House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dodged questions about the timing of a vote on President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package as she scrambled to round up enough support from liberal holdouts.
Pelosi, a California Democrat, praised a $1.75 trillion deal on a social welfare spending package, halving an initial Democratic proposal but maintaining some key liberal provisions, including free preschool, expanded Medicaid and Medicare, and an extension of the child tax credit.
She said Democrats should also vote to pass the second part of Biden’s economic agenda, the bipartisan infrastructure bill, ahead of an Oct. 31 deadline.
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“Let’s do it in a timely fashion,” Pelosi told reporters. “Let’s not just keep having postponements and leaving any doubt as to when this will happen.”
A group of House liberals plans to vote against the infrastructure bill because they need more certainty the social welfare package will pass both the House and the Senate.
Pelosi made a surprise appearance at a House Progressive Caucus meeting Friday morning in a bid to convince her most liberal faction to vote for the infrastructure bill Thursday.
The group wants a pledge from centrist Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to vote for the bill.
“I have respect for all of our members on the full spectrum of the big tent that is our Democratic Party, and they have concerns when I hear Sen. Manchin say something … everybody has the chance to say what they wish,” Pelosi said.
Sens. Cori Bush of Missouri and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota told reporters they want both bills to pass simultaneously to ensure the social welfare package is not ultimately left by the wayside.
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The social welfare package leaves out important liberal wish list items, prompting Pelosi to suggest the legislation could change.
The House Rules Committee convened a hearing Thursday to kick-start consideration of the bill in the House.
“The text is out there if anybody, any senator, any House member has some suggestions about where their comfort level is or their dismay might be — then we welcome that,” Pelosi said. “We have agreement on most of those things. We are within range … on those things.”
The measure excludes paid family and medical leave and negotiations for Medicare prescription drug prices.
Pelosi called the paid leave exclusion “a work in progress.” She also said the infrastructure bill must pass because a temporary highway spending authorization measure expires at the end of the month.
Another temporary extension, Pelosi said, would be “highly disruptive of transportation project planning and delivery.”
