House returns to Washington next week to forge ahead with infrastructure bill, budget plan
It is unclear if Pelosi will change her plans before next week. The White House this week endorsed her strategy to hold the procedural vote to advance the infrastructure, social spending and voting rights plans, then pass the budget resolution.
In a letter to her caucus this week, she said delays in passing the measure would jeopardize the party’s policy goals.
“When the House returns on August 23rd, it is essential that we pass the budget resolution so that we can move forward united and determined to realize President Biden’s transformative vision and deliver historic progress,” she wrote.
If Pelosi pulls off her plan, the infrastructure bill would await a final vote in the House — and then Biden’s signature — while both chambers of Congress go about writing the $3.5 trillion spending plan. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., gave committees a Sept. 15 target to finish their portions of the legislation.
The bill is expected to include a Medicare expansion, universal pre-K, wider access to paid leave and child care, extensions of strengthened household tax credits and policies designed to encourage clean energy adoption. The proposal may get scaled back as Senate Democratic centrists including Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona criticize the $3.5 trillion price tag.
One Democratic vote against the proposal would sink it in the Senate, which is split 50-50 by party.
The nine House Democrats have pushed for final passage of the infrastructure bill as they argue a later vote would delay projects to renew American transportation, broadband and infrastructure.
“We have the votes to pass this legislation right now, which is why I believe we should first vote immediately on the bipartisan infrastructure package, send it to the President’s desk, and then quickly consider the budget resolution, which I plan to support,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, one of the nine Democrats, said in a statement Friday.
“We need to get people to work and shovels in the ground,” he said.
Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/20/house-democrats-to-hold-votes-on-biden-economic-plans.html