framework before jetting to Europe
President Biden is expected to tell congressional Democrats Thursday morning that they’ve reached an agreement on a framework for their reconciliation bills.
The goal of the announcement will be to enable progressives, who have been blocking the bipartisan infrastructure bill, to stop their blockade and let the bill pass before President Biden goes to a climate summit in Scotland.
But many progressives, including Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., have said a framework will not be enough to secure their votes for infrastructure. It’s unclear whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will be able to keep enough progressives on board with the bill for it to pass.
The bill is expected to cost $1.75 trilion to $1.9 trilllion, though there is no CBO score or legislative text, Fox News’ Chad Pergram reports.
President Biden may be meeting Pope Francis in Rome on Friday, but he may be hoping for a miracle in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.
Biden is expected to visit the Democratic Caucus on Capitol Hill on Thursday prior to his European trip in an apparent effort to get his spending initiatives back on track.
Congressional Correspondent, reported that the president is expected to join fellow Democrats at about 9 a.m.
The meeting comes at a precarious time and new reports of Democratic infighting. There is a push by some Democrats to get a vote on the infrastructure bill, but progressive members continue to eye the social spending package.
“Progressives are holding out because they fear there won’t be guarantees for their policy priorities in the social spending plan,” Pergram said.
Democrats want Biden to nudge progressives along to agree to a loose framework to clear the way for the infrastructure vote. Pergram said such a vote would give Biden a “medium-sized win” before heading to Scotland for the climate summit.
Democrats want Biden to nudge progressives along to agree to a loose framework to clear the way for the infrastructure vote. Pergram said such a vote would give Biden a “medium-sized win” before heading to Scotland for the climate summit.
Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., told Fox News’ “Your World With Neil Cavuto” on Wednesday that he believes—based on the conversations he’s had–that the final price for the spending package will be under $2 trillion. “Even if it’s not everything, we really have to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” he said.
Senate Democrats have dropped the paid family and medical leave proposals from the social spending package after negotiations with moderate Democrats failed to reach a compromise on a pared-down version of the proposals, according to Politico.
