Democrats Rush To Get Votes On Spending Package, Infrastructure Bill

Democrats in the House were trying to set up votes on two pieces of legislation on Friday, attempting to pass President Biden’s massive social spending package and the bipartisan infrastructure bill. 

As reported by The Washington Post, “Democrats hope to vote first on a nearly $2 trillion plan that would expand Medicare, provide free, universal prekindergarten for all American children, set aside new sums to fight global warming, and offer new benefits to low-income families, much of which is paid for through taxes on millionaires and corporations.”

Additionally, after deliberation on that package, The Post reported, “Democrats next hope to turn to a roughly $1.2 trillion measure to improve the nation’s roads, bridges, pipes, ports and Internet connections. That infrastructure measure cleared the Senate on a bipartisan basis in August, but it has remained stuck in the House.”

On Friday morning, it was reportedly still unclear as to what the schedule for the votes could be.

“We’re working on it,” said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD), as they kept trying to secure votes.

Members are also still awaiting a report from the Congressional Budget Office on the costs of the legislation, among other items. The White House has repeatedly made the claim that the spending bill would cost nothing to the American people, a line of thinking that has been met with mockery.

The New York Times reported: 

Late Thursday night, Democratic leaders postponed a vote on the measure to Friday, when they also hoped to clear a Senate-passed $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill for President Biden’s signature. A senior aide who disclosed the update on the condition of anonymity said they were confident they could complete the measures by Friday.

However, other reports later showed that Democrats were potentially starting to lose faith in success on Friday.

“It’s not looking good,” a source reportedly familiar with the discussions told The Hill.

Progressives were holding up the bipartisan infrastructure bill in an attempt to pressure moderate Democrats in the Senate, such as Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), to agree to the social spending bill.

Manchin has been one of the strongest opponents of the massive spending package due to its hefty price tag that was originally around $3.5 trillion. He has pushed back against passing such an expensive bill in the context of the nation’s inflation and uncertainty about the future.

Democrats in the House have gone back and forth with the bills in recent months as negotiations continued.

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