Democrats reach milestone in $3.5 trillion agreement on Biden's economic, infrastructure plans

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s ambitious plan for getting infrastructure done this summer is closer to achievable with the overnight agreement reached by Budget Committee Democrats and the White House on a $3.5 trillion cap for their budget resolution. That’s the bill that will include instructions for lawmakers to write the reconciliation bill that allows them to pass the funding without Republican votes. The specific details of the package aren’t yet concluded, but Schumer said Tuesday night, after the agreement was announced, that it will fund “every major program” that President Joe Biden proposed in his American Jobs and Families economic plans.

Together with the $579 billion included in the proposed bipartisan infrastructure bill, the total package—infrastructure, climate, child care, education, and paid leave programs—will reach $4.1 trillion. Schumer pointed out that “is very, very close to what President Biden asked us for. […] Every major program that President Biden has asked us for is funded in a robust way.” In addition to those proposals from Biden, it will include a “robust expansion of Medicare,” including vision, dental, and hearing benefits for the first time ever, a priority for Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders. It apparently doesn’t include expanding the program by lowering the eligibility age to 60 as Sanders had also advocated.

This is the top-line spending figure, which committee member Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, said would be “fully paid for,” and includes what will be funded, but how much is going to what program and those details still needs to be hashed out. This is also an agreement among Budget Committee members and the White House, not the entire conference.

But the whole Senate Democratic caucus is there, right? To support their president in the most significant and critical effort since the New Deal? Well … Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia says he’s “open to looking at everything they provided,” and “all these things are very important. But we have to pay for all this.” Sen. Kyrsten Sinema had her spokesperson say meaningless things like “Those conversations are ongoing and she will give careful consideration to any idea that can strengthen Arizona’s economy and help Arizona families get ahead.” Because neither of them is capable, apparently, of just saying “yes, I support my president and my colleagues and recognize that we need to save the entire globe right now.” Biden is scheduled to meet with the entire Democratic caucus at lunch Wednesday to lobby to get all 50 of them on board.

For his part, Sanders is satisfied. “This is the most significant piece of legislation passed since the Great Depression, and I’m delighted to be part of having helped to put it together,” Sanders told reporters. “A lot of work remains.” He added that this could be the end of the era when the rich and corporations are let off the hook. “Those days are gone,” he said. “The wealthy and large corporations are going to start paying their fair share of taxes, so that we can protect the working families of this country.”

Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, whose committee will deal with the tax and revenue side of the package promised “I will raise the money that the caucus says it wants for its priorities.” He’s got support there on the tax side.

Manchin has said that he’s fine with tackling the 2017 Republican tax scam and bolstering “human infrastructure” using reconciliation. “Republicans have drawn a line in the sand on not changing anything, and I thought the 2017 tax bill was a very unfair bill, and weighted to a side that basically did not benefit the average American. So I voted against it,” Manchin said. “I think there are some adjustments that need to be made.” In that, Manchin at least is being helpful. He insists that this package be “paid for” because “I don’t think we need more debt.”

To which Budget panel member Sen. Chris Van Hollen says, basically, “put up or shut up” in not so many words. “There are many ways to get there,” Van Hollen said. “Certainly, it’s important that everyone who says it needs to be paid for also identifies ways to pay for what needs to be done.”

That just leaves to the other infrastructure bill, the bipartisan one that Republicans are once again sabotaging. Minority Leader McConnell has redoubled his efforts, now that this agreement among Democrats has been struck.

And his number two in leadership:

Oh, hey, we’ve done that already, Thune. Democrats aren’t trying to pull some kind of fast one here. It’s been clear for weeks that this was a two-track process. But every time there’s progress on the Democratic side, Republicans cry wolf to Capitol Hill reporters willing to indulge their outrage. If they keep this up, they might even alienate Manchin and Sinema and cement support from those two for the reconciliation bill. Maybe.