WASHINGTON: After months of talks, Democrats are close to an agreement on what programs and policies to include to expand President Joe Biden’s health and safety net programs and tackle global warming.
The plan is likely to include expansion of Medicare benefits for senior citizens, universal preschool, paid family leave and continuation of the child tax credit that was extended earlier this year and applied to more families. Democrats are slashing some investments or shortening the time frame those programs will run to fit within the nearly $2 trillion budget over 10 years instead of the $3.5 trillion budget plan previously approved by the House.
Still, Democrats are hoping the programs will prove popular enough that a future Congress will continue to fund them for years to come. It doesn’t seem likely that any Republicans would support the measure.
Negotiation on the package is fluid. But where does the bill stand so far, according to lawmakers and allies:
Child tax credit enhancement will continue for one more year. As part of a COVID relief bill, Democrats increased the tax credit to $3,000 per child ages 6-17 and $3,600 per child ages 5 and under. Limiting the program to one year will disappoint many of its supporters, but they are hopeful that the program’s popularity will prompt Congress to increase it in the coming years. Budget buffs worry that a one-year extension is a budgeting tool that would reduce the cost of the program on paper, but hides its true costs as lawmakers continue rather than end programs.
Medicare will be expanded to include dental, vision and hearing aids. It’s not clear when or how long each will be included as part of Medicare Cover’s benefits package. But each is expected to survive. Until the full benefits are implemented, lawmakers are discussing the possibility of providing vouchers to senior citizens for dental care. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, put it this way after meeting Biden: What will emerge is a program on dentistry, vision and hearing that Senator (Bernie) Sanders is comfortable with.
“Expanding Medicaid to about a dozen states and providing premium-reducing subsidies for Obamacare” are still part of the plan. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the number of health insurance components in the bill would be increased to about 3.9 million people. Major increases in Medicaid and Affordable Care Act plans over the next decade will be partially offset by a 2.8 million reduction in employment-based coverage.
The US will join a long list of nations that have paid family leave programs that allow workers to take time off for childbirth, care for a new baby or deal with a serious family member’s health issue. allow. But it looks like the 12-week payout time proposed by Biden will be reduced to four.
Universal preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds and child-care subsidies for poor and middle-income Americans still continues. The Bidens plan calls for parents to earn up to 150% of the states’ median income (about $115,000 nationally). The poorest families are getting free child care with no more than 7% of their income on child care. They propose tax credits for more than half of what families spend on child care, up to $4,000 for a single child or $8,000 for two or more children.
Free Community College is probably out.
It also looks like the program, considered a cornerstone of Biden’s plan to fight climate change, has been pulled out mainly because of opposition from Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.V.A. That program would have offered grants to power companies that increase clean energy production by 4% each year and fines for those who don’t. Still, hundreds of billions of dollars are expected to be included in programs designed to help the US meet Biden’s goal of a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas pollution in 2030 from 2005 levels.
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