Now that the Senate has approved a $3.5 trillion spending framework, Democrats face the difficult task of writing actual legislation that can win the support of practically every party lawmaker in both chambers.
It won’t be easy.
Shortly after senators voted 50-49 to approve the budget resolution, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia sent a public reminder to Democratic leaders that he will seek changes to the legislation.
SENATE DEMOCRATS APPROVE BUDGET WITH $3.5 TRILLION SPENDING PACKAGE
Manchin suggested the $3.5 trillion price tag is far too high.
“I have serious concerns about the grave consequences facing West Virginians and every American family if Congress decides to spend another $3.5 trillion,” Manchin said in a statement.
He’s not the only Democrat who may try to lower the cost.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona Democrat, told the Arizona Republic last month she has informed Democratic leaders “that while I will support beginning this process, I do not support a bill that costs $3.5 trillion — and in the coming months, I will work in good faith to develop this legislation with my colleagues and the administration to strengthen Arizona’s economy and help Arizona’s everyday families get ahead.”
There could be more pushback from other Senate Democrats.
The measure calls for tax hikes on corporations and the wealthy, but some lawmakers are concerned the tax increases will harm businesses and slow the economic recovery.
Manchin is also against adding provisions to the bill that would eliminate fossil fuels.
Democrats need all 50 senators to approve the final legislation in order to pass it with the tiebreaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris. No Republicans are expected to vote for the bill, which they said spends recklessly and would steer the nation toward socialism.
The legislation will also have to pass the House, where the majority of Democrats are more liberal and want spending to increase.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat who heads the House Progressive Caucus, said her faction wants to increase the size of the package to provide more social spending, which she said the country urgently needs to address homelessness and healthcare, among other things.
The framework currently calls for spending on universal preschool, free community college, expansion of Medicare benefits, extended child tax credits, and more.
“Right now, we are pushing for a little bit more,” Jayapal said recently.
Jayapal said if the Senate cuts back spending, as Sinema is hoping to accomplish, then it will lose critical support in the House, where Democrats can afford to spare only three votes if they hope to pass the bill.
Some House Democrats are also unhappy with the bipartisan infrastructure bill the Senate passed ahead of the budget resolution. The party has linked the two measures together, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said the House will consider them together.
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat, said the infrastructure measure falls short on renewable energy policy and funding for mass transit and rail, among other problems.
DeFazio and other Democrats want to add those missing elements into the budget package, but any changes will require the approval of the Senate, where Manchin and Sinema are trying to reduce the cost of the bill, and Manchin is wary of attacking fossil fuels and hiking taxes.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, informed lawmakers late Tuesday the House will reconvene on Aug. 23 in order to take up the Senate-passed resolution. The move interrupts the summer recess and puts pressure on lawmakers to pass the framework so the two chambers can start writing the bill’s text.
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Both the House and the Senate will use August and September to craft the actual legislation, and that is when the wrangling will really begin.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, told Democrats he wants the committees to write the legislation by Sept. 15.
“What we’re doing here is not easy,” Schumer said early Wednesday morning after party lawmakers unilaterally passed the budget resolution without a single GOP vote. “Democrats have labored for months to reach this point, and there are many labors to come. But I can say with absolute certainty that it will be worth doing.”
