A top House Democrat said on Wednesday that lawmakers are not aiming to finish a massive spending package by an Oct. 31 deadline despite assertions by other leaders that they are committed to the Halloween deadline.
“The White House has indicated that they’re not on a timeline, and we’re not on the timeline,” House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries told reporters after a closed-door meeting with party lawmakers Wednesday.
Democratic leaders and the White House have issued conflicting statements about the Oct. 31 deadline set last month.
Democrats had hoped to advance a social welfare spending package and to clear a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package for Biden’s signature by the end of the month.
BIDEN PUSHES SPENDING PRICE TAG EVEN LOWER IN RACE TO REACH DEAL
But Democrats have been unable to reach an accord on the larger, social welfare spending bill as they work to reduce the cost to appease centrist Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
“We are just working to arrive at a consensus, and that is clearly moving in an incredibly positive direction,” Jeffries told reporters following the meeting.
Other top Democrats appear to be pushing lawmakers to move more quickly.
On Tuesday, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said he is hoping to reach a deal on at least a framework for the social welfare spending package in a matter of days.
“We want to get it done this week,” Schumer said following a closed-door meeting with Senate Democrats on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Schumer repeated his ambitious timeline.
“We are getting closer to an agreement,” Schumer said. “We want to finalize a deal by the end of this week. But we all must keep moving, together.”
President Joe Biden has been presiding over meetings with divided Democrats at the White House in an effort to work out cost and policy differences between liberals and centrists.
Green energy provisions are a major sticking point, as are proposed cuts to big-spending programs Democrats hoped to pass in the bill, including Medicare expansion, Medicaid expansion, and added subsidies for Obamacare.
“There is a strong commitment that was reiterated by our leadership today, to ensure that we do three things — that we strengthen the Affordable Care Act, that we are expanding Medicare benefits, and that we expand access to Medicaid,” Jeffries told reporters. “And we believe that in whatever form it takes, we’re going to lean in, in all three areas, and that it will result in a substantial and dramatic increase in the access to high-quality, affordable healthcare for everyday Americans.”
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Centrists and liberals are also battling over an effort by Democrats from high-tax states to remove a cap on state and local tax deductions, known as SALT, which would reduce the revenue desperately needed to pay for the bill.
“There is strong consensus amongst the overwhelming majority of the members of the New York and New Jersey delegation that some relief, in terms of SALT, should be part of this legislation,” Jeffries said.
