WASHINGTON: The debate on a $3.5 trillion blueprint for President Joe Biden’s top priorities entered a second day on Wednesday. US Senate, where lawmakers dispute the need for massive spending to fight climate change and poverty.
After months of bargaining, the Senate on Tuesday passed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill in a bipartisan 69-30 vote, proposing the nation’s biggest investment in decades in roads, bridges, airports and waterways. But the measure faces an uncertain future in the House.
Democrats in the Senate then turned to a budget proposal directing spending for a multi-trillion-dollar follow-up package that includes provisions for creating universal preschools, affordable housing and climate-friendly technologies.
Bills have been a top priority for Biden, who has sought to bring about sweeping changes at a time when his Democratic Party controls both houses of Congress and where he fears a loss of legislative control in the 2022 elections.
Democrats plan to push the package forward over the next few months using a process called “budget reconciliation,” which allows them to pass legislation with a simple majority.
On Tuesday, the Senate launched a “vote-a-rama,” a process that gives senators the opportunity to propose amendments to the budget proposal. This continued in the early hours of Wednesday. The debate can go on for days unless party leaders agree to a shorter duration.
Republicans railed against plans to spend $3.5 trillion. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who voted for the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, called the big proposal “radical.”
Dozens of Republican senators also signed a pledge not to vote to bolster the nation’s borrowing capacity when it came to an end in the autumn to reduce Democrats’ spending plans.
“They (Democrats) should not expect Republicans to raise the debt limit to accommodate their deficit spending,” Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican who circulated the pledge, told wall street journal.
Failure to raise or suspend the statutory debt limit — now at $28.5 trillion — could trigger a federal government shutdown or loan default.
treasure Secretary Janet Yellen this week urged Congress to raise the debt limit in a bipartisan vote. On Tuesday, Yellen backed moving forward with a bigger spending package, saying there should be a sequel to the $1 trillion infrastructure plan.
uncertain future
On Tuesday, Biden applauded 19 Republicans who voted for a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure measure. “Here on this bill, we’ve proved that we can still come together to do great things – important things – for the American people,” he said.
But it is not clear how quickly the House, which has a low Democratic majority, will take the measure.
Lok Sabha Speaker Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly said that her chamber will not take up the infrastructure bill or the larger spending package until both are delivered, requiring the Democratic leadership to hold its own in Congress to bring the law to Biden’s table. A narrow majority would need to be held together.
Leading House Progressive Democrats announced Tuesday that most progressives would not vote for a bipartisan infrastructure bill unless the Senate also passes a “strong” second spending measure. This was in contrast to the more liberal House Democrats, who want a quick vote on the infrastructure bill.
Polls show that the campaign to upgrade America’s infrastructure, rejected for months by senators from both parties, is widely popular with the public. The bill includes $550 billion in new spending, as well as $450 billion in infrastructure investments already approved.
Once the budget proposal is passed, Democrats will begin preparing a reconciliation package for a vote if passed after returning from their summer vacation in September.
After months of bargaining, the Senate on Tuesday passed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill in a bipartisan 69-30 vote, proposing the nation’s biggest investment in decades in roads, bridges, airports and waterways. But the measure faces an uncertain future in the House.
Democrats in the Senate then turned to a budget proposal directing spending for a multi-trillion-dollar follow-up package that includes provisions for creating universal preschools, affordable housing and climate-friendly technologies.
Bills have been a top priority for Biden, who has sought to bring about sweeping changes at a time when his Democratic Party controls both houses of Congress and where he fears a loss of legislative control in the 2022 elections.
Democrats plan to push the package forward over the next few months using a process called “budget reconciliation,” which allows them to pass legislation with a simple majority.
On Tuesday, the Senate launched a “vote-a-rama,” a process that gives senators the opportunity to propose amendments to the budget proposal. This continued in the early hours of Wednesday. The debate can go on for days unless party leaders agree to a shorter duration.
Republicans railed against plans to spend $3.5 trillion. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who voted for the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, called the big proposal “radical.”
Dozens of Republican senators also signed a pledge not to vote to bolster the nation’s borrowing capacity when it came to an end in the autumn to reduce Democrats’ spending plans.
“They (Democrats) should not expect Republicans to raise the debt limit to accommodate their deficit spending,” Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican who circulated the pledge, told wall street journal.
Failure to raise or suspend the statutory debt limit — now at $28.5 trillion — could trigger a federal government shutdown or loan default.
treasure Secretary Janet Yellen this week urged Congress to raise the debt limit in a bipartisan vote. On Tuesday, Yellen backed moving forward with a bigger spending package, saying there should be a sequel to the $1 trillion infrastructure plan.
uncertain future
On Tuesday, Biden applauded 19 Republicans who voted for a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure measure. “Here on this bill, we’ve proved that we can still come together to do great things – important things – for the American people,” he said.
But it is not clear how quickly the House, which has a low Democratic majority, will take the measure.
Lok Sabha Speaker Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly said that her chamber will not take up the infrastructure bill or the larger spending package until both are delivered, requiring the Democratic leadership to hold its own in Congress to bring the law to Biden’s table. A narrow majority would need to be held together.
Leading House Progressive Democrats announced Tuesday that most progressives would not vote for a bipartisan infrastructure bill unless the Senate also passes a “strong” second spending measure. This was in contrast to the more liberal House Democrats, who want a quick vote on the infrastructure bill.
Polls show that the campaign to upgrade America’s infrastructure, rejected for months by senators from both parties, is widely popular with the public. The bill includes $550 billion in new spending, as well as $450 billion in infrastructure investments already approved.
Once the budget proposal is passed, Democrats will begin preparing a reconciliation package for a vote if passed after returning from their summer vacation in September.
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