House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Wednesday that she will include paid leave in the House’s version of the Build Back Better package.
Previously, President Joe Biden had reluctantly cut paid leave from the bill in order to win a necessary vote from Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.
Manchin has voiced concerns about the bill’s price tag, and paid leave would add to the cost.
Manchin also asked whether the bill could include a work requirement for people on paid leave… from work. He was ridiculed on Twitter.
Despite Manchin, Pelosi seemed undeterred. After all, she’s spent several decades clamoring for paid leave.
On Wednesday The Associated Press interviewed three anonymous sources familiar with the legislation on Wednesday. They expected the bill text to come out later that day, and they expected it to include four weeks of paid leave to deal with childbirth, elder care, debilitating illness, and so on.
Rep. Richard Neal, chair of the Committee on Ways and Means, seemed to characterize the leave provision as a compromise.
“The Ways and Means Committee crafted a policy,” Neal said in a statement through his committee. “We do this responsibly, fully paying for the means-tested program.”
However, Manchin denies any part in “crafting” the bill.
“No idea about that,” Manchin told the AP. “They just told me.”
Pelosi plans to hold a hearing on the bill on Wednesday, she wrote in a letter obtained by the AP. In other words, she reinstated paid leave at the 11th hour. The House may vote on the 1,600-page bill by the end of the week.
The Democrats have spent months trying to finesse a bill amenable to passing both the House and the Senate. The bill faces nearly universal opposition from Republicans. In order to pass, it needs support from both Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the House and Manchin in the Senate.
Recently, the Democrats have come closer to crafting the Goldilocks bill. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema previously opposed the plan to lower drug prices. Then, last week, she compromised on this provision, according to a statement from her office.
However, Pelosi has jeopardized the bill by changing it at the last minute as Biden remains out of the country. She’s staged a standoff with Manchin.
https://twitter.com/stevemorris__/status/1454535774502785030
The Horn editorial team