With historic spending plans in danger, Joe Biden vows to ‘get this done’
- The president signalled willingness to cut his US$3.5 trillion package to around US$2 trillion in a bid to secure agreement between divided Democrat lawmakers
- A much-anticipated Friday vote on a US$1 trillion infrastructure bill was further delayed after Biden’s rare visit to Congress results in no deal
But it’s not getting done right now.
Biden huddled with House Democrats in a private meeting that was part instructional, part morale booster for the tattered caucus of lawmakers, telling them he wanted both bills passed regardless of the time it takes. He discussed a compromise top-line of US$1.9 trillion to more than US$2 trillion, according to lawmakers in the room.
But it was clear they are all now in it for the long haul as the White House and its allies in Congress prepared for protracted negotiations.
“It doesn’t matter whether it’s six minutes, six days or six weeks – we’re going to get it done,” Biden declared to reporters as he left the afternoon meeting at the Capitol.
This is not a baseball game. This is the most significant piece of legislation in 70 years
Biden‘s sudden excursion to Capitol Hill was aimed at giving the legislation a needed last push across the finish line. Holdout Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia had sunk hopes for a swift compromise when he refused to budge late Thursday on his demands for a smaller overall package, around US$1.5 trillion, despite hours of shuttle diplomacy with White House aides.
Without a broader deal, prospects for a Friday vote on the companion public works bill stalled out, progressives refusing to lend their votes until senators reach agreement. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a late-evening letter to colleagues that “more time is needed” as they shape the broader package.
Instead the House passed a 30-day stopgap measure to keep transportation programmes running during the stalemate, essentially setting a new deadline for talks, October 31. The Senate was set to follow with a vote on Saturday, to halt the furloughs of more than 3,500 federal transportation workers, a by-product of the political impasse.
With Republicans solidly opposed to Biden‘s sweeping vision, the president and his party are reaching for a giant legislative accomplishment on their own – all to be paid for by rewriting federal balance sheets with tax hikes on corporations and the wealthy, those earning more than US$400,000 a year.
As action ground to a halt on Friday in Congress, Biden appeared to offer no particular new legislative strategy. Speaker Nancy Pelosi had insisted there would be a “vote today” on a US$1 trillion infrastructure bill that is popular but is snared in the debate over Biden‘s broader measure.
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With Democratic progressives refusing to give their support for that slimmer roads-and-bridges bill unless advances are made on the president‘s big bill, Pelosi with an oh-so-slim House majority appeared unwilling to risk failure by calling for a vote.
Biden, by insisting that both bills pass, appeared to give a nod to the progressives‘ strategy, while floating the lower numbers acknowledged the compromise with centrists to come.
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, the leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus said: “He was really clear that we need to get both bills done.”
Attention returned to Manchin and to some extent Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, two centrist Democrats who helped steer the US$1 trillion public works bill to Senate passage but have concerns that Biden’s overall bill is too big. The two senators have infuriated colleagues with their close-to-the vest negotiations that could tank Biden’s effort – and their own campaign promises.
After hours of negotiations that stretched near midnight Thursday, Manchin said he could not yet compromise beyond his US$1.5 trillion offer.
Talks have swirled over an agreement in the US$2 trillion range. But with Manchin dug in, a quick deal seemed increasingly out of reach for the present. Still, Biden‘s visit was welcomed by Democrats who have complained about not hearing enough from the president about a path forward.
Apparently aware of the stakes, Biden relayed to lawmakers a story that seemed to mark the moment.
The president told them that when his White House office was renovated, it was hung with pictures of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt, presidents who led a “deeply divided country and the biggest economic transformation – and that’s just the kind of moment we’re in”, congressman David Cicilline said.
Big test for Biden as Democrats face Congress ‘week from hell’
The White House said the president also plans to travel next week to other cities to make his case that his historic measures would help the American people.
Biden‘s bigger proposal is a years-in-the-making collection of Democratic priorities with an ultimate price tag he says is zero, because the tax revenue would cover the spending costs – higher rates on businesses earning more than US$5 million a year, and individuals earning more than US$400,000 a year, or US$450,000 for couples.
The total legislative effort is testing not just Biden, but Pelosi and some of the leading figures in the Democratic Party whose legacies will be shaped by whether they succeed or fail.
“We’ve been fighting for transformative legislation as all of you know; these discussions have gone on for month after month after month,” said Senator Bernie Sanders, the chairman of the Budget Committee and a leading progressive lawmaker.
“This is not a baseball game. This is the most significant piece of legislation in 70 years.”
