On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke to CNN about the trillion-dollar, bipartisan plan for infrastructure, not to be confused with President Joe Biden’s massive $3.5 trillion spending proposal, the Build Back Better plan.
On CNN, She promised, “I said we’ll have the vote tomorrow… I want it to pass.” Thursday came and went, but there’s been no vote. Pelosi delayed it.
She’s allowing herself more time to placate the Congressional Progressive Caucus and their sky-high demands.
Friday, Biden’s plan is on the brink. Either success… or dual failure.
Generally, the Progressive Caucus wants to pass both the trillion-dollar bill and the $3.5T far-left wishlist bill together. The Democrats hold only an eight-seat majority in the House, and the House Progressive Caucus contains 94 voting members. In other words, the bipartisan bill depends on support from the Progressives.
However, House Progressives are withholding support for the trillion-dollar bill until Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer can combine it with the $3.5T bill. Progressive Caucus member Sen. Bernie Sanders urged them to do so, and that’s exactly what they did.
Oddly enough, Sanders himself voted in favor of the trillion-dollar bill during the Senate’s vote in August.
As of Friday morning, a reconciliation bill was still negotiated in Schumer’s office. Reconciliation would likely gain Progressive support in the House, but it faces hurdles from the Senate’s swing voters, like Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.
Manchin emerged from Schumer’s office late Thursday night and told reporters, “I don’t see a deal tonight. I really don’t.”
In an article for Politico, Manchin requested for the bill to address opioid abuse in his state, West Virginia. Coming from coal country, he also wants to shape the bill’s provisions on energy. He also worries about the total cost of the bill, and he claims to have voiced his worries to Schumer several months ago.
Sinema takes issue not with the content of the bill, but with the plan to pay for it. She remains against increasing the marginal tax rate.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Progressive caucus, told The New York Times, “Nobody should be surprised that we are where we are, because we’ve been telling you that for three and a half months.” Critics point out that the Progressives could have clarified their priorities even before the Biden presidency.
I strongly urge my House colleagues to vote against the bipartisan infrastructure bill until Congress passes a strong reconciliation bill.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) September 28, 2021
Thank you to all who called my office.
We have a chance for a once-in-a-generation investment in working families and in the future of our planet.
That's why I will not vote for an infrastructure bill without passage of the Build Back Better Plan.
— Rep. Nydia Velazquez (@NydiaVelazquez) September 30, 2021
When I announced my campaign for Congress, I said that I was running because Democrats must fight harder for the things we say we believe in. So proud to be a member of @USProgressives, who are doing precisely that.
— Mondaire Jones (@MondaireJones) October 1, 2021
In postponing the vote, Pelosi risks humiliating not only herself, but also the president, who met with Manchin and Sinema yesterday to try persuading them.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement: “A great deal of progress has been made this week, and we are closer to an agreement than ever. But we are not there yet, and so, we will need some additional time to finish the work, starting tomorrow morning first thing.”
The smaller bill mostly continues existing programs, but it also provides $550 billion in new funding — including $65 billion for internet access, $25 billion for airports, $110 billion for roads and bridges, an expansion of electric grids, and a record amount of funding for Amtrak.
The larger bill would fund paid family leave, universal prekindergarten, and Medicare expansion. Oddly enough, the larger bill devotes less funding to pollution relief than the smaller bill.
The smaller bill passed the Senate in August. It will reach the House floor on Friday. At least, that’s what Pelosi said.